The Visitor

Author: Norgco <norgco[at]yahoo.com>

Summary: After a bloody victory, the white knight and the dark slayer find each other.

Couples: Xander/Faith

Warning: Multiple character death mentioned. Not described, but look at the couples list and think about it.

Rating: NC17, Violence, mention of rape, Character death

Author note: This is based on my limited knowledge of Germany and the first century Roman occupation of the west of it. If anyone has problems with my geographical knowledge, etc, be polite, but mention it, as I may write a sequel if anyone wants it.

Feedback: Please

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Prologue
Blood in the Grass

Germany

The blood flowed over the ground slowly, because the land was only slightly sloped this close to the summit. But flow it did, and more in a stream than a trickle. The remains of the corpses were scattered in front of the razor wire, blown backwards by anti-personnel charges and Claymores. It was not raining any more, not like last night, and the 105mm howitzer batteries were at minimum manning, with the crews mainly sleeping.

FSB Marius was defended by a mix of up time and Roman personnel, or rather uptime and across reality and Roman personnel. This had to be an alternate reality, or changing the past like this would have eliminated the future they came from, but then how could they have been here to change it and... Temporal mechanics gives people headaches.

Anyway the fact that here at the Fulda Gap, with the Elbe so near to the east, an artillery Fire Support Base - a 1960's concept - was supporting Roman legions loyal to Caesar Augustus, - an early 1st century force - with early 21st century weapons systems, had to prove something. Captain Xander Harris was here to help build a new world for the survivors of the old.

"What there is of them" he muttered to himself. The whole area was a vast forest, populated by the 'barbarian hordes' that had massacred the legions of Quintillius Varus so recently. Fewer of them after last night, of course, the waves of attackers running at them in the downpour, humanoid shapes in the green of Night Vision Goggles and sheeting rain. Faith was out there somewhere, with a patrol that was overdue to report in. "Worrying won't help."

"Neither will the Legate refusing to sleep, and them barbs aren't going to attack again before we can wake you." It was a Centurion of the 10th Cohort, which was assigned for close defence of the firebase. The Romans were co-operating because he and the uptime survivors had arrived during the panic after the Tutonburgerwald massacre - the whole Roman Garrison in Germany massacred by treachery - and demonstrated their weapons. "Your woman is gifted of Mars, she will be back."

It would be a lot more comforting if he did not know what had happened to Buffy, Willow, Giles and the rest of 21st century Earth. No one had listened until it was too late, the outpouring demons from the hellmouth had overrun much of the planet, enslaving, raping, and torturing as they went. Surprisingly little outright massacre, perhaps they wanted to play with their food first.

Taking the world back had involved Nuclear, Biological and Chemical weapons, rendering it uninhabitable in the long run. The first areas overrun had been the last retaken, and the demons had seen the necessity to keep the population alive and productive after the hellmouth was closed. The desperate defence of Asia, Europe, and Africa had been with every weapon available, civilian casualties had had to be ignored. So, most surviving humans were from Spanish speaking areas and picked up Latin without too much trouble.

He still remembered the beachhead invasion of Sunnydale with 20,000 men from multiple armies and Marine Corps, one of the earliest large multinational counterattacks. The scoobs and a coven from England had gone to the hellmouth and permanently sealed it. He hadn't even known that most countries that had had sailing ship navies had Marine Corps as well. The regiment of Russian marines killed holding the hellmouth long enough for the ceremony to take place had taught him, and the world, differently. The senior officers were Cold War leftovers, they had joked about 'finally getting to invade America', and all of them had died on that beautiful sunny day, every one of them.

"Just sharp steel, like you said sir, had to lead the boys out to see it so they could see it really isn't magic." The Centurion, Rufio, that was it, was holding a piece of shrapnel from the AP charges. Anti personnel was invented after the Korean War, to hold off human sea charges. 10,000 razor sharp pieces of metal in a thin casing that is stripped off by firing down the howitzer barrel, and there were three, three tube batteries here. You just lower the barrel right down like a huge shotgun and when they are in spitting distance thousands of screaming berserkers get turned into cat mince. The young men of whole tribes must have died last night. "Not magic, no sir, just good old fashioned iron applied right."

Romans were big believers in magic, and even bigger believers in killing people who practiced it. Going to this time and place was arguably not ideal, but the time machine had been built at a German University, and when the area was recaptured it was found that the people who understood it were all dead. A research team from the Bangalore Institute of Technology, in India, had worked out what it was and how to use it, an amazing feat without the research notes or researchers to question, but there was no obvious way of resetting the destination.

"So, here we are." It was Faith, standing just behind him, and presumably she knew what he was thinking because they had discussed it so often. With the survivors of the world left behind producing everything they could in preparation to evacuating to this place there was no shortage of materials. So the dark slayer had her own everything, which she mainly kept in her tent while living in his. "Boytoy, stop thinking about it, their gone, we're here, thinking about what happened doesn't help, I know, believe me."

Her recon platoon was mostly ok, the radio had a spear through it, and the wounded were being seen to in the aid station rather than evacuated. Actually they were British, and referred to reccee, not recon, that being there term for it apparently. Faith was as good as could be expected, under the circumstances.

The California Women's Prison had been lost after a bitter battle, and the dark slayer had not gotten out in time. The survivors of the inmates were mainly still alive, or at least the ones their demon slave masters thought pretty were. Mostly with half demon children, like Faith, or too torn up inside to have children, but alive. She knew a great deal about not thinking too much about the past.

Faith and Xander were all that was left of the Scoobies, indeed probably of Sunnydale. The millions of people who had been moved here already did not include anyone they knew, certainly not the slayers half Feyoral demon son, who had been taken away and who she refused to discuss or allow discussed.

Xander had tracked her down through the refugee records, as the only living scoobie he had been given military rank and a staff intelligence officer post. She had begged his forgiveness, literally on her knees, for the strangling and joining the Mayor time, and he begged her forgiveness for not saving her.

"Saving me from what, having a shitty childhood, joining the Mayor, stealing Buffy's identity, being whored out to high ranking demons as a victory prize, what?" Faith had asked, not understanding him, in some ways he was in worse shape than she was.

"Yes."

And so the pair had held each other and cried, each feeling a sense of guilt and remorse at having failed the other and the world. She was all he had left of his world, a world he felt he could have saved if he had been brighter or tougher, or something. He was all that she had in the world, and she felt she still remembered how she had responded to his attempt to save her from the dark side by strangling him. She had sat in prison, and then in the slave brothel, regretting that, wondering what might have happened to her if she had accepted his help. She would not throw away this second chance.

Millions of people had moved in, since the opening of the gate. They had fought there way from the gate site to the Ruhr Valley, because it was the best place to start an industrial economy. In only a few years the first cities, mines, steel works, and coal based chemical plants would be on line. At the mouth of the Rhine a port, Newport, was being built, with shipyards. The Rumanian oil fields had been captured, wells drilled and a refinery started. The stretches of Europe between these were being cleared of people, it was them or us.

The Romans watched in awe and fear, thinking they had done the right thing not to oppose this amazing new people. At first seen as an interesting ally, now they were clearly taking the barbarian lands of northern Europe as a new home. World travellers too, with gigantic ships and wondrous navigation methods they had established settlements in Britannia and places not on Roman maps at all. Best to go all out to establish 'friend and ally' status, which is why there were Legions here.

"Faith."

"Yes X man?"

"Don't ever leave me." Objectively he knew she was unlikely to, but the low probability of losing her was more than he could handle. She was all he had to hold on to, without her the promise of the new world meant nothing. "I know you can find plenty of other guys, that hanging around me has to be boring you but..."

"Boring, Xander you are never boring. You were the first decent man I ever met, and the most decent I know, and I will never leave you." This had to be said; clearly he had no idea what he meant to her. Then she had a moment of insight, one of those moments of clarity that change lives. Xander Harris was totally protective of his friends, but only aroused by strong, take-charge women. "Xander, I decided years ago, sitting in my cell, that when I got out I would find you and make you mine. You are mine Captain Harris sir, and don't you forget it."

That was not literally true; she had been heavily into self-pity and remorse until the rapes and slavery. It was in the brothel she had hardened, listened to the clients when they talked of how the war was going, and decided that the humans would win. She became determined to survive, to build a life for herself either with the white knight, if she could find him, or one he would want to be part of if she could not.

She had focused on him, knowing it was not terribly rational, but knowing she would need help when the nightmare ended, and he was the only person, male or female, she had ever known who would not see her as simply a demon's whore, or a traitor for surviving here instead of killing herself. Who would not hold her in contempt for being raped, the way her mother and relatives and the cops had in Boston. That he had built a similar dream world about her had never occurred to her.

"Xander."

"Yes Faith?"

"Come back to my tent, I have something to give you."

"What?"

"The best 69 of your life."

That was the way to handle him, show him you want him, but don't need to be taken care of. Her moment of clarity had shown her the women he had gone for, Buffy, Cordelia, Willow - but only AFTER her self confidence had developed - Ampata, the bug teacher - Older Woman, not the choice of a man who craves weak women - Faith herself, and Anya. Being herself was the way, her strong capable self, just not the pre-prison psychopath version.

"Centurion, I think I will retire to my tent after all." He could see Rufio smile, clearly thinking that 'I meant you need rest, not more exercise', and give a Roman salute. "Do not hesitate to get me if anything comes up."

"Yes Legate Harris."

Chapter 1

Faith's motel room, the morning after The Zeppo

When Faith was woken up, by a loud knocking on the door of her motel room, she was not in the best of moods. She was feeling something, actually several something's, that she was unused to. And they seemed to revolve around Xander Harris, WHY, she had used him and tossed him out the night before, why these strange feelings now?

BANG, BANG, BANG. It sounded like someone was hitting the door with a sledgehammer, or a brass gong or something, whoever this asshole was it had better be good.

"YEAH, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHAT..." It was Xander, missing an eye and maybe the opposite side leg, in a torn uniform with a rifle over one shoulder. He looked anywhere from 5 to 25 years older, depending on whether you looked at his body generally - 5 years at most - or his eyes -25 years at least. "What the fuck happened to you?"

She stood to one side and allowed him to come in, even in daylight she would never invite anyone in, this being Sunnydale, after all. Xander was definitely on some kind of artificial leg; he walked with the rolling motion you have when they amputate above the knee. He came in, looking exhausted and, at the same time, happy. He hugged her, holding her tight like a drowning man does a floating object that might support him, then asked if he could use the shower.

"Yeah, definitely xman, no offense but you smell like you need one, slayer senses really a negative factor at times, ya know." The dark haired boy undressed and went straight to the shower, which was expected, but the casual way he undressed right in front of her was unexpected. He had been so shy the previous night, even after sex, now it was like they were old lovers.

Which judging from how different he was, they might be from his point of view. Faith was reckless, from some viewpoints, but mainly because she believed that speed and surprise made victory more certain. She was far from stupid, and obviously this was a Xander from somewhere or somewhen else. There had been the vampWillow after all, even is she had not actually met her.

Looking at his weapons, they were clearly heavily used, well maintained, and not from Scooby sources. The rifle was not recognizable to her, which admittedly meant little, since firearms are not slayer tools and she knew little about them. It seemed considerably bulkier than the M16's she had seen though, possibly a larger caliber weapon for demon hunting. There was a satchel, with some electronic gadgets, including a goggles thing with a lead that might attach to one of the other electronic sight gadgets on the rifle.

"Multi-sensor head up display." Xander said from the open bathroom doorway, drying himself off and, again, clearly not shy around her while naked any more. He had an impressive collection of scars, not a lot of them, actually, but big and ugly and impressive. "Hooks into the M24's IR/Laser sight, as well as other battlefield sensors as available. Damn useful gadget, and irreplaceable for another good while, so be careful with it."

"Where are you from and why come to me, it's not like where friends, why not go to your precious Buffy?" He was her friend, not Faith's, after all. She was alone here, barely acknowledged as an ally and resented by at least Red and B.

"What, not visit my wife on my first day in town?"

Faith's motel room.

"Faith, go into shock later, right now I have to see Giles." Colonel Alexander Lavelle Harris said, watching this timelines version of the dark slayer react to being called his wife. And of course she wasn't, it was his version that was, he just needed to start shifting her away from where it now was. Which was days away from the fatal mistake that led to the unspeakably ugly future he was from.

"What, I, mean, wife, I'm your wife, since when?"

"Since a few years after the end of the War." He said, changing into his Class A fatigues as he did it. The BDU's had been torn up fighting some demons on the way to the motel, and would need cleaning and repair, he thought he remembered a laundry that would do it that was on the way. He loaded his weapons into a nylon bag he had folded up in his pack, put the 'needs cleaning' clothes on top of everything else in his back pack, and turned to see Faith looking slightly dazed. Then she recovered and took the strap of the weapons bag, before opening the door of her room.

"This is going to be a long story, isn't it xman?"

"Yes, and you HAVE to hear it." He and his Faith had spent a lot of time trying to decide who of the Scooby's needed to know it all, who should know a little - also what little, and what not - and who should be kept in the dark. First on the 'keep in the dark and feed bullshit' list was Wesley, because he would tell the council everything, and they were definitely on the 'treat them as mushrooms' list. "Giles needs to, if only to appreciate how much our treatment of you lead you to the dark side, and, of course Xander has to know too."

They were walking to the high school partly because it never occurred to them not to. Col. Harris walked everywhere, partly because it was an essential part of his therapy, partly because he routinely worked in areas where there were too many trees to drive, and partly because he enjoyed it. Faith walked everywhere because she was broke, and because you can't sense vampires well from a bus, forget about convincing the driver to let you off in traffic to fight one.

"Why didn't I come with you, the me from your wherever, am I dead there?" Faith asked. Walking along the streets of Sunnydale, on a world of 6 Billion people, in the brilliant sunshine, was a total joy to the Col., and he took a few seconds to respond.

"No, but Tara has the flu, and Jesse keeps getting into fights in school, and we agreed from the outset that the kids have absolute priority." There was a wistful smile on his face, since he was even less sure he would ever get home to his children than on most missions. Noticing the slayer had stopped walking he turned around, he realized he had thrown her off her mental tracks again without even trying. 'good, anything that gets her off the Mayor Wilkins little slayer track is good', he thought.

"We have kids, I'm a mom?" Faith was now officially spooked. Here she was, walking along with some kind of alternate xanman, who was this scarred combat veteran with one eye and one leg, and she was a HOUSEWIFE looking after the kids where and when he was from. She hadn't been expecting to live to be 18, any day could be her last, and now she's not out on important missions because ONE OF THE KIDS HAS THE FLU!

"We have five kids, do you want to see a photo?" That was a rhetorical question, he was dragging out his wallet and waving a picture under her nose as he said it. There was actually quite an age range, starting with an 18 year old named Joyce, Jesse was 13, Rupert was 11, Jenny was 9, and Tara was 5. "Joyce is an apprentice Chef, she works in an Italian restaurant in Carthage."

"I have an 18 year old daughter? I have an 18-year-old daughter. I have and EIGHTEEN year old daughter?" She kept mumbling this to herself until they got to the library, not really noticing the funny looks they got. The idea that any of the Scooby's, let alone Buffy obsessed Xander, would stick by her through five pregnancies, diaper changing, 2 o'clock feedings...it had never occurred to her. That he would still be with her when she had a daughter older then she now was, that was strictly hellmouth stuff.

Sunnydale high school library.

"Yes, may I help yo... MY GOD XANDER, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Rupert Giles had initially not recognized the officer entering his library with Faith, seeing the eye patch, uniform, odd, rolling gate, and then the Harris boy's face, in that order. Explanations were begun, and got to showing the picture of his children when Giles choked.

"Did you say Carthage? She works in a restaurant in Carthage, as in the Roman Republic, that Carthage, didn't they tear it down and sow the ground with Salt?"

"Well, yeah, but after we conquered the Roman Empire it was a logical place to build a city. Northern Tunisia is actually quite beautiful, great farm land, Faith and I had our first three children there." The rest of the gang had entered during the end of the conversation, and were standing quietly in the background, stunned.

Xander was stunned to hear a middle aged army version of himself describe life with his wife, Faith of all people. The fact that he was bragging about his children, not insulting them and their mother the way HIS father did, was what stuck in his mind. 'I didn't turn out like my father, I didn't turn out like my father, I didn't turn out like my father' was running through his head.

Willow was stunned that there were two versions of her oldest friend in the room, one of whom was married to FAITH, of all people. The fact that, leaving aside the lack of an eye and a leg, and the uniform, he didn't look old enough to be 30, let alone have children older than any of them, really threw her.

Cordy was stunned that the colour of the neat array of medals on his uniform set off the rest of the ensemble so well. Even the eye patch fit in with the overall theme.

Buffy was stunned that she hadn't been mentioned in his descriptions of his life, that in fact no one they knew except Faith's had. And she had questions.

Oz was totally expressionless.

"Xander, I mean older Xander, there are a million questions, but first, how did you get here and has anyone made sure you're not a demon in disguise?" The blonde slayer asked.

The older Xander hugged them all fiercely, and then sat down again. Where to start, that was the question, since a full explanation involved mentioning Faith going to the dark side, and Willow was already upset and distrustful enough.

"I got here through the gate, I have an implant that allows me to be retrieved when I signal. I don't look my age because I have nanocites maintaining my body." Lifting his eyepatch and taping his artificial leg, he added. "They're not perfected yet."

Blank in comprehension, as expected, was on all faces. "No one had tested me for demon hood, and I am here to prevent the things that led to a demon war that killed most of the human race, caused a new ice age while collapsing the ecosystem of most of the planet, and led us to evacuate the survivors to a parallel Earth in the first century AD."

"What things?" Willow asked. Older Xander had decided that if everyone's embarrassing disaster were brought out at once it would minimize the picking on each other.

"In alphabetical order? Buffy dying again and being torn from heaven afterward, only to start a mad, passionate affair with Spike. Faith accidentally killing a guy and joining the Mayor, who is the big bad we really have to deal with soon. Giles going back to England in a mistaken attempt to get Buffy to grow up. Oz ripping the throat out of the female werewolf he was having an affair with."

Everyone was looking at each other; things were really going to get that screwed up?

" Willow's decent into magic addiction, which led her to try to destroy the world in grief after her lesbian lover was murdered. And my nearly marrying a vengeance demon, then leaving her at the alter due to fear of turning out like my own father."

"Well, at least I didn't mess up." Was Cordelia's comment in the total silence of the room.

"No, after your father was sent to prison for income tax evasion you were poor and wound up working for Angel in Los Angeles. You have visions, ascend to a higher plane, and an evil version of you turns Angelus loose."

The silence lasted for some time. Giles eventually broke it.

"And after all this, the real problems start?" The librarian said.

"Oh yeah."

Chapter 2
Conversations with Scooby's

Conversation with Buffy.

"You're saying I never had sex with a human in my life." Buffy Summers was looking very closely at the Col., clearly trying to decide if this was a joke. "That's what you are saying, no one totally human, ever."

"No, there was a one night thing with a guy named Parker, but you hated it, hated him, felt humiliated, it was a big disaster." Lieutenant Colonel Alexander L. Harris had lost his interest in sugar coating bad news so long ago he did not know if he had ever actually done in. The blonde slayer needed to be shocked out of her current path in life, not mollycoddled. "The only guys you have ever sustained an interest in were non-human, Angel - vampire, Reilly - genetically enhanced, personality altering drugs, light cyborg mods, Spike - souless vampire with light cyborg mods to prevent him killing humans."

"Light cyborg mods?" She asked.

"Implanted mind control chips, nothing major."

"Hey, it could be worse, your mother might have succeeded in burning you at the stake."

"She only failed because Giles stopped her." Buffy pointed out. "Just in time to betray my by removing my powers and sending me to fight an insane vampire that had kidnapped my mother."

"You could try women. Faith's seriously in lust with you, and Willow will get out of denial eventually, why not now?"

"Willow's with Oz, and isn't Faith going to be with younger you?" Buffy responded with the first thing that came into her head.

"Why would that stop you?"

Looking at the older slayers face and the look of horror, the soldier realized something.

"I've been married to Faith for too long, haven't I?"

Conversation with Willow

"Oz leaves me, I become a Lesbian, I nearly kill everyone a few times with magic accidents, I lose my girlfriend, then nearly kill everyone INTENTIONALLY with magic, and, after that the problems begin."

"Well, I'm old fashioned enough, or sentimental enough, to think losing your greatest love and then trying to destroy all life on Earth was a serious problem." The older version of her friend brightened. "On the plus side, as I told Buffy, your mother won't try to burn you at the stake again."

"Only because she never notices me again."

"Beats the tar out of standing on that wood pile though, don't it?" Said the smiling military man. Then he started on the thing he wanted to say from the beginning. "How much do you know about Fusion Power, cause, I plan to sell this as your idea?"

"How the sun is powered. 1 hydrogen atom fused another hydrogen atom to produce a helium atom, which is slightly lighter than the total of the two hydrogen's. The difference in mass is turned to energy." She was thoughtful for a moment, it was not a field she really kept track of, she just knew the basics. "Governments around the world have been working on controlled fusion since the 1950's, because the hydrogen can come from sea water, and the helium is a valuable inert gas, result limitless pollution free power."

"We got it to work. The time and reality travel gate, we just call it the gate, led to all kinds of theoretical physics breakthroughs, leading to applications, the most interesting I have the plans for with me, all ready for the patent office." Rummaging around in his pack for a moment, he hauled out a white plastic cube, labeled 'Mr. Fusion'.

"Dr Bahalla saw 'Back to the Future' once to often." Was his comment on the name of the device. "Runs on distilled water, actually any water but if it's not distilled you have to clean the minerals out and it's just easier to use..."

"You can't make a fusion containment this small, the smallest anyone is thinking of is ten times the size of the average fission power plant, 10,000 megawatts." She was in awe; her understanding of the problems involved was not trivial, in fact, which was the reason Xander was talking to her about this. "A containment that small is capable of, it's impossible, it's..."

"A defense against nuclear weapons for openers. The fusion plant itself is also the obvious way to power interplanetary and interstellar spacecraft. Earth - Saturn is six years with 1999 technology, our fusion torch jobs do it in two weeks, cheaply enough for cruise line companies to be planning to do it." And the decision to re-start the space program when they were rebuilding their civilization from scratch was surprisingly well received. The world had been destroyed once; it could be again, leaving all the human race's eggs in one basket seemed suicidal. The moral problems of driving the native peoples into semi-extinction AGAIN, which was a necessary part of trying to rebuild the lost home civilizations, made the unpopulated frontier a lot more attractive.

"Willow, we can change the world. Wanna help?" It was a purely rhetorical question.

Conversation with Faith

"Faith, I have something for you." The older Xander said.

"Weapons, Diamonds, Diamond encrusted weapons, what'cha got for me Xman?" Actually he had already done a fair bit, getting her out of the motel and into an apartment of her own, paid for six months in advance, with some money to live on arranged through some lawyers.

"A message from your older self, it's a hologram made for you to see alone." The colonel said. There's another for you and my younger self to see together, and one for him alone."

With that he put a small, flat square on the table, pushed a button, and left. It opened up to project a three dimensional image above it, Faith, looking the same mid-twenties going on mid forties that Xander himself did.

"Faith, if you continue down the path you are on you will suffer a fate that, even now, make me with I had died instead. I survived so I could apologize for the terrible things I had done, and that kind of guild I would wish on no one." The image looked as solid as the table, and kept focused on the younger version of itself as the teen walked around the table, amazed.

"The most important thing you can do to avoid that fate is to make friends with Xander, you are both outsiders and he is a good man." The face smiled. " I would not have stayed married to him this long if he was not, or if he resented me being FAITH, rather than some pale imitation of Buffy."

And that was something she was not expecting. Everyone here seemed to want her to be just like little miss perfect, little miss blonde all American beauty pageant. She was still waiting for older Xander to knock on her door at night, expecting her to spread her legs for him to pay for this place. He said it wasn't like that, but...

"The key to becoming Xander's friend, is to appreciate him, because god alone knows no one else does." Real anger in her tone now, bitter resentment she suppressed. "He saved your life, and you used him for sex, do you know he sees that as a thank you? It's the only thank you he has ever gotten in three years, Buffy would never have survived her second DAY if Xander hadn't been there to pull her out of the sewer, and she never thanked him."

Calmer now, the figure of mature Faith looked at her, giving her time to think. Perhaps there was some computer system monitoring her, pacing the re-play to the recipients actions. With the pace of computer technology she would not bet on anything being impossible for a device from decades in the future.

"None of them has ever thanked him, they keep telling him to stay our of it, that he's useless, that he will only get hurt." Then the image smiled.

"What do you get out of it? You get a male friend, and we both know you have never had one of those, one who likes strong, capable, independent women instead of trying to make you someone you're not. And, above all else, one who already knows how to give a sensational foot massage..."

Chapter 3
Why it all went wrong

Conversation with Giles

"So, your mission is to move us all in directions well away from the ones we were on at this time on your time line." The watcher announced. He was trying to get the situation into focus, clearly he had failed to do that, failed in his duty as a watcher for the situation to deteriorate in the way it was destined to. "I can see why you have moved so drastically with Faith, I have failed her most awfully and she is near breaking point."

"But what about the others?" Col. Harris asked. "Well, keep in mind that the overall problem is combat fatigue, and there is only so much I can do about that."

"Combat fatigue?" He had heard the term, but the Council had never mentioned it in his training as something to look for.

"We were all nuts Giles." He had had decades to get used to the idea, he was telling the librarian because he was felt, by the psychologists back home, to be best able to handle the truth and help deal with it. "Fear and exhaustion are mutually reinforcing, everyone has a breaking point. We reached ours one by one and just kept going, of course we started do stupid, crazy stuff, we were crazy. Seven years in nightly face to face contact with the enemy is more than most soldiers accumulate in a twenty year career, we had it all at once."

"How could I have missed it, how did I fail to see it, I..." The tweed clad one was shaking his head, looking down at the desk of his office.

"Because you were the first to go." Xander said, as gently but firmly as possible. "In mission briefings they told me you probably went finally over the edge when you found Miss Calender's corpse. But it was your second year of ordering a girl you love as your daughter out every night to commit suicide. Because what we do is suicide, isn't it?"

Giles sat and sipped his tea. The Ripper in him wanted to grab the man in front of him and smack his head into the desk until blood ran out of his eyes. The trained watcher in him was hinting, faintly, that that was not an entirely rational response, perhaps a little over emotional, indicating he did have a stress problem after all.

"And the council never raises the combat fatigue issue because almost no slayers live long enough for it to develop." The Englishman said. He was silent for a long time, Xander decided to move the conversation on to a more productive topic.

"Oz needs to start his search for control over the wolf NOW, it might work and will certainly take him away from all this for long stretches. Willow is helping me get some tech stuff on the market, which diverts her intellect to physics and away from the Wicca thing, and the products really will make the world a better place." The librarian looked up with interest, he could bring his mind to bear on something productive rather than introspective, which always made him feel better.

"Joyce I have already saved. I gave her an injection of nanocites that will fix what ultimately killed her, and, really, the best thing she can do after that is be maternal to the kids and start dating you."

"Dating me?" Giles looked up angrily at him. "I appreciate that at your age sex is all you think is needed to solve a personal problem but..."

"I'm OLDER than you Giles, please keep that in mind." Col. Harris said as he interrupted. "You both need company, opposite sex company that you can talk openly to about all this. Who else is there?"

"Buffy, well, we really don't have any single fix for what ails her. We can't send any of you to a shrink, after all, without it being a one way ticket to a padded cell, and Buffy has the worst case of the lot before long."

It had been the single most contentious part of the operational planning sessions, the arguments about 'the Buffy problem'. Some had argued that the kindest thing would be just to kill her, but the fact that then Faith would have the whole load dropped on her highly unstable shoulders always prevented that suggestion from being taken seriously. Killing both would mean a pair of total unknowns would be called, leading to a totally uncontrolled situation. Xander, who, of course, would have been the assassin, had steeled himself to the possible duty by remembering Jesse, another close friend he had killed in the line of duty. "All we can really do is take as much of the strain off as possible, and provide more emotional support. Oh, and some more effective weapons, which is part of my thing with Willow, will make her feel less doomed." Giles looked at him, with a puzzled look on his face.

"Weapons, how does a fusion reactor become a weapon, you are not planning an thermonuclear attack on the hellmouth, I hope?"

The older Xander brought his rife out of his bag, and handed it to the Watcher. The librarian had a limited knowledge of modern weapons, since they were useless to the fight. But he knew enough to see how odd the supposed rifle was. The barrel was a thin tube, there was not ammunition magazine or ejection port for empty casings, indeed it seemed to have no means of introducing ammunition at all except for a screw cap on top that would appear be only useful for pouring water in.

"Most unusual, and why on earth would you want to introduce water into the mechanism, it does not appear to be water cooled.?"

"Compression ignition fusion." Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Lavelle Harris said proudly, this was clearly something he had been waiting to show off. "The water has the hydrogen stripped off, then frozen to its metallic state, 200 degrees below or some such. When you fire a hydrogen pellet is compressed until it fuses, and a tiny thermonuclear explosion results, which is controlled channeled down the barrel by the field that did the compressing."

Rupert Giles was staring at the rifle, Ripper Giles was lusting to get his hands on one.

"What on Earth are you fighting that justifies an infantry weapon of this power? How do you control the recoil, how powerful is it?"

"Demons, full demons, not the half breeds you have been fighting so far, are the size of dinosaurs. This will take one down for certain with a single shot. You can dial in the power you want, and the gizmo creates the pellet of the right size before chambering it. Recoil is controlled by inertial dampers, with luck Willow will be able to explain the physics of that when we patent it, because I sure can't."

"And this is a standard issue infantry rifle, or is it a replacement for anti - tank equipment?"

"Standard issue infantry rifle." By default they were set to deal with humans, but demon hunting was a regular part of life in his world, so every grunt was equipped for it. "Better safe than sorry, and all that."

"While we are on the subject, can you get me a good snipers position for the graduation ceremony." The best sales pitch was a practical demonstration, after all.

"Why do you want to set up a sniper nest overlooking the high school graduation?" Giles asked hesitantly.

"Oh, didn't I tell you why a small town mayor hired a slayer as his personal assassin?" seeing the shake of the head, and the wary look on the Brit's face, he continued. "Well, Richard Wilkins the III is planning a BIG surprise for the graduating class..."

Chapter 4

Conversation with Oz

"You told Buffy Willow was available." The werewolf said without expression or any tone to his voice at all. "Say anything like that again and I'll kill you."

"Yes, I understand, and, I'm really sorry it's just when you've been with Faith as long as I have certain habits of mind develop, and, one of them, well, she's..."

"Just don't."

Oz was already heavily into planning his search for control over the wolf within; hearing that his biggest fear, losing control of the change, would actually happen otherwise had hit him hard. The musician was spending a lot of time researching, trying to decide what to try, where to go for help, who NOT to ask, that sort of thing. His love for Willow, however was a constant that would not change.

"So, is there anything else that you want to talk about?" Col. Harris asked.

"No."

Conversation with Xander.

"How dangerous is graduation going to be anyway, because Aunt Samantha is going to be in town with some friends from work that week, and, I really don't want them eaten?" Younger Xander asked anxiously. "And you do realize you nearly got me killed with that 'Buffy, why don't you romance Willow' comment? Willow war really ticked, and Oz was so angry he raised an eyebrow."

"Look, I apologize again, for that, it's just, Faith, twenty years of marriage to a woman who believes that 'forsaking all others' only meant she was to forsake other men has an effect on you." The older Xander said, first, because it was the simple truth, and second, because he needed time to think. "As to graduation, the vampire backup will be an issue, but when I take down the Mayordemon right after his ascension that should knock the fighting spirit right out of them. And with Faith actively hunting them instead of helping them between now there won't be as many anyway."

The gang was outside Balthazar's lair. Xander had checked the place out as best he could, with the newly arrived Wesley never more than a few feet away. While at this point in time the man was worse than useless, eventually, in Xander's timeline, he became extremely useful to Angel, then a dangerous semi-ally. Colonel Alexander Harris was not the zeppo, Colonel is a management position and he had many years of experience at molding raw material into a useful final product. Price would be damn useful once he had the 'I know everything' knocked out of him. Preferably in an environment where he wouldn't be made fun of by a bunch of teenagers he had been supposed to be in charge of.

Too many people would rather die then face humiliation. Older Harris had buried enough of them to know. The trick was to deflate the excess ego in a controlled manner, while building something real in its place.

"Ok, Balthazar is in a big tub of water in the middle of the room, that's the first target." Col. Harris said, as he scanned the room. The sensor goggles both men wore were reading off various things, including a sensor package put in during daytime. Well, he had put it on the outside near one corner of the roof; it had quietly drilled its own hole for the actual scanners to sweep the room.

"Check, shall I use full power to make him go out with a bang, as it were?" The younger Englishman was the sniper, Angel had mentioned he was 'a genius with ranged weapons', and familiarization on the pulse gun had confirmed it. Like most infantry weapons it was simple to use, and Price learned it's use, in a desert area after the recon mission in the morning, with an easy competence that Xander had never seen him display in all the years of the original time line.

"Definitely. After that, targets of opportunity on the left, as discussed in mission planning." Which included cutting back power on subsequent shots, to avoid blowing out the back wall, the apartment building wall beyond, and any passing cars between the two.

"Mission planning? Look can we just get on with this, we're the slayers, we just go I and dust 'em." It was Faith speaking over the head set, but the whole thing clearly annoyed Buffy. The blonde slayer was not used to team work, had never gotten over the 'I am the slayer, you are the sidekicks' attitude to the Scooby's, which older Xander knew would get totally out of hand eventually.

"Fire." A quiet pop from the rifle was drowned out by the crash of the impact, as the wall blew in, the tub of water turned to superheated steam instantly and the bloated thing in it turned into dust. Wesley Wyndam Price walked the burst to the left, blowing a series of holes in the wall of the nest the size of basketballs. It had been a bad day for him in many respects, with the openly expressed contempt of both Slayers and the ex-watcher he was replacing, but here was a victory. The building was on fire, slayers covered both exits, and the building was collapsing.

"Cease fire, all targets accounted for, RTB." Elder Xander said into his microphone, waiting to get acknowledgments from everyone before relaxing. They were in Oz's van, and when Buffy entered they took off. Faith, Willow and Giles had their own escape route moving initially in the opposite direction, taking the long way to their various residences to minimize the chance of police interference.

Sunnydale police seemed to have a real problem with the slayer and her team. Given who, or more precisely what, the mayor was that was no surprise.

Sunnydale high school library, the next afternoon.

"Well, I am most impressed." Wesley Wyndam Price said, concerning the previous evening's activities. Which included getting Deputy Mayor Finch's account of what the Mayor was up to, the first independent evidence the Scooby's had of his intentions. After Willow scanned all his documents into her computer and emailed them to the Watchers Council, it had been a good day for him. Col. Harris felt good about that, Price's failing over the next few years pushed him and Angel's team close to the dark side, apparently.

There were no records of what had happened in LA, in the original timeline, given that there was no LA left and none of the AI team had survived. Certainly nothing good, for the same reasons.

"I only got two vamps last night, missed the slayer rush there." Faith said Xander was sitting next to her, they were not precisely boyfriend/girlfriend, more friends who had sex regularly. Still, it was a big change for the dark slayer, who had never had any kind of friend before, really. And who certainly had never contemplated having a male that she WANTED to have around after sex, for any reason, let alone just to talk to and be cool with.

"Better than me, I dipped out entirely. You and your big guns, taking away all a girls fun." Angel was here, but quiet, knowing neither Xander totally trusted him, with good reason given what they had told him filtered back to Sunnydale about his future activities. Feeding a room full of lawyers to Dru and Darla...

"Xander, I believe you will have a relative visiting for the graduation, given what your older self says about it is that wise?" Giles asked.

Col. Harris had made it clear, the previous night that this was a change from the original history. He had suspicions though, since he had started the patent process on the fusion power plant, as well as submitting a paper on it to Science magazine, and his aunt was not just a physicist, she was an Air Force physicist.

"Actually I think its me and Willow they are checking out." The cross time line Xander announced. "Aunt Samantha is bringing quote THE TEAM end quote, with her. All the work is under Alexander Lavelle Harris - and she knows physics is not my best subject - and Willow Rosenburg, who she has met and knows does not have enough physics for it either."

"You were expecting this, is it not rather dangerous to attract official attention in this manner?" Wesley said. Watcher raised and trained, attracting attention was something he felt obligated to avoid.

"I was praying for it." The time traveler announced. "We have to really change the world, at the very least get enough pulse guns into use that if I fail and the hellmouth opens anyway it won't cost us the planetary ecosphere and most of the human race to stop the bastards."

The room was silent, partly because this was a room so many of the people in it had a distrust of authority that made them wonder if weapons of this power were less of a threat, in the long run, than the demons were. Giles decided to change the direction of the conversation, before an argument about that broke out. It was too late to stop, after all, with the information in government hands.

"Who is this team your aunt, is bringing anyway?" Faith was getting quite snuggly, by the standards they had come to expect of her, and Buffy was with her vamp, Willow sat on Oz's lap, and Giles had a meeting -not a date, he insisted- with Joyce lined up for the weekend. A relaxed atmosphere to talk about dear Aunt Samantha.

It was a moment before the younger Xander answered. Aunt Sam was from the non-screwed up branch of the family, his mother's youngest sister actually, and he was proud of her despite having no idea what she actually did. She did her best to be supportive, which he appreciated given his undermining parents and the distance to Colorado Springs, where she worked.

"Aunt Samantha, that is, Major Samantha Carter, USAF, Ph.D., Col. Jack O'Neil, USAF, Dr Daniel Jackson, Ph.D., and Tealc of Chulac."

Chapter 5

The Bronze, a few days after the 'Vamp Willow' incident

"Faith, my name is Anya, formerly Anyanka, the avenger of scorned women, you have heard of me, I assume." The former demon said to the dark slayer, as they stood against the wall of the Bronze. "As you seem to be Xander's girlfriend, and I want to go to the prom with him, I need to get your permission to ask him. After all, it would be very bad manners to ask him out without it, I remember that from being human. What must I do?"

"Fuck me." Faith said with feeling, amazed at the situation. First, that she was thought of as Xander's boyfriend, and Second, that the former demon just walked up asked permission to date him.

"Here and now, won't that take up an unacceptable amount of floor space and cause the management to ask us to leave?" Anya said, with a slightly puzzled look on her face. She was operating on what she remembered from 1100 years ago, and it was all a bit confusing. "Also there is no place secure to put my clothes and money, and some of the people here have a shifty look I do not totally trust."

"No, I meant, damn." Faith responded, clearly out of control of the situation for the first time in a long time.

"Damn who, specifically? Anyway I don't have my powers and it will take a lot of magic, and, is this as well as giving you orgasms or instead of?" The ex-demon was on familiar territory at last, and comfortable with the situation. She had not actually BEEN a second wife seeking permission from the prime wife at any stage, but Faith expecting sexual gratification in exchange for sharing her man was nostalgically familiar.

"Anya, I think Faith is amazed at the situation rather than negotiating with you." Willow commented. The place was unusually crowded, and their usual table was taken.

"Oh." The recently non-human was back to being slightly confused.

Willow was stretching out the new senses she had been feeling recently. When older Xander had started getting her to study more physics, she had thought, as apparently he had, that it would curtail her magic. Instead she had found it reinforcing her magic, which was logical, magic could do real things, in a repeatable way, therefore it was, by definition, scientifically studyable. The neat division of science into Physics, Chemistry, etc, is for human convenience, after all - chemistry is determined by how the outer electrons act, which is physics, and physics is math's past a certain level...

"I feel a disturbance in the force." The red head pronounced. The others looked at her with varying degrees of 'huh?' "Vampire, over there with all the gold chain."

Vampires routinely have a hard time keeping up with fashion, and this one looked like he was expecting Dona Summer to be performing, or maybe he was waiting for a casting call for Saturday Night Fever. Faith would have noticed him if she was not quite so distracted by events. She walked over to him, and, not being in a good mood, staked him as he was still doing his 1970's dance moves with his intended meal.

No one noticed anything amiss, not even the girl he was dancing with. On the other hand, this was Harmony, as long as the stake wasn't in HER chest it clearly wasn't important enough to notice. Nothing not about her was important enough for the cheerleader to notice. Faith walked back to the group, the gold chain she had ripped off the vamps neck before dusting it still dangling from her hand. At least the stake was hidden.

"Now, now, Faith, what have I told you about looting?" Xander, back from getting drinks for everyone, said.

"Loot, Pillage, THEN Burn." The dark slayer responded, a totally serious look on her face.

"Correct, that way you don't destroy the plunder." He said, in his best 'serious school teacher' tone. She passed him the chain, keeping it low and, hopefully not really noticeable. Feeling the weight he smiled, then kissed her slowly and passionately. Scenes like this reduced the number of propositions she got from guys, but, interestingly, had actually increased the number from girls.

"Certainly FEELS like real gold, gold plated would be lighter." Faith had explained to him how she paid her way in the world; vampires have often accumulated expensive trinkets and normally wear them, not trusting their fellow parasites particularly. SHE was teaching HIM about loot, which is why she had not hidden it this time.

Xander, on the other hand, had found a far more profitable way of cashing the stuff than the fence's she had been using. After all, little of it was recently stolen, and, even in those few cases where there was a current police report, there was almost always an insurance company willing to pay at least as much as a fence would to get the stuff back. It saved them the cost of paying out on their policies, after all.

"Xander, maybe you can explain these complex human rituals?" Anya asked, hoping for a clarification of where she was going wrong.

"Anything to help a beautiful woman who might have my eyeballs eaten if I don't." He answered.

"Oh Xander, you say the sweetest things." She said back. "I was negotiating with you girlfriend for the right to ask you to the prom, and it got confusing."

Xander was standing very still and paying strict attention. Not paying attention to people who can, and make casually clear they in fact might, cause you a slow, painful death, was, in his experience, a bad idea. Also the whole 'negotiating with your girlfriend' comment was new.

"First she asked for sex, then for me to damn someone's soul, then Willow said she was not making real requests but amazed." The annoyance and confusion on the ex-demon's face was clear.

"You want to take me to the prom?" He was not expecting that, or any of the other things she had said, for that matter. She had not really registered on him, except as the person responsible for Vampire Willow's so recent appearance, and from his older versions tales. In the flesh she was exactly as advertised, and he was amazed at his amazement.

"Yes, and then orgasms later." She answered in agreement. "I was thinking in terms of a little light bondage, some spanking, and then we can try out the first 3 positions from the Karma Sutra."

"The first 3 positions from the Karma Sutra?" Willow said slowly.

"Well, I think that that's as far as we should go on a first date."

Stargate Command briefing room

"Sir, there is no way to know if this is Goa'uld technology, but I doubt it. It's just too unlike everything else we have found of there's." Major Samantha Carter was certain of some things, and reasonably assured of others. That her nephew had not invented the technology he was patenting was certain. That it was not Goa'uld tech was reasonably certain.

Which, of course, left the question of who, exactly, had given it to him and why. They were incredibly valuable patents just to hand over as presents, after all. There would be billions of dollars in licensing rights before he was thirty. Willow was bright, and fond of him, but not smarter than the entire world's plasma physics community, which was still failing to achieve stable fusion.

"Nether the less, the President agrees feels that you, as a relative, are the one most likely to get at the truth." General Hammond replied. The NSA had a standard search out on the net for anything that might be alien technology, the parasitic Goa'uld left their hosts looking and acting totally human but their advanced equipment was a giveaway. A working, compact, fusion power plant had drawn an immediate red flag, as had the scientific paper sent to the journal of the American Association of Science, that explained it and its spin-offs. SG-1 might have been sent to investigate anyway, but the family connection made it certain.

"Carter, you said yourself your nephew is about as sharp as a sack of wet mice. As a physicist I mean, hell, he probably knows about as much about plasma physics as I do, from his report cards." Those had been obtained, quietly, by the local FBI office, explained as 'part of the background check on prospective employees families.' They didn't want to leave a black mark on the kids record if he actually WAS a genius who had solved a problem fifty years of world wide effort was stuck on.

"Actually that's a good comparison, Xander reminds me of you in an awful lot of ways, except for a total lack of your self confidence." Auntie Samantha said.

"Is the situation really that bad, Major Samantha Carter?" Teal'c responded. It seemed like a perfectly simple mission. After all, whoever or whatever had invented this, they WANTED the Tauri to know about it, had gone out of their way to publicize it. The Tauri, the Earth Humans, were simply being asked to give them credit where credit was due, and money for a valuable idea, which did not seem unreasonable. Goa'uld used their technical edge to demand they be worshipped as gods, which is why he fought them.

O'Neill was glaring at him, the Jaffa was uncertain as to why.

"Jack, I think what Teal'c meant was that we can go to sunny California, Sam can look into who gave her nephew this stuff, and then we can take some of our unused recreation leave at the beach." Doctor Daniel Jackson said, in his most conciliatory tone. "Rupert Giles, the teacher you say is a mentor to Xander, is a world class expert on certain aspects of ancient cultures, I've wanted to meet him for ages. You can go fishing off the beach, Teal'c can learn to surf, we'll have a great time."

"Then that's settled. You leave in time for the graduation, and your cover story will be you are on recreation leave and decided to take it together." General Hammond, head of Stargate Command, said. "After all, how dangerous can Sunnydale be?"

Chapter 6

Sunnydale High School, Graduation Day

High school graduation ceremonies are supposed to be boring, and he had been expecting to catch up on the sleep missed getting from Colorado Springs to Sunnydale High School during it. But the atmosphere was wrong, and neither Colonel Jack O'Neil, veteran of twenty years of Black Ops, or Teal'c, former first prime of Apothis, were relaxed right now.

The Mayor of Sunnydale was on the podium, starting his speech, and O'Neil was positioned with the rest of SG1, back and off to one side with a stairway to their right, and the students beyond it. It was a terrible position to actually see the ceremony, but it had the best field of fire of the positions available and the sheer drop behind and to the right made it relatively easily securable. One look at the students, and dear nephew Xander, had ensured this was the only place he or Teal'c would consider sitting, if they had to be here at all.

"Colonel O'Neil." Teal'c said, in his standard tone used to gain attention.

"Got em." Jack responded. There was a group of people in the lower area, spread out and, to eyes that had survived Bosnia, Afghanistan and places of similar nature for years before the Stargate project, clearly intending to cut off the only escape route from the ceremony area. "Zat's ready everyone."

Major Samantha Carter was both younger than either O'Neil or Teal'c, and not essentially a killer. She had combat experience, but only in the context of the Stargate Project, principally she was a scientist. When her nephew and the others looked nervous, edgy, a little wired, and he himself spent the time moving quietly around speaking to people here and there, making small jokes and reassuring others, she saw a group of nervous students focused on their big day.

Jack and the Jaffa were both seeing a village militia nervously awaiting attack. They saw an experienced combat leader reassuring them, boosting confidence, ensuring everyone knew his job and would stick around to do it when the hammer fell. Both men had BEEN in Xander Harris's position, they knew the signs, the little movements and gestures. So they had hustled the other two into this position, made sure the Zat guns were fully charged and easily accessible, and wondered what was going on.

Both had also noticed that the blocking force at the bottom of the stairs had only moved into view after it suddenly got dark. Both had faced enough night attacks to be triggered to combat alert by that fact. They saw the Mayor falter in his speech, stop, and make a comment about 'the big finish', then he started changing, and growing, and where there had been a boring small town politician there was a 60 foot long snake. The students stood up at the Harris kid's command, threw off their cloaks to reveal weapons, and fired at the monster.

"We need to clear an extraction route, target the blocking force." And with that he started firing, the alien hand weapon at first not having a noticeable effect. Humans were normally incapacitated with one shot, three to incinerate, but at two these people disappeared into dust. The orange haired student detailed to lead the rear guard nodded to them and sent a salvo of fire arrows at the enemy. Jack looked back at the snake in time to see a line of light flash out of the school clock tower, and see the creature's head disappear in a spray of blood and bone.

There were further lines of light from the tower, into the blocking force. Explosions of concrete resulted from each, and soon the survivors started running away. There were large craters where previously there had been smooth footing, and a giant snake corpse draining green blood by the gallon.

"Come to California with me Jack, it will be fun Jack, you can go fishing in nice, quiet, Sunnydale Jack, no, no, nothing exciting or dangerous will happen Jack, after all, it's not Goa'uld technology, so what could POSSIBLY be dangerous Jack, High School Graduation Ceremony Jack, at least you can catch up on your sleep because NOTHING EXCITING EVER HAPPPENS at high school ..." O'Neil was muttering to himself

Sunnydale High School Library, afterwards.

It was an interesting meeting in the Scooby's hangout. As soon as the fighting ended Jack O'Neil had called a pre-arranged number and Air Force MP's had secured the corpse. The possibility of something-major happening had been accepted during mission planning, that was why they were here, and backup had been arranged. It was the specific nature of the something major that was weird. The way the orange haired student, Oz, was sniffing at Teal'c was odd too.

"What species are you?" Oz asked Teal'c.

"I am a Jaffa." The large bald man responded.

"Ok, so how did you know that?" O'Neil demanded. It was the way he usually responded to bizarre situations, and things he didn't understand.

"I'm a werewolf."

"You're a werewolf?" Daniel Jackson asked. This was fascinating, Rupert Giles was internationally renowned for his work on demon myths while at the British Museum, and then he had disappeared to this obscure school library. Now the archaeologist knew why. Like Jackson himself, he had become involved in fighting the things in his theories. "That's fascinating, do you really turn into the wolf on full moon nights?"

"A werewolf, what next, a witch, who here is a witch?" Carter was fascinated to see Willow Rosenburg's hand go up hesitantly, knowing Jack had been being sarcastic. She had thought her nephew was living a quiet life with in a small town, with only his unpleasant parents - and she had grown to detest her sister and brother in law for how they treated Xander - and now this.

"And who are you, because you can't be Xander Harris?" The question was directed at Col. Harris, who smiled.

"Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Lavelle Harris, United States Army." Was the response. Carter had been stunned to see a one eyed, one-legged older version of her nephew walk up to them after the battle. Even more so than is usual after a battle with gigantic snakes and vampires. "I'm Xander from a future alternate reality."

"I came here expecting to have a quiet week while the big brains talked about science stuff. Instead so far I have fought Vampires, seen a man turn into a 60 foot snake, found out that 'dear nephew Xander' has been neck deep in fighting these things since he was 15, and I'm talking to a witch, a time traveler, and a werewolf." He was getting worked up, and Jack O'Neil was an abrasive enough man at the best of times, when he was emotionally cranked up it got bad. "Am I the only one here who is having trouble with this, I mean, witches, werewolves, demons, vampires, what next, a visit to Hell?"

"You're standing directly over the entrance, if that helps." Giles commented.

"How do you know it's the entrance to hell? I know this town was called the hellmouth but..." Daniel asked. After seeing, and fighting, the aliens who had lived on Earth as the Egyptian gods he was ready to believe, given the available evidence (a gigantic corpse smelling up the school), that other legends may be true as well. Jack O'Neil, on the other hand, was a cynic.

"It has opened up, releasing demons intent on destroying our world, several times in the last few years." Giles again.

"This is getting ridiculous, I want a rational explanation, and I want it..." Jack suddenly was having trouble breathing, he was being choked, clawing at his neck to try to release the invisible hands strangling him.

"I FIND YOUR LACK OF FAITH DISTURBING." Willow said, in a much deeper voice than usual, her eyes black.

"Willow, Will, Willster, let the nice man with all the heavily armed friends go." Xander said, then added. "And no more Star Wars marathons for you, little lady."

