31 August 2019 : Who You Were, Who You Are, Who You Choose To Be
Title: Who You Were, Who You Are, Who You Choose To Be
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / G. I. Joe
Characters: Hank, Buffy, Joyce,
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 2978
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The character so G. I. Joe belong to Marvel, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Assume timelines are shifted as needed to make this work. Comic book aging may apply. Specific data for G. I. Joe characters taken from Wikipedia and the messed with to make it fit the needs of the story. Per Wikipedia, Alvin R. Kibbey was known as Breaker and has specialties in infantry and radio telecommunications. He went to Signal School and studied covert electronics. He also speaks seven languages. He has a habit of chewing gum and is generally seen as efficient, self-assured and able to turn adverse situations to his favor.
Thanks: Thank you everyone who commented and who wrote stories. Somehow August has been going from wide open to over-full with regard to commitments and time, but I hope to be able to respond to your comments and to comment on your fics soon. For the Mods. Thank you so much for running this every year and for inspiration intended or accidental. :)
Summary: “What's the damage to me?” “Cobra knows you survived. They're targeting you specifically.”
Who You Were, Who You Are, Who You Choose To Be
By Beriaearwen
A low moan crawled out from somewhere deep within him.
But it hurt.
Everything hurt.
And it was so hard to think. Like thinking through molasses.
There was heat.
So hot.
He struggled to open his eyes and managed for only a moment before allowing them to close once more.
“Breaker!”
He had no idea how much time had passed when the voice brought him back to consciousness. He turned his head from side to side.
“See if you can find Crazylegs and Quick Kick. Let's get him stabilized and out of here,” the voice commanded.
If he said anything else, Breaker wouldn't know as darkness claimed him.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
The next time he became aware, his ears are no longer ringing and it's not as hot as he remembered. The pain was also more faint, more distant.
“Anytime you feel like opening your eyes, Al, it would be appreciated,” a familiar voice stated.
With difficulty, he managed to open his eyes. It took a few minutes for him to focus. “Duke,” he rasped, wincing at the pain in his throat.
“Take a small sip,” the other man encouraged, holding a straw near his lips.
Following that suggestion, the small sip felt good on his sore throat, so he took another small one and then nodded to Duke.
“Do you remember the tank?”
His brow furrowed as he tried to grasp at memories that were not coming. Suddenly they all came racing back and he gasped. “The message got through,” he half-stated, half-questioned. Seeing Duke nod, he continued, “The tank was hit... Crazylegs and Quick Kick?” Dukes face told him all he needed to know. He seemed to deflate back into the bed. Pushing aside his emotions, he asked, “What's the damage to me.”
Duke's face was mostly impassive, but it was enough to let him know it wasn't good. “Cobra knows you survived. They're targeting you specifically. They think you know too much. As for your injures... it's not good. It's possible you'll never go out into the field again.”
He closed his eyes as he absorbed that blow. “And.”
“And it would be best if Alvin R. Kibbey from Tennessee disappeared. We've arranged a new identity for you.”
All he could manage was to raise an eyebrow in question.
“From now on, you'll be Hank Summers from Los Angeles, California.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Hank froze in place as he walked into his office. Alice, his normal secretary had gone on maternity leave and a temporary secretary had been called in by HR. The woman sitting in the secretary's desk, however, did not have any skills he needed in her skill set. “Courtney,” he greeted cautiously. “It's been a while.”
“Almost seventeen years,” she replied, a small smile on her face.
Hank nodded slowly. “I'm well out of things.”
Courtney rose from her seat behind her desk. “Let's go into your office,” she suggested, eyes darting around the office, taking in the people walking around.
Leading the way, he entered first and moved toward his desk. He heard Courtney close the door behind him and turned before he got behind his desk. He leaned back slightly when she walked right up to him so that they were practically touching.
She offered a wry smile and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “There are three bugs in here,” she informed. Stepping back, she walked around his desk and turned on the radio he had back there before returning to stand too close to him once more. “Your normal handler turned up dead and several files, including yours went missing. We're working to ensure they didn't get into wrong hands, but until we have the word, I'll be your protective detail during the day. Night time will rotate based on availability.”
Hank reached out and placed a hand on either of her arms, working to control his anger and frustration. “I have a wife and daughter. I've been nearly two decades out of it. What the hell would they want with me? What if they take Buffy or Joyce?”
“We're keeping an eye on them as well,” Courtney whispered. “For Buffy -” She cut off and spun out of Hank's grasp to face the door as it began to open, her hand went to the small of her back.
“Hank?” Joyce's voice asked as the door opened. “Oh!” she exclaimed taking in the strange woman standing far too close and looking far too comfortable with her husband. “Hank?” she asked again, a thousand meanings in that single name.
“It's not what you think, Joyce,” he said before wincing. “Courtney's an old friend.” The look of disbelief and hurt on his wife's face let him know he'd said exactly the wrong thing. How he could speak seven languages and still say the wrong things he'd never understand. It was especially bad after the incident with that psycho woman Brittany at the restaurant the other day.
“I see,” Joyce replied, closing her expression off and straightening to her full height. “Odd that you've never mentioned her before,” she added eying the beautiful stranger.
“Joyce -”
With a shake of her head, Joyce took a step back, pulling the door with her. “We'll discuss it at home. Your boss is on his way in.”
“Wait! Why'd you stop by?” Hank asked, stepping around Courtney and trying to reach his wife.
Joyce's eyes flicked from him to Courtney and back. “It doesn't matter.” With that, she turned and walked away, pulling the door closed behind her.
“That could have gone better,” Courtney observed, a wince on her face. When Hank spun around to glare at her, she shrugged, “It could have. You do know you can't tell her the truth?”
Hank seemed to collapse in on himself. “Yeah,” he acknowledged. “Yeah.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
He didn't know if he should laugh, cry or scream. Joyce had caught him and Courtney in what she assumed were more compromising situations including a dinner together which she assumed was romantic. In truth, he and Courtney had been waiting to meet with the newest member of his protection detail so he'd know who to look for. In addition, something had been going on with Buffy that between work, figuring out if Cobra knew about him and fighting with Joyce he hadn't been able to look into and Buffy, having heard what their fight was about had pulled away from him.
Everything was falling apart.
Then the call came that Buffy was suspected of setting fire to the gymnasium in an attempