Crossover Fic: Interference Well Met (6/17) BtVS/Stargate SG-1
** See Part 1 for full disclaimers and story details
PART 6 NOTES: Thanks, everyone, for the great comments from last week. It was such a fun scene to write that it makes me very happy to see it was well received. This week is quite possibly the second most asked for bit. I hope you enjoy it as well. (vbg) Massive thanks and fresh coffee go to Lynette, beta extraordinaire. Any time I can make her say “aww” it's a keeper. Any remaining mistakes are purely mine as I tend to fiddle up until the last possible moment. (g) As always, any and all feedback is appreciated.
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Part Six
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Deep brown liquid made a mesmerizing line as it flowed into the carafe, holding Jack's eyes riveted. It was rare for Faith to sleep in this late, even rarer for her to remain in bed after he got up even with his habitually early mornings. He planned to enjoy the unexpected gift and surprise her with coffee and a rose. He wondered briefly if she was getting sick, but shook it off quickly. Her slayer constitution kept her from coming down with anything more detrimental than a sneeze. It should have pissed him off, yet it didn't. He was perfectly okay with nothing bad touching Faith, even if it was simply a cold.
Still watching the coffee, he would never have known someone stood behind him if he hadn't felt the eyes on his back. Long years of experience had forced him to acknowledge his skin crawling over his spine wasn't just his imagination. He'd heard ants move across the floor with more noise. Damn slayers were quiet when they wanted to be. “Morning, Buffy.”
“Morning, Jack.” She didn't sound any more surprised than he did. He heard the quiet scrape of a chair as she pulled one out and sat down.
He tugged the carafe out and poured two mugs, letting the coffee reservoir fill with water. Taking out the fake, overly sweet creamer Buffy inexplicably liked and the small sugar pot, he set those on the table. He brought the mugs over as well then sat opposite the woman, smiling as she immediately reached for the creamer.
After everything he'd heard about the infamous Buffy Summers, a diminutive blonde with knockout green eyes had been the last thing he'd expected to meet yesterday afternoon. Faith wasn't built on a particularly large scale, but she wasn't tiny either. So for some reason he'd thought other slayers would be of a relatively similar stature. Stupid thought, that. Watching Buffy across the table as she breathed in the scent of sweetened coffee, her eyes closed in sensual enjoyment, he reminded himself that looks could not be trusted. “Did you sleep well?”
“Pretty good. I've always been able to adjust to new surroundings quickly.” She took a sip of coffee, winced then added another generous stream of thick white creamer as well as a teaspoonful of sugar. “Better.”
Jack lifted his own unpolluted coffee and drank a careful sip. A burned tongue wasn't on his agenda for the day. “I was wondering when you were going to show up here. Actually, I expected to see you sooner.”
She didn't flinch away from his gaze, merely held it with eyes far too old for her age. “I had to clear up some things before I could leave. Every time I got rid of a baddie another would float to the top.”
“Funny how that works,” he said, completely deadpan. It did seem to work out that way, but to be discussing it with a woman who looked like she'd be more comfortable in a night club than in a cemetery was more than a little disconcerting. He knew Faith would never compromise the Stargate or the SGC once she was cleared to know about it, but he did know she'd have to tell her friend something about what he did, what she was doing working for the military. There wasn't a lot of good history there. It was going to be a fine line they'd work out together.
“You know it.” She took one more swallow then set her mug aside. Face leeching of its early morning humor, she leaned forward over the table. “I know you love her. I also know she told you about her, about us. I know you know she can bend you in half without breaking a sweat.”
His lips teased up at the corners, hands curving around his mug. “Is this where you tell me she'll hurt me if I do anything stupid?”
“No. Here's where I tell you she'll never get the opportunity because I'll erase you myself if you ever hurt her.”
His blood froze in his veins, his flesh shivering in waves for a brief moment. Apophis himself had never managed to scare the holy bejesus out of him as this tiny slip of a woman just had. The false god had used torture and intimidation. All she'd used was words and a look. If only she could bottle it she would make millions. But the short moment passed in less than a blink. Between one heartbeat and the next there was no fear, no need for threats. Because hurting Faith? It simply wasn't going to happen. He was doing all of it to protect her. “Understood.”
“No, Jack, I don't think you do.”
“No, really. Death and dismemberment. That was pretty clear.” He didn't mean to be flip, but there it was anyway. Call it his instinctive response to threats or just being an ornery bastard. Either was a good bet.
She sighed, eyes easing closed as she lifted the coffee slowly to her lips. Her mug clinked quietly when she brought it back to the table. “I mean about Faith. You have more power over her than anyone I've ever known. She can't protect herself from you anymore.”
“And you think that's only one-sided? Buffy, that's the way it's supposed to be.” His insides tingled at the thought, heat and remembered passion flooding him. For all her old eyes and things to clear up, he still knew more about life than she did. “Loving someone is to be vulnerable, open to the other person in a way that scares the hell out of you. But you do it anyway because you hope they'll protect you, keep you safe.”
The light of recognition filled her eyes, followed quickly by a shadow of pain. Maybe she did know a bit more than he'd thought. “I haven't seen much evidence of it working out like that.”
“Neither have I, but I haven't given up yet.”
“I smell coffee. Please tell me you two didn't drink it all?”
"Of course we didn't." His lips curved up into a broad grin. "I like my limbs exactly where they are." He saw Buffy twitch out of the corner of his eye but didn't look over. There was no need for Faith to know about their conversation. She must have caught the undercurrent because her eyes flicked between her friend to her fiance. Jack stood, hoping to head her off before she could speak. "Have a seat. I'll get you some."
"Morning, B," Faith said, slipping into her normal chair. "Sleep good?"
"Yeah. But not as good as you apparently."
"It's all the clean air here." She smiled her thanks up at him as Jack set a mug in front of her.
Sitting once again, Jack listened quietly as the two women bantered back and forth. There was a lot he didn't understand, references he'd have to ask Faith about later. But at the moment he was content to watch Faith interact with her friend, her guard down and her face filled with life.
"Why would she do that? Willow must have been pissed. How many pieces did she leave it in?"
"Oh, it was still in one piece." A glint entered her eyes, one Jack would have run away from if it had been directed at him. "Just one very tiny piece."
Jack knew he was missing the most important part of what a krobrakken was when Faith coughed up her coffee, her mug clanging against the table to spill brown liquid along its surface. He eyed her quizzically, but she simply shook her head mouthing 'later' at him. The brush-off didn't bother him. If she said she'd tell him later she would.
He left them to their laughter and got up to refill his mug, blissfully free of sugary creamer. He managed one sip before his cell rang, an actual ring and not the hyped up music most people were using lately. "O'Neill."
"Sir, this is Sgt. Harriman. I'm sorry to disturb you on a weekend but we have a situation."
Eyes closing involuntarily, he sucked in a deep breath through his nose. "I'll be there, Walter. Carter?"
"Already on her way, sir."
"See you in a few." He flipped the phone closed with a snap. It would do no good to get upset at Walter. The poor man was simply the messenger. But if this was another 'situation' caused by the numbskulls in R&D all bets were off.
He felt her presence a split second before her hand on his arm. "You have to go in."
"I have to go in." Meeting her gaze, he ran a hand over her cheek. "I don't know when I'll be back. I'm sorry."
She smiled, soft and warm, and he wished R&D a personalized trip to Netu. "It's okay. I have B to keep me company. I wanted some alone time with her anyway."
"I'll bet. I know what women get up to without any men-folk around."
"Then you should be scared right about now."
His smile grew despite the interrupted day. "That is a fact." He kissed her quickly then headed for the doorway. A hand connecting with his backside spun him around to meet laughing eyes. "I'll get you for that later."
"I'm counting on it."
The sound of the ladies' laughter followed him down the hallway before fading away. His day, maybe his entire weekend, might be ruined, but at least Faith's wasn't.
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Running her fingers absently over the smooth surface of her still warm coffee mug, Buffy watched her friend. Faith's face was glowing, her eyes sparkling, her mouth curved upward in a smile Buffy doubted she was even aware of. If she hadn't seen it herself she wouldn't have believed Faith was capable of such a blatant display of happiness.
"He really does make you happy."
The smile faded as Faith turned back to her. "Yeah, he does, B. I never would have put us together, but we work. And I love him."
"It's obvious he feels the same." She left it there, waiting to see if Faith wanted to elaborate. When she didn't, merely shifted in her seat and took another drink of her coffee, Buffy grabbed the reins and ran with it. "Why'd you tell him about the slayer, about us? You said there was nonexistent activity here."
"I couldn't lie to him, B. He's a good man and when he said he wanted to marry me I wanted him to know the real me. I wanted him to want to marry the real me." She stumbled to a halt, obviously uneasy trying to explain her feelings to her friend.
Buffy sympathized with her, but didn't stop her. It gave her hope. If Faith could find someone to accept her, slayer and all, then maybe, just maybe someone out there could be the same for her. "How'd you even meet? You weren't heavy on the explanations when you left a few months ago." Faith stilled, her tapping fingers coming to rest on the sides of her mug. She lifted her eyes to meet Buffy's, the dark brown analyzing in a way that was very different than she'd seen before from her friend. She wished she knew what Faith was looking for.
"We met the first time on my way out to Sunnydale from Boston. Just an hour or so. He bought me dinner." Her lips curved upward into a soft smile of remembrance, lightening the serious mood a notch. "The second time, well for me anyway, was all thanks to the Powers That Be." Buffy's eyebrows raised at the deliberately emphasized title. She didn't need to ask. Faith went on without any prodding. "They fiddled with time, sent me into the future for a week. We were already married, happy. They showed me what I could have, what we could have together. Then they sent me back. I started making plans to move the next day."
"Why? What could they gain by doing that? Messing with time isn't something they do lightly."
Faith snorted out a laugh, her head shaking in disbelief. "A reward, if you can swallow that one. A thanks for putting up with everything they'd done to us over the years. Apparently it wasn't all just for their amusement."
It all suddenly made a weird kind of sense. Crazy as it sounded, Buffy had no doubts about a word of her friend's story. The Powers That Be had their own loose idea of what should and shouldn't be messed with. What was strictly forbidden to others, they played with like Lincoln Logs. At the time, she'd thought Faith had lost her mind, but had let her leave all the same. If she wanted out, Buffy would be the last one to stop her. Faith had given more than enough over the years. She was due some rest.
Buffy still remembered the night clearly. It had been a difficult hunt. The racgang had torn up a baseball team's worth of people before they'd managed to track it down. And after? Covered in blood, demon grime and sewer stench, Faith had simply walked away. Without a word and without looking back. Just gone. She'd wondered if she'd ever see her friend again. The next morning Faith had been a different person. Energized, her mood of the evening before vanished. She'd also had an air of contentedness, of completeness Buffy had never seen in her friend before. That intangible something was what let her wave Faith off with a good luck present and not a swift kick in the ass. That same sense of completion spilled out of her now as she stared across the width of the table into Buffy's eyes. "Why didn't you say something then? I would have understood."
Faith's shoulders eased the tiniest bit. Buffy wondered if she'd even known they'd tensed up. "I was too scared. What if I screwed everything up? What if I did something to make him hate me?"
She reached across the table to grip Faith's hand in hers. "Jack couldn't hate you if you blew up his entire Simpson's collection." She laughed right along with her friend but never lost focus. "Seriously. He loves you, Faith. Soul deep. You know what he did when I threatened him if he hurt you?"
"You didn't. I'm a little old for the big sister slayer approach don't you think?"
"No. I don't. But it didn't matter. He just sat there staring at me as if I'd just suggested he blow up that same Simpson's collection, as if even the concept of letting you down was incomprehensible. Never mind actually hurting you." She didn't need words to interpret Faith's expression. Her glowing face, soft smile and shining eyes said everything for her. "He may just turn out to be good enough for you. As long as you believe he's worth giving everything up for."
A smile covered Faith's face, one Buffy couldn't interpret, and her eyes took on a subtly unfocused cast. "No, Buffy. He's worth living for."
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continued in Part 7
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Thanks for reading!
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