Both Xander's were deeply disturbed. Given how much each had endured over the years it was not surprising really. But, to change the subject, they were also worried about the red head that was their/his oldest friend. Things like this were not supposed to be happening for years yet. Oz was clearly worried as well, actually had an expression, not much of one, but if you looked closely and knew him well some kind of emotion was almost discernable. Not good, definitely not good.

University of California, Sunnydale, one of the on campus offices.

She was nervous and hesitant, which was the only familiar part of this situation. The group of people in front of her knew details of her life that no one here should know. Some of them were clearly from the military, which had been running part of the town since the 'incident' at the high school graduation. And what they were asking her to do, no one had ever asked her to do anything like that, even when she knew them and wanted them to. And the explanation of HOW they knew her, and that she could do what they wanted...

"You want me t,t,t,to seduce her?" Tara was here early, she was actually starting next year but wanted to get some money together by working over the summer to pay living expenses. Now this was happening.

"We want you to be her friend, anything else is between you." Older Xander said. "In my time line you were the best thing that ever happened to her, you were the love of her life, her anchor."

Older Xander hesitated.

"And my friend."

Tara Maclay was nervous, but reasonably certain this was not some kind of practical joke. It was the idea of the United States Air Force operating as a Lesbian dating service she was having problems with. And that the boyfriend was one of the instigators of it all...actually that was the most normal part of it. She had had offers like that before, goddess only knows.

"O, o, o, ok."

Chapter 7

"Willow, the most important thing to remember about Wicca is that whatever you send out into the world comes back at you threefold." Tara said, across the table from her in her room. They could not do this in Willow's parent's house, the memory of nearly being burnt at the stake was too fresh, and anywhere else was too public. "You weren't ever taught that, were you, your training seems to be in magic only."

Surprisingly it was Colonel O'Neil who picked up on that first. After hearing from Col. Harris about the future history of the red head, and Tara mentioning the three fold rule, his instant response was 'but Rosenburg either didn't listen or wasn't taught that, was she? She missed out on basic training entirely and just went straight to advanced weapons handling.' Which was not how the desperately shy lesbian had ever thought about it, but still true.

So here she was with a girl she was already drawn to, had been drawn to at first sight, trying to instill the self-control and self-discipline necessary for someone with the inborn power she so clearly had.

The elder Xander had been frightened and depressed by the results of his attempt to channel Willow away from magic into physics. His Aunt, on the other hand, was fascinated. The fact that studying advanced physics had dramatically increased his oldest friends' magical ability had to mean that there was a direct connection between the two.

"O, O, O, Of course there is. You can't do anything that's physically impossible, it's another Wicca rule, though not one amateurs and dabblers seem to want to hear." It had not occurred to Tara that anyone would question that, but then, she had been taught the spiritual side from earliest childhood, it was her mother's religion, after all. Magic training only began as a teenager, and was cut short by her mother's death. That magic was about doing the impossible was a novice or outsider belief, and she had never really been either.

So now Willow Rosenberg was the subject of two women's interest, even if one of them was purely Scientific. Major Carter was having her do simple spells while heavily wired up to various instruments, with more looking for radiation or anything else detectable. Apparently the force field's produced by the former hacker were identical to the ones the Goa'uld produced, and different from the ones used in the uptime fusion equipment. Anya, showing a capitalist streak that had the elder Harris nostalgic, had insisted on a contract specifying payments for time, inconvenience, royalties on anything developed out of the research, and a host of other things.

China Lake, US Navy bombing range

Testing a rifle on a range used for bombing practice was a slightly bizarre thing to do, unless you had seen it in action. The tests had to allow a cover up, and firing it on a rifle range would lead to more people knowing the full potential than out here, where they could have miles of unpopulated area to test, and then just have 2,000 lb. bombs dropped on the test targets to destroy the evidence.

They had a variety of targets set up, and the head-up display, or HUD, goggles were as much the subject of testing as the pulse rifle itself. After all, the goggles were lighter and less breakable than standard night vision gear, quite apart from serving as the weapons sights, and allowing information from GPS, satellite imagery, and all manner of other information to be received, displayed, and even transmitted. It gave the capabilities of the next generation IVIS system, which otherwise needed at least a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle to justify the expense and bulk.

The rifle itself had been a success from the start, when it was only being used at normal power levels. The elder Harris had insisted on a test at 3,000 meters, about double the distance that even a 50-caliber sniper rifle was normally used. The pin point accuracy achieved at these ranges had been quite enough for the infantry officers present to want them. However, the real test was today, with a series of vehicle targets.

First was a jeep, then a truck, an old M113 armored personnel carrier, and finally an early model M1 tank. All were either replaced decades ago, or in an economically unrepairable state or both, when hauled in here on flatbed tank transporters. All were scheduled to be used as air to ground targets after this. They were set up in a circle around the firing position, North, East, South, then West. These were to be full power tests.

By noon they had hit, and destroyed, the jeep, truck and apc. The jeep was just so much scrap metal scattered over the ground. The truck was in larger pieces, but still destroyed by one shot. These had made those present simultaneously pleased, that they were being offered this weapon and their enemies not, and nervous, in that the sheer power of the thing meant the whole business of war would change as a result.

The apc looked like a beer can shot by a 22 round. It was not, actually, in more than one piece, but also, if it had been fueled and armed it would be burning fiercely right now. The final test was on the tank. After all, the M113's armor was Aluminium, and could be holed by a 50-caliber machine gun out to 400 meters. A main battle tank with hardened steel armor was another thing entirely.

"Kinda looks like a can opened up with a bayonet, doesn't it." O'Neil commented. It had taken several minutes sustained fire to do it, but the tank had failed too. No one with a will to live would actually do this, since the weapon gave it's position away and the target had lasted long enough to return fire. Still, as a demonstration of the basic technology it was impressive. He would certainly insist that the SGC forget about re-equipping with P-90's the way they were planning. The next time he had to fight Goa'uld death gliders and pyramid ships, he wanted the whole team to be carrying these things.

"Now we just have to decide whether allowing us to save the world from the Goa'uld compensates us enough for the ability to destroy it by ourselves more effectively." Daniel Jackson commented. He was actually thinking about the fusion drives being worked on for spacecraft. Yes, they were the cheapest means yet created for space travel, and the fastest, the first fact resulting largely from the second.

The fusion torch ships were, from experience in the alternate reality, capable of sustaining 1g acceleration indefinitely. Standard chemical rockets, like the Space Shuttle Main Engine, gave 17g for a matter of minutes, and took, 3 days to the Moon, 6 months to Mars, Two Years to Saturn. At 1g continuous boost, it was 4 hours to the Moon, 3 days to Mars, and two weeks to Saturn. Fine, wonderful, really great news, because the next time the Goa'uld invaded they would be met by Earth Warships with superior weapons.

The USAF was definitely going to be building those warships; it had cut the budget for space booster development and funneled all the money saved into developing them. Who else would be building ships, and how friendly they would be, was not even guess-able right now. Certainly these would be colonies. Chinese, French, Indian, Brazilian, who else? Certainly they would all be able to afford it.

New wars in new places. But, according to Colonel Harris, if they didn't get a solid foothold off Earth, humans were doomed to be just one more interesting extinct species.

"The demons keep trying to end it all, and they only have to succeed once." Was the elder Xander's argument. "We have to win every time, forever, and life just is not like that. So yes, the new tech will mean a spread of the bad as well as the good aspects of humanity. But we will lose this planet sooner or later, and never forget that."

Faith's apartment, that night.

The bed was large enough for the three of them, just. Faith snuggled up to Anya, and Anya to Xander. Faith and Xander were still working out the details of this kind of relationship, while teaching Anya how to be normal.

Given that this was Faith and Xander Harris, people who knew them regarded the idea of them trying to teach anyone to be normal as, well bizarre, but I digress.

Anya, on the other hand, was totally comfortable with the relationship end of things, the only thing she was totally comfortable with, in fact. It was strange, but this was Sunnydale, and by Sunnydale standards it was not an issue.

The Summers house, also that night

Joyce's bedroom.

Giles was certainly better to sleep with than Hank had ever been, Joyce thought. For one thing, he didn't take the covers, unlike her ex-husband. For another, he was considerably better as a lover, simultaneously more skilled and more interested in pleasing her than Buffy's father had been.

The gallery owner drifted off to sleep, relaxed and at peace with the world.

Buffy's bedroom.

It was hard for the blonde slayer to sleep this night. First, because there had been the sound effects from her mother's bedroom. She was thinking of moving to a different part of the house just to escape the 'Oh Ripper, Oh Ripper, yes, yes, fuck me harder, yes, yes...' if it was going to be a regular feature of the evenings, from now on. As, presumably, it would be.

Secondly there was the fact that she was attracted to Xander. Ok, given he was involved with Faith and Anya, some would think that a solve-able problem. They had propositioned her for a 'ladies night', after all, more than once. And he was highly unlikely to object, he had been using the advanced royalties from 'Mr. Fusion' to pay for a custom made larger bed anyway.

No, the problem was that it was the OTHER Xander she was falling for. The married Xander, the Xander married to Faith, who was older than Giles chronologically, if not to look at, and lived in an alternate reality he might be able to take her to, but would she be able to get back? Because he had made it clear that he was going home to his family. There was no question of him staying.

From the other timeline's perspective, Col. Harris would be gone for ten minutes, regardless of how long he spent here. And, of course, he would not age physically. Faith had told him she didn't expect him to be celibate on a mission of unknown length. She had made him promise, however, to not get seriously involved with any woman who would no be willing to come back with him and be part of their family.

In other words, love Colonel Alexander Lavelle Harris, love Faith Harris. Physically, as well as emotionally.

"Buffy, you would have to find out if you were compatible with Faith." He had explained, as gently as possible. The way his wife had explained to him, when she had raised this specific possibility. "As far as I know, you've never had sex with any woman, let alone Faith. And while my Faith is settled down compared to the one here, it would still be a hell of a ride?"

"Emotionally?" The blonde slayer asked.

"That too." He responded.

Chapter 8

Faith's apartment, after patrol.

"So, B, Xman the elder won't consider doin' the horizontal mambo with ya 'til I say you're up to my standards." Faith said, clearly amused by the situation and the nervous elder slayer in front of her. "Gotta say I like the guy more and more each day, ya know?"

Buffy was sitting nervously on the other slayer's bed, wondering why she was here. Did she really want to date Col. Harris badly enough to have sex with Faith first?

