Title: Daniel's Daughter
Author: Rude's Mom
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters. No money has changed hands. This is just for fun.
A/N: This is for immortalwizardpirateelf-fan, CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur, Herald-Mage Brianna, Cero Mor Yuy, Kayla-Shay, Jeune lune, lotusblossom, tracey; Harry2, Kate, Hel, and griffindor lady.
This is post-Chosen for Buffy. SG-1 is canon through the beginning of season 9 and will go AU after that. However, it is my sincere intention to focus on Buffy and Daniel so there probably won't be too many spoilers.
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Prolog
Sunnydale, March 2001
Dear Buffy,
If you are reading this, I guess I was never able to tell you the truth. I know how hurt you were when your father and I divorced. I know how confused you were when he stopped coming around. Please believe that it had nothing to do you as a person. You see, Hank wasn't your real father.
Years ago I was quite the wild child. You got a glimpse of that during the band candy incident. It's not something I'm proud of. I was already several months pregnant when I married Hank and, yes, he did know that you weren't his.
Anyhow, at the time of the divorce I promised not to tell you the truth and Hank promised to continue being your father. Even though he renegged on his promise, I kept mine until now. This fall has brought it home that I might not be here forever and you deserve to know the truth.
I met your real father when I was seventeen. He was a transfer student in my math class. He didn't mix much and usually had his nose in a book. He was the outsider, ignored if he was lucky but more often the butt of somebody's joke. I found out much later that he was a foster child, which explained those awful glasses that he wore and the state of his clothes. As you found out when we moved to Sunnydale, children can be very cruel to anyone that isn't part of the group. The best thing that I can say of my behavior is that I didn't pay much attention to him most of the time.
In May of my senior year, the farewell party season was in full swing. There were a number of small, private parties as well as a few really big parties. I still can't believe that he showed up for the luau beer bash. A couple of hours into the party, he lost his glasses.
He had the most beautiful blue eyes. The best description I can think of is a young James Spader. He even stood up for me when one of the guys wouldn't leave me alone. We wandered off and I'll leave it at that.
After graduation I realized that there were unexpected consequences to my behavior that night. Your grandfather was furious and descended on Daniel's foster family. A bad situation got worse when he found out how young Daniel was. Although he was a senior, he had skipped a couple of grades. I swear I didn't know he was only fifteen. In the end, I was shipped off to your Aunt Grace and Daniel was placed with another foster family.
After Hank and I divorced, I hired a detective to try to find out what happened to him. Dr. Daniel Jackson is an archeaolgist with doctorates from UCLA and the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute. (You can thank him for your high SAT scores.) He had some rather radical ideas about the pyramids that destroyed his academic career and is currently working a civilian consultant for the Air Force in Colorado. The final report is in my safe deposit box, the key is in my jewelry box.
Daniel's a good person. I think you would like him.
Love,
Mom
- - - -
"So, Willow, after we stop Glory what do you think about a Scooby road trip to Colorado?"
- - - -
There was no road trip. Buffy died to save the world. The Scoobies stayed on the Hellmouth. Daniel Jackson didn't meet his daughter.
At least, not that year...
Chapter 2
Colorado Springs, July 2005
Two young women stepped out of the neat, two-story house and on to the small front porch.
"I still can't believe that you wanted to come here rather than Oxford."
"After two years in Rome, I didn't think I could stand four years in the land of drizzle and tweed. And English food, ich."
"But Oxford..." It was almost a whine. "Mom would have been so excited."
"Right up until she realized that Giles was grooming me to become a Watcher. Buffy, there's nothing wrong with UCCS. It's got a great anthropology curriculum and they've started offering classes in Arabic. We don't have too many researchers that can read Arabic anymore. I can focus on the ancient languages in grad school. Besides, you were accepted here and this way you can keep an eye on me."
"And exactly how did that happen again? I don't seem to remember applying, or accepting."
"Willow and I thought it was a good idea. If you ever decide to leave the Council, you'll need a degree to fall back on. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life flipping burgers at the Doublemeat Palace? Besides, you liked your psych courses."
"Yeah, when my professor wasn't trying to kill me." She muttered before continuing in a normal voice. "But why Colorado? Why not some place warm and sunny?"
"Like LA?"
"Okay, not in California. But there are lots of other warm and sunny places. Florida, Georgia?"
"Skiing?"
"You don't ski."
"I want to learn. Anyhow, there's not a lot of demonic activity here and it's nearly fifteen hundred miles from the new Hellmouth. We'll actually have a chance to study."
"Joy." Buffy looked appraisingly at her sister. "There's something else isn't there?"
Dawn sat down on the front steps. Her next words were hesitant. "Buffy, Willow told me about Mom's letter."
"What...oh, that letter."
"Yeah. She figured that, maybe, if you were in the same area, you know, you might..."
"Might what? Meet him? Have a 'and they lived happily ever after' ending to the sad tale of Buffy?" Buffy sighed and sat next to her sister. "I wrote to him almost two years ago. He never responded. I can't say that I blame him. I mean, he was just a kid when it happened."
"But he's still your father."
"Like 'Hank' is yours." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry, that wasn't called for. Dawnie, just because a guy gets a girl pregnant it doesn't automatically translate to him wanting to be a father. If it did, D'Hoffryn would have to fire half of his demons."
Dawn smiled. "Probably way more than that according to Anya. But maybe the letter got lost?"
"Maybe. And maybe he doesn't want to be reminded of something he did as a kid. His foster parents kicked him back into the system again. I doubt whether he remembers that fondly. Come on, lets get the rest our stuff into the house." And with that, Buffy got up and walked over to their blue SUV. "So, what are you making for dinner?"
"Takeout?"
Buffy opened the side door and reached in to pull out the last three suitcases. She handed the smallest one to Dawn and closed and the locked the vehicle. As the pair walked back into the house, she replied "Nope. We're on a budget again. The income Angel left me was enough to pay for this house and our tuition. The Council will cover the rest of our expenses, but only to a point. There are a lot of Slayers to take care of these days." She turned to her sister. "I'll put our stuff upstairs and wait for the furniture delivery. You can do the grocery shopping."
Dawn grabbed her purse and the keys. "Okay but I'm only doing a quick run to tide us over until tomorrow. I am so not going take the blame for not picking the right stuff."
"Fine. Until the movers get here we're a little short of pots and pans anyway. I guess it's sandwich night. Just make sure that you grab some donuts for breakfast. Oh, and some decent coffee, too."
"What, you didn't like the stuff Faith had in Cleveland?"
"As I recall neither did you. That stuff could be used to clean a carburetor."
"I thought that's what she used to brew it in." Dawn giggled.
"Get going. I'm starving and you do not want to deal with a hungry slayer."
"I'm going, I'm going. No need for threats."
Meanwhile, in another part of town, a envelope with an Italian postmark continued to collect dust behind a bookcase.
Chapter 2
Colorado Springs, September 2005
"Teal'c, I'll be fine." Daniel was beginning to get fustrated. Since when did his friend act like a mother hen? Wasn't that what he had Jack for? Of course, since Jack was in Washington... He should have known he wouldn't get off easy.
"Dr. Brightman said I was cleared to go home. No, you don't need to send someone to check up on me. Cassie said she'd stop by after classes while you're visiting Ryac. Teal'c, I've got to hang up. My lunch is ready to come out of the oven. I'll catch up with you later."
It was only a broken foot. Okay, and a few cracked ribs and his third concussion this year but still, this was getting to be a bit ridiculous. First Sam, now Teal'c. Had Jack left instructions or did everyone think he was incapable of taking care of himself? Thank heaven he had had the foresight to arrange for Cassie to check up on him.
He hobbled over to the oven and turned it off. He opened it and grabbed a potholder from the counter. Reaching in, he pulled out the now slightly charred chicken breast and baked potato. He placed them on the stove top and closed the oven. He fixed his plate and sat down at the counter to eat.
How was he supposed to fill the next two weeks? He been ordered to take some time off. Security had been warned not to let him back on the base. They didn't even let him bring any work home. So, two weeks watching the History Channel? No, the last time he tried that he'd filled three notebooks with corrections. Maybe the Discovery Channel this time, if they weren't doing a special promotion for Discovery Health again. Talk about way too much information.
He was just finishing his lunch when he heard the door to his apartment open.
"Hi, Daniel." Cassie walked though the living room and over to the kitchen. "I picked up your mail."
"Just put it on the bookcase."
"Which one?" A valid question.
He waved towards a short bookcase on the left. "So, how was your day? And aren't you a bit early?"
Cassie tossed the mail on top of a small stack of yesterday's junk mail. "Psych class was cancelled, so it's been a pretty good day so far."
The top couple of pieces of mail slid off the pile and down behind the bookcase.
"Oops." She took the remaining mail and put it on the counter next to Daniel. "I'll get the rest."
She pulled the bookcase away from the wall just far enough to reach behind it. "Got 'em."
She shoved the bookcase back and brought the rest of mail over. "Wow, one of these is real dusty. Guess that's not the first time that's happened."
She placed the dusty letter on top. The postmark indicated that letter had been sent in 2003.
"Hope it wasn't anything important."
Daniel glanced at it for a moment, noticing the foreign stamp. "I doubt it. I don't recognize the handwriting. So, class was cancelled?"
Cassie sat down on the extra stool at the counter. "Someone from the office said the professor's car broke down. She called in our assignment, extra reading for the next class. So, how are you doing? Did one of them call you?"
"I'm fine and they both did."
"I guess they both read The Care and Feeding of Klutzy Archaeologists?"
"That book's just a vicious rumor."
"Come on, you're talking to the daughter of the woman who wrote it."
"I thought Jack was supposed to have written it?"
"Uncle Jack write a book? Get real." She snickered. "He ordered mom to."
"Of course. So would you like a soda?"
"No thanks. I really should get home and crack the books." Cassie stood up. "I don't get out of class tomorrow until 3:30. See you then?"
"Not going anywhere. So, yeah, see you then."
After Cassie left, Daniel cleaned up the kitchen, washing and drying his dishes. He scooped up the mail from the counter and moved in to the living room. He sat down on the couch and propped his right foot up on the coffee table. He quickly sorted through the mail, most of it was junk as usual. The bills he put aside before opening the old letter. "Let's see, do I know any one that was in Rome a couple of years ago?"
He tore open the envelope and began reading.
Five minutes later, an ashen faced man put the letter down.
The one thing he had always wanted was a family. How could they have lied to him? He had a daughter. He and Joyce had a daughter. A daughter who had tried to contact him. Oh God, a daughter that had been ignored, rejected. Like his grandfather Nick had rejected him. He began to laugh. It was a laughter tinged with a touch of hysteria.
"I have a daughter." He looked at the letter again, quickly scanning it for the one crucial item that he needed.
He checked his watch. It was almost 1:30 which meant it should be what...9:30 in Rome? He picked up the telephone and prayed the number was still good.
Chapter 3
Colorado Springs, September 2005
"Dawn, don't forget to drop off my paper with Dr. Heche." Buffy grabbed a few more items from her dresser and tossed them into an overnight bag. "And you'll need to pick up my drycleaning on Friday. I want to wear those pants on Saturday."
"Paper, Heche. Drycleaning, Friday. Hot date, Sunday. Check." Dawn dropped onto the bed. "So, who is it that you are going to see?"
"The head of Homeworld Security."
"Homeworld Security? Pretentious much?"
"Oh yeah. I thought Giles meant Homeland Security but apparently those pesky little bureaucrats are having some serious delusions. Anyhow, he can't leave England right now so I get to rack up the frequent flier miles."
"Not Faith? Wait, that would be a bad idea on *so* many levels. Why not Robin or Vi?"
"Tried that. Giles didn't want to send anybody that may not be on the goverment's to keep an eye on list so that leaves you, me, Willow, and Xander and since they are out of the country..."
"The semi-retired Slayer gets the job."
"Hey, I'm on sabbatical, not semi-retired."
Buffy closed the bag with more force than necessary and the two young women headed downstairs to wait for the taxi.
"So, travelling first class?"
"I doubt it. The Council booked me on the first available flight, I'll be lucky to in the plane." Buffy snorted. "Apparently the general has a tight schedule and tomorrow afternoon is the only available time for the next couple of weeks."
"So this couldn't wait 'til then?"
"This guy has some basic knowledge about us thanks to the Initiative. I need to set him straight before he gets any ideas. We don't need a repeat of Adam."
A taxi pulled into the driveway. Buffy went out the door, followed by Dawn.
"So, back by Saturday?"
"I'd better be. If I have to break another date Jay will not be a happy camper."
"And I'll meet him when? Xander wants to know if he'll need to bring an extra stake when he visits."
"Xander should mind his own business and so should you. Jay isn't sunlight challenged. You'll meet him when I think he's ready."
"Have a good trip." Dawn gave her sister a hug and went back into the house. As she closed the door, the telephone began to ring.
Rome
"Andrew, telephone! Somebody's looking for Buffy!"
Andrew winced as Anna's bellow pentetrated into the furthest reaches of the Council apartment that he shared with Anna and three other Slayers. It wasn't just Buffy and Dawn that were hard to live with. The last few months had made it painfully clear that he just wasn't cut out to live in the House of Hormones. He headed to the desk in the sitting room and took the phone from Anna.
"Hello, may I help you?" He glared at Anna as she made a prissy face at him.
"No, Miss Summer's doesn't live here anymore."
Anna rolled her eyes and mouthed the word "Miss."
"One moment please." Andrew put the phone on mute. "Anna, don't you have a nice cemetery to patrol?"
Emily spoke up. "Anna and I are doing the catacombs tonight."
"Whatever. Just go already." He watched as the pair grabbed their coats and headed out. He switched the phone off mute. "Sorry about that...No, I can't give you that information. If you give me your number and a message I'll pass it along."
He wrote down the number on a pad of paper next to the phone. "Yes, I'll make sure she gets it as soon as possible Dr. Jackson. I'm sure she'll get in contact with you as soon as possible. Goodbye."
Andrew pulled out the roladex and found Buffy's number. Dialing it, he waited for her to pick it up. He got the answering machine instead.
"Buffy, it's Andrew. A Dr. Daniel Jackson is trying to locate you. You can reach him at 719-."
Colorado Springs
Dawn made it to the telephone in the kitchen after the answering machine picked up.
"Andrew? I just came back in... You just missed her but she'll be back on Saturday... Giles has sent her to Washington... No, just a meeting with some general... He did! What's the number again, oh wait, let me get a pen and paper." Dawn fumbled in the junk drawer next to the telephone. "Okay, what's the number? Any message? Who is he, you mean Dr. Jackson? He's, uh, an old friend of the family. Buffy tried to contact him a couple of years ago to let him know about Mom and stuff. Yeah, it's kinda of strange that he's in the same area code. Andrew, I've got to go. My study group is meeting in half hour and I'm already late... Thanks for the message, talk to you later."
Dawn was almost dancing as she hung up the phone. She picked up the phone and hit 1 on speed dial. A telephone rang in the living room.
"She didn't." Dawn hung up the phone and the ringing stopped. "She did."
She went into the other room and there, on the coffee table, was Buffy's cell phone.
Chapter 4
Colorado Springs, September 2005
"Of all the stupid... I can't believe she left her cell behind." Dawn was not happy. She threw herself down on the couch. This was just dandy. How was she supposed to concentrate on her studies when all she wanted to do was tell her sister that her father wanted to speak with her? It wasn't fair.
Okay, maybe Buffy wrote down her flight information. She could try calling the airport. Dawn got up and went into the kitchen to search for it. After checking the counters and then the dining room table, she did a sweep of Buffy's bedroom. Nothing.
"Arrgh!" Dawn checked her watch and headed back downstairs. Despite what she told Andrew earlier, she still had about ten minutes to spare before heading to her study group.
She could call Giles for the information but he might ask questions. Not a good idea.
Did she dare? The suspense would kill her if she didn't. She dared.
Back in the living room she picked up Buffy's cellphone. Dialing the number that Andrew had given her, she waited.
On the sixth ring, someone answered.
"Hello, may speak with Dr. Jackson?"
- - -
It had only been about fifteen minutes after his call to Rome that his telephone rang. Naturally he had been in the other room. Although he knew it was unlikely to be the call he was waiting for, he hurried as best he could towards the phone. Caller ID confirmed it was a local call. Sighing, he answered it.
"Yes, this is Dr. Jackson." There was a slight pause on the other end before the voice on the other end began to babble. "Wait, slow down. Yes, I called Rome looking for Buffy Summers... You're her sister?... She does... I did... She's where... Yes, if you can get a message to her... No, no, it doesn't matter how late... Thank you."
He hung up the phone. He had found her. Well almost found her. If he had only opened the letter yesterday. Now he had to wait until she got back from Washington to meet her. If he was lucky, her sister would be able to get a message to her later today. If not, well he wasn't going anywhere for a while.
Washington, DC
The latest in an unending series of meetings was winding down. Jack was even more awed by his old CO than when he had taken command of the SGC. The politics under the mountain were nothing compared to the scheming at the Pentagon. He didn't understand how Hammond had lasted as long as he did.
As the meeting room began to clear out, he requested that Lt. Colonel Davis remain behind.
"Paul, why the hell am I meeting with a college sophomore tomorrow afternoon?"
"Sir?"
O'Neill pushed a file folder towards him. "The Council representative that our British allies insisted that we begin negotiations with. She's a twenty-four year old student for crying out loud."
Davis flipped through the pages to refresh his memory.
"Actually sir, the initial request came from General Hammond after he was informed about a discontinued NID project called the Initiative. He started making inquiries, tried to track down the survivors."
"Survivors?"
"Apparently whatever they were doing blew up in their faces. The official response was to deny everything and I quote 'salt the earth.' Somehow, the Council caught wind of Hammond's investigation and in turn told the British. I understand that the Prime Minister had a few choice words with the President about meddling in things best left to the experts."
Davis gave the file back.
"What things could a twenty-four year old possibly be an expert in? The latest fashion in shoes?" Jack opened the file again. "She's originally from LA, spent the last couple of years in Rome, came back to the States, and is now serving as liaison for some British outfit that's butted heads with the NID? This doesn't make a damn bit of sense. According to our friends at the IRS, she went from flipping burgers to high school peer councilor to financially independent in less four years. There's something screwy going on and I want to know what it is before tomorrow's meeting." He got and began pacing. "We've apparently agreed to send someone out to the airport to pick her up. I want you to do it, my secretary has the flight info."
"Sir?"
"I want you to report back to me after you collect her from the airport. Talk to her. I want to know why, beyond humoring the President, I have a meeting with a college student at the British embassy."
- - -
Buffy was delighted to be off the plane. She allowed herself to swept up in the crowd surging towards baggage claim. Once there, she and several hundred other tired passengers waited for the buzzer to sound. Ten minutes later it did, and the baggage carousel began to move.
"Miss Summers?"
"Yes?"
"I'm Lt. Col. Davis. I have been ordered to escort you to your hotel."
"Can I see some ID?"
Davis produced his identification which Buffy gave a quick once over before asking "Isn't this a job for the enlisted types?"
He smiled. "My job is whatever the general tells me it is."
"So, who is the general? I wasn't told who the man with the fancy job title was."
"That would be General O'Neill."
"Wait a sec, I think that one's mine." She edged in closer to the carousel and grabbed her overnight bag. She moved back towards her escort.
"May I take that for you?"
"No, I'm good. Lead on."
The pair began to make their way out of the airport.
"So, is this assignment punishment?"
"Punishment?"
"You know, tick off 'the man,' get stuck with taxi duty?"
"Actually, Gen. O'Neill was curious about tomorrow's meeting. The information he was given raised more questions than it answered."
"I'll bet. So, you're to gather some intel. Well I'm afraid there's not much I can tell you." She slid a glance over her escort. "Classified and all that. Unless of course, you want to tell me about your info first?"
"That's classified."
"So, every thing's classified. Kinda limits the topics of conversation."
They came to a stop at a dark sedan.
"Nice parking space."
Davis opened the trunk and Buffy put her bag in it.
"So, any good malls in the area?"
Chapter 5
Washington, DC
Buffy came out of the bathroom wearing her yummy sushi pajamas, wet hair wrapped in a towel. Her original yummy sushi jammies were somewhere at the bottom of Lake Sunnydale but Dawn had given her a replacement set the previous Christmas.
Better call Dawn, she thought. I still can't believe I left my cellphone on the coffee table. She hopped onto the bed and picked up the telephone on the nightstand. According to the hotel clock it was nearly midnight which would make it almost ten back in Colorado Springs. Since Dawn tended to keep slayer hours, Buffy was certain that she would not be waking up her sister and dialed home.
Dawn picked up before the second ring.
"Gee Dawn, were you sitting on it or something?"
Her sister began to rant. Buffy gave her a minute to vent before she interrupted.
"Hey, I know it was stupid to leave my phone behind but I was in a hurry. Giles had booked the first available flight and I barely made it to the airport on time. Besides, it's not like you've never forgotten your cellphone."
Dawn began to babble.
"Dawn, enough with the Willow imitation. What's up? And slowly, please."
Dawn took a deep breath and began again. This time, Buffy didn't interrupt. She couldn't. Dawn stopped talking.
Silence.
"He called?" She asked quietly. "Daniel Jackson called looking for me?"
She hung up ten minutes later. She looked at the telephone number she had written down. Her father's telephone number. Her father, her real father, wanted to talk to her, to meet with her.
She had missed Andrew's call by a minute. If she had her cellphone, Dawn could have called her while she was in the taxi. She could have spoken to her father hours ago. If her meeting with General O'Neill had been scheduled for just one day later, she could have met her father by now. Now she was stuck in DC for who knew how long. Giles had not booked a return flight for her and she was pretty sure one of the Council bean counters was going make her fly back on standby. It was bad enough when she realized her date with Jay was pretty much screwed but this was several magnitudes worse. Somewhere, the Powers That Be were probably laughing their asses off right about now.
Her father had told Dawn she could call him at any time. It was 10:30 in Colorado. This could be a long call. What the hell, she could sleep in in the morning. Her meeting with the general wasn't until 2:30. She picked up the receiver and started to dial. She hung up before she finished dialing.
What if he asked what she was doing in Washington? Hey Dad, just telling a general to keep out his nose out of Slayer business 'cause the last time the military got involved they created a Frankenstein's monster. Okay, scratch the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
She sighed and picked up the receiver again.
--
A somewhat frazzled Colonel Davis knocked on General O'Neill's office door.
"Come in Paul. Have a seat." O'Neill looked up from a diminishing pile of paperwork. "So, how did it go?"
"She arrived on time and I delivered her to her hotel." Davis sat down before continuing. "The girl is walking advertisement for southern California. Are you sure this isn't someone's idea of a practical joke? How could she possibly have any information about a top secret project?"
Jack put down his pen and leaned back into his chair. "She's over eighteen. I think that in this enlightened age, she would probably prefer to called a woman."
"Sir, she's barely over five feet tall and dresses like a teenager. She also wanted to know where the mall was."
He grinned. "I take it she wasn't referring to the Washington Mall?"
"No sir, she said she was looking for some shoes to go with a dress she bought last week." He rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to bring some relief to the headache he had recently developed.
"I received some additional information on Miss Summers while you were out." Jack picked up a lone file folder from the corner of his desk and passed it to the colonel. "Check out her SAT scores and compare her high school and college transcripts."
Davis studied the file for a couple of minutes. "Are you sure these belong to the same person sir? I can believe that the girl, sorry, the young woman I met is the one in the high school transcripts but she didn't appear to be nearly as bright as the one in the college transcripts."
"I think that we may have someone who knows how to play the dumb blonde card and to play it very well."
"In that case, I think your meeting will be...interesting."
Jack raised an eyebrow.
Colorado Springs
It had been over eight hours since he had spoken to Dawn. Buffy's half-sister. His daughter's half-sister. His daughter.
He wondered what she was like. Did she talk nonstop like her sister? With a name like Buffy, she might but somehow, he didn't think so. The letter was written two years after she had found her mother's letter. The tone had been tentative, not asking for anything, not even contact. Buffy must be cautious, maybe even a bit shy. He could understand that. Despite the numerous 'meet and greet' assignments, he was more reserved on a personal level where rejection could hurt. No, he didn't think that she would babble.
The telephone rang.
"Daniel Jackson speaking."
NEXT