Then another question, equally uncomfortable came along. What's wrong with having sex with Faith, it's not like I haven't fantasized about girls before? Then she immediately followed up with the response that she had never really admitted that to herself, even while doing it. Certainly she had never admitted it to anyone else.

And running her tongue around the clitoris of an aroused Faith - 'If I have my tongue on her she had BETTER be aroused' she thought - would certainly constitute admitting it to someone. Then she wondered if this was the older Faith's whole plan, to get her to come out of the closet.

Maybe Faith at her mother's age - God, Faith was OLDER than her mother, with five children - was just trying to save her soul. Falling in and out of love with a succession of losers and doomed/cursed/genetically engineered men had to be a major contribution to the obvious insanity of her seventh year in Sunnydale, didn't it?

"Faith."

"Yeah B?"

"I had my first sexual fantasy about a girl when I was 13." Joyce Summers daughter was admitting this for the first time, forcing the words out. "When I saw Willow that first day I wanted to help her, comfort her, protect her from Cordelia, and then take her somewhere and make her come so loud we had the police arrive to investigate the noise complaints."

The elder slayer was standing now, had stood up off the bed while explaining this in a shaking voice. She was also undressing, top, dress, bra, and finally panties. Then she pushed the dark slayer down on the bed and began undressing her, meeting no resistance at all while doing so from the woman in question.

"But I have never, ever, considered actually doing anything about it all. I never allowed myself to admit I ever might, my sex life was supposed to be the normal thing about me." She was not actually getting this out as two sentences, of course. Between getting the Boston slayer naked, and then kissing her, starting at the forehead and working slowly down, she could not. Kiss, say a word or two, kiss, say a word or two, and so on.

Still, it could reasonably be said that Faith got the message. By reading body language, as it were.

"Hate to break the news to ya B, screwing vamps ain't the way to be labeled Miss Ordinary Middle America." The Bostonian commented. "Though it might get ya the Miss Ordinary Sunnydale Girl."

Buffy continued this kiss and tell approach, if one may call it that, down to the younger girls left foot, then worked her way up the right leg.

"So, Faith, what I really, desperately, need, is for you to take me for that wild ride the Colonel mentioned." She had reached the top of the right leg now, and made one final comment before diving in and eliminating the possibility of rational speech by either of them. "Because I realized, about the time I was at your belly button, that I have absolutely no idea who I actually am or what I want."

"Anything to help B."

Sunnydale high school library, the next day.

"Do we really have to have this 'who's having the most kinky sex' competition every time we meet?" Rupert Giles said in an exasperated tone. Buffy had just come out of the closet, explaining what she and the other slayer had been doing the previous night.

"Well I know it isn't me." Colonel Harris said. He was on safe ground saying it, as the only one there who was not getting any at all. Major Carter was preparing a preliminary report on her study of Willow and magic, so could not be there. Daniel Jackson was in his hotel room wading through old watcher's diaries and books on demonology, fascinated by the sub cultures and hidden history he was discovering.

Not that the elder Xander knew anything about the love lives of the two, beyond the simple fact that they had none while in Sunnydale. In fact he had known nothing at all about his Aunt's real job, and still officially didn't. But, given that she was teamed with people like Jack O'Neil, clearly a special operations veteran, and Teal'c, who was clearly also a combat veteran, and just as clearly not human, judging from the way he triggered the slayers alarms, it probably was not radio astronomy after all.

"Well I don't see how I could be a candidate, right Xander, Faith?" Anya announced.

"Anya, you're doing regular threesomes." Oz responded.

"Isn't everyone?"

"And there's that thing with the chocolate sauce and cherries." Faith added. Everyone looked at her, interested.

"Is that where you got that from?" Buffy asked, curious.

"You'd better have left us some." Anya said, an angry gleam in the eyes.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF YOU PLEASE." The librarian said in his loudest, most commanding tone. "I brought you here because I have two announcements to make."

The room quieted down. Was the world about to end again? It had been a few weeks since graduation, but summer was normally quiet. What had happened, because the Englishman did not have the manner he usually had when the world was about to end?

And what did it say about this group that they had come to know the mannerisms their elder statesman used when there was a serious possibility of the world ending.

"Wesley had accepted a position as liaison officer between the Watchers Council and the United States government, so we won't be seeing him anymore." The room cheered, it was good to see the last of him in most opinions.

With a 60-foot corpse to examine, and the reality that it had been stopped by a group of students and a time traveler, the Initiative died a quiet, un-mourned death. They had thousands of years of research available from an organization based in their most trusted European ally. Scientific work should be based on that, rather than Professor Walsh's mad scheme of a new Frankenstein. And as for sending men out to fight these things with big bug zappers...

"Xander has been offered a place in the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, based on his leadership ability, as demonstrated during graduation." There was total silence for a second and the room erupted in to cheering. The young man himself was sitting, not believing it, while his older self was thinking 'well, at least it's not the marines'.

"Colonel O'Neil stated that while your academic results are low, that seems to be mainly a motivational problem, and letting you rot in a series of dead end jobs, as your elder counterpart did for some time, is a waste of obvious command potential." He had also talked about 'giving the kid some field experience at SGC', during semester breaks, whatever that meant.

"PARTY AT MY PLACE!" Faith shouted. Her first and best friend was getting something good in his life, regular pay and realistically it was safer than staying here. After all, vampire slaying had a 100% death rate, and he had already lasted longer at it than most slayers. There actually were retired air force officers, by contrast. "Anya."

"I know, more chocolate sauce, cherries, and my easy clean handcuffs."

"I was going to say I'm out of beer, but when you're right, you're right."

Chapter 9

Faith's bed

Faith contemplated her life, in the quiet morning sunlight. She had woken first, the alarm was set for 7am, and it was still a while to go. She had gotten up, checked around to ensure that she had not been awoken by something sneaking into the place, gone to the bathroom, then gone back to bed. So she had time to think, and enjoy the feeling of the two bodies in bed with her.

She always slept nude, it was an old habit, she was just not comfortable sleeping in clothes. Xander wore underpants and a T- shirt, at least these days he did. Anya varied; right now she was in a baby doll nightie out of an early 60's beach party movie. Sometimes she looked right out of the 19th century, a silk outfit for a European noblewoman. It varied, since, as she had explained, 'variety is the spice of life, or at least good sex.'

Xander had a full day with the two Colonels, with math's and physics coaching from his aunt thrown in. He had a lot to catch up on scholastically, if he was going to keep up with the kind of guys who are accepted as possible Air Force officers. At first he had refused to abandon the fight to go to university, and O'Neil had responded by saying 'Well, we were planning to take you into the field anyway'. Boytoy didn't discuss what had happened on his week away with them, other than saying he finally knew what Samantha did for a living.

So the time in bed, snuggled up like this, was precious, since it was all due to change soon. Jack had asked her to consider 'helping out with some things', insisting that yes, there would be violence, and no, she would not be asked to go to other countries and kill humans. The President had decided that demons trying to end the world was, by definition, 'a clear and present danger to national security,' and SGC, the branch O'Neil and the rest worked for, was being made 'lead agency in this regard.'

"Given what they're already doing it makes sense." Was Xander's comment, and, for what it was worth, the Watchers Council had asked her to co-operate. Major political pressure had been applied, featuring quiet explanations of the definition of high treason, and how the council members were arguably already in violation of it with their refusal to fully support Buffy, who was saving the world, which was therefore 'defending the realm', etc. "Having a slayer, with a Giles approved watcher, as part of the Earth based teams is logical too."

The term 'Earth based teams' had led to questions, and the response that he could not tell her anything until she had a security clearance like his. Which meant signing the contract she had been offered, which meant roughly $50,000 a year plus expenses. Which did not have to include an apartment, since she would be staying with Anya and Xander when she was not on operations.

She was going to take the contract. Being paid to do what she would have been doing for nothing, with back up that SHE was going to help train...definitely she was taking the contract. She was poorly educated, some would say ignorant, but in no sense stupid.

Anya moved slightly, trying to cuddle up to Harris the younger while not losing contact with the dark slayer either. Like anything in running a three-way relationship, it took more effort than with two but the rewards were greater too.

Buffy, when she was with them, always was on the other side from the ex demon, bookending the group. She was not here now, she had met a girl and they had dated a few times. Actually she had saved Susie from a vampire once, then met her again when the slayer was looking around UCS on an 'Open Day', and the other was at a stand for the Lesbian Collective. Times change, and life moves on.

Still, Mrs. Summers little girl seemed happier than she had been in the memory of any of the Scooby's.

Angel had moved to LA, and was running a private investigations firm with Cordelia, it was Harris the elder's idea, since it had worked in the other time line. Cordy's desire to be an actress was at least as much a need to be someone other than just a necessary decoration, part of the wife and kids picture needed to complete her father's image when doing business. She still tried out for acting jobs, inevitably, but, unlike the original time line, she already knew Doyle was part demon, and they had dated once or twice. It might work between them, or not, who knew?

The sun shone gently over the scene, Faith enjoyed the soft warmth of the woman next to her, and the man next to the woman next to her. She was, for the first time in her life, actually SLEEPING with people, not just humping and dumping. She had a real friend in Xander, and a friendly, compliant lover in his girlfriend. Buffy asked her advice and council on things girl/girl action related, and Mrs. Summers was, while not mad with joy about her daughters new found orientation, at least not trying to murder her, the way the Bostonian's first girlfriends mother had.

Life was good, all in all. Glancing at the clock, she saw she still had 15 minutes before Xander's alarm went off. Gently she kissed the back of Anya's neck, tucked in closer, and just enjoyed being here.

Chapter 10

Willow Rosenberg was sitting in the park, looking at things. She was not finding it all that relaxing really, since it was one of the exercises she was being made to go through by Tara. The idea was that Wicca is a nature worship religion, Earth worship, and most people really don't pay attention; they just go through life on automatic. So here she sat, looking, noticing things like the exact shade of green on the leaves, the way the breeze moved the leaves, precise details you might use if it was necessary to detail things for a painting.

It was actually an amazing experience. She had spent her life turned very inward, closing herself off to the outside world, shy, awkward, living in her mind except for time with Xander and Jesse. Now she was seeing the myriad little things she had missed, and realized she was the poorer for it. She had gone from manipulating an abstract world on a computer screen to manipulating an abstract world with spells. Not a change really, except that it was more dangerous.

She was only supposed to keep this up for a half hour at a time; it was too intense mentally to push much harder than that. As her watch alarm went off, she relaxed, then got up from the grass and headed over the bridge to her girlfriend's apartment. She was with Oz, probably not in the biblical sense, but possibly so, given that Willow had actually suggested it, 'you might like it, and it would bring you closer together.'

Faith was now a United States Deputy Marshal, apparently that was seen as the best way to give a plausible cover to the demon hunting squad. The marshals have their own SWAT team anyway, the Special Operations Group, and she is technically in a new branch of that. After all, local law enforcement is used to dealing with feds of various types, not happy about it but used to it, so it does not draw the attention that an openly military operation does. Cleaning up after the ascension was a zoo, there were reporters from all over the world here to show people back home 'the latest massacre in America's violent schools...'

They are all being given an intensive training program run by a grizzled old veteran name Gerard, Deputy Sam Gerard. Scary Guy, but Faith is actually starting to understand the concept of rule of law now. Other federal agencies - there seemed to be about a dozen federal police agencies - had wanted in on the action, but the Marshals got it, partly because they are still the law in United States Territories.

Why exactly there would be a need for an expanded ability to police Territories, when as far as she knew they were all states now, had not been explained. Faith, Xander, O'Neil and the rest all got knowing smiles, and then dodged the subject, when she had asked.

"Where on Earth are there new U.S Territories?" had been the actual question.

"On Earth?" Carter responded. The rest were fighting smiles.

"Nowhere on Earth." Gerard responded, the only one with a totally straight face. "There are no new federal territories anywhere on Earth little lady, and you can depend on that."

Then they had all started laughing and gone off for a drink together. The red head was still annoyed about it; she didn't like being played with.

Later that night

Buffy had gone on patrol with her usual weapons, and a mobile phone in case she had to call for backup. Not that she intended to use it, the kind of thing she might need help with would usually have turned up in a prophecy first. Big, mean, scaled, and purple, just like the thing that had nearly taken her head off with a sword.

Fortunately the thing seemed to have seen one two many bad action movies. It was using two swords, which meant it could not use either very well. Still, since she was carrying wooden stakes and it was slashing at her with swords it was not ideal. She kept moving, waiting not letting it get her into a position where she had to go right at it. It was bellowing and cursing in a language she did not know.

The meaning was clear though. No mistaking that 'I will tear your hear out and eat it, then really hurt you' style of cursing. She ducked under its arms, stabbed, then back out of range. Fortunately the thing was slow, it was a suicidal more if the opponent had better reaction times.

Below, slash, slash, duck in, stab, duck out of range. It continued like that for a while, the thing was bleeding purple from several places, shallow injuries due to its tough skin and the way the stakes had blunted on the first use. It was slowing down fast, due to blood loss, and she waited for it to make a mistake. Eventually it did, slashing outward with the right arm, which she grabbed at the elbow and tore off, spraying a purple stream over everything.

Now she had sword, and it was just trying to get away. She chased it and cut its head off, leaving the corpse for the Sunnydale PD to hide, as they usually did. She decided to go home at this point, her date with Susie had gone well, and she was tired. Susie had a way of using her tongue that got the blonde so worked up, and then just at the edge of coming, she could keep the slayer there for ages and had, and well, it had been a really good date and she was tired. Her girlfriend understood the need to patrol, but she would rather have stayed and slept next to her. Oh well, duty and all that.

Finally getting home, Buffy entered through the front door, sneaking in not being needed these days. She expected her mother to have gone to bed hours ago, hopefully long enough ago that she and Giles were asleep. Ok, so it was good that mom was happier now, but she just wanted to take a shower and get some sleep without knowing the details of exactly HOW her watcher was making her mother smile so much these days.

As she showered she felt someone enter with her, gentle hands running over her. Turning, she saw Susie, who was supposed to be at her own home, but did have a standing invitation. The other woman was taller and generally larger than the slayer, as indeed were most people. She also gave the best back massage in Sunnydale, which is how she made money to live on. Her mother had misunderstood.

"You're dating a hooker?" Because working in a massage parlour meant only one thing in Joyce's world. She had been offered a job in one once, and the mental image stayed.

"No mom, she gives massage, she has a certificate in shiatsu and Swedish massage and everything."

Anyway the brunette was here now, and Buffy let her handle the cleaning the slayer task. Buffy was handling Susie in a totally different way that had little to do with cleaning.

Still, there were no complaints. Another day as the slayer had ended.

*****

Chapter 11

Colorado Springs, nighttime October 2004

When Deputy Marshall Faith Harris returned to her reality from her mission with the alternate Faiths, she had a lot to think about. One of her alt's had talked about how they had Willow using her magic to provide keep the Scooby's informed of all demon and vamp activity in the area and the tremendous tactical edge that it gave them.

Another Faith told her of what it had been to actually live through the mistakes that she had been saved from by Colonel Xander from the alternate reality. Killing humans and liking it, being a hired killer for a demon, torturing Wesley, Jail... It was a lot to think about, how easily she could have been that emotionally scarred killer. Actually she had seemed to be the only one who HADN'T joined the mayor as his pet murderer. It was the default setting, as a hacker had phrased it once.

That scarred her. How, instead of being a Marshall who fought demons, monsters, and people who took the 'new wild west' mood of the off planet territories a bit too literally, she could be fighting for her redemption. At least they all had Xander; he seemed to be the one constant in their lives. The anchor for their souls, if you wanted to be poetic about it.

The drive from Cheyenne Mountain, where she had been debriefed, was long and quiet. The city o f Colorado Springs had expanded hugely since the two wars had become public, it seemed to have changed even in the small amount of time she had been gone. The museum with Goa'uld equipment captured in the invasion attempt had completed its new wing, and the Orientation Centre for Off-world Humans was still lit up, even at this time of night. The local Federal Marshall's office was finally being expanded.

Gee, the Marshall's had only been running the policing a few dozen worlds from the place; it was not like there was a NEED for the extra office space. Every time she thought about it she thought of Giles, and his making her watch 'Yes Minister', an English TV show about politicians and bureaucrats.

"When will you make a decision." The politician would ask the bureaucrat. The show had been quoted in Pravada, and an episode was written by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Now she was living it, it was funny in a whole different way.

"When the time is right." Was always the response, or something like it. The fact that she was seeing the funny side of decisions that were never made, or delayed beyond sanity, made her sit up and think. She really had it good here, and had never really appreciated it until the trip. The car stopped, she was home.

"Honey, I'm home." She said as she walked in the door. Xander was on leave, Anya had assured her when she phoned from the base. There was no answer, but the lights were on in the living room, and there was the smell of one of food coming from there. Dropping her kit bag in the hall, she followed her nose to the kitchen. She could see why the ex-demon had not answered her. She was on her knees in front of Xander, and too polite to talk with her mouth full.

"Don't let me interrupt." She said as she poured herself some Chablis and nibbled on some fruit cheese. It had apricot and coconut in it, and went well with the wine. Faith had been fed during de-briefing, so she was not hungry really, or not hungry enough to ignore the floor show. Captain Alexander Lavelle Harris, USAF, was very different from the gawky kid she had first met, much more muscular and physically tougher. He had always been big in other ways, however.

"Anya, did you ever consider being a professional sword swallower?"

The Harris household, the next day.

With both members of the couple on leave they slept in late, and it was nearly noon before they got out of bed. Not all of that had been sleep, of course. Faith told them all about her trip during lunch. All of it, especially the orgies, because lying about stuff like that was not an option to her. Xander was forgiving of Faith's libido getting the better of her - he would not have married her if he were not - but sneaking around behind his back was NOT acceptable. He would divorce her for that, and she had understood completely.

"So, you had sex with the president's daughter." Anya commented. "What do you think his reaction will be when he sees the report?"

"I am so not looking forward to a transfer to Hoth." Xander commented. A Star Wars freak had named the ice planet, and the difference was that it had no native life at all, just a stargate and a nearby asteroid field where mining and ore processing supported a 'shipyard.' With the strategic value of the construction yards the planet could not be allowed to fall into Goa'uld hands, so it was a heavily defended hardship post. "I'm from California, I hate the cold."

"Sally Ryan was not the presidents daughter there, I didn't give her name, and I will deny everything if asked." A change of subject seemed to be in order. "So, what's happened here while I was away?"

"Willow had her baby, a boy named Luke, Buffy and Susie finally got engaged and we are all invited to the wedding, naturally. I have a promotion on the way and a transfer to the heavies, so I will be out of the firing line during training." The former Zeppo had been away for most of the time his wife was, and the transfer from SG teams to the strike carrier force was the big one for him. The Prometheus class starships were totally human designs based partly on captured technology, and tore through Goa'uld pyramid ships with great success. "I'm getting my own infantry company actually, which means opposed reentry and boarding parties, hence the extra training."

"So you will be out of the war for a while?" The Boston slayer asked hopefully. Most of the system lords were gone, would he 'miss out' on the end of the war? She could only hope so.

"They want us ready, just in case." In case there is something equally nasty waiting out there after the Goa'uld are gone, he did not add. It was not a rational fear, if there was something else out there the Goa'uld or the Asgard would at least have heard about it. "I know it's a little paranoid."

"Not really, it's just that we were in on the secret when it was a secret." The Earth's population had fallen by millions, in the first week of November 2000. The alien parasites had somehow contacted some major demons, and 6 Billion odd humans had learned of the existence of both threats the hard way. By the time the Asgard relief fleet had arrived the world was in the sort of mood that the United States had been in after Pearl Harbor, or September 11th 2001 in the realities where human terrorists existed.

"So, how do you feel about being a father again?" Time to change the subject, in Anya's opinion, so she did. Willow never considered any other man for the role, and Tara had accepted.

"Absolutely delighted, thanks for asking." His two-year-old, by Anya, was being looked after by a neighbor overnight, to allow for the welcome home party. Anya was a very happy little homemaker, and took care of her neighbor's children when needed in turn. It was not an exciting existence, but she was happy, and appreciated by her lovers, which is what mattered to her. "Faith, you are ok with this, I mean, I know you say so, but..."

She smiled assurance at him; his concern for her was part of his charm.

"I want to have a baby before I'm 25, and the workload will only increase when the war ends." Faith was well aware of the workload involved in raising children, and wanted to handle it while still young. She knew some new mothers in their mid 30's, after all, and they were even more run off their feet than the young ones.

"So, it's back to work for you, Captain Harris." The former demon said. "After lunch digests, because you know you shouldn't do strenuous work after a meal, don't you?"

"The mothering role can be overdone, you know." Deputy Harris said, with a smile. The sunlight shone through the windows onto the group, and the world seemed good for a while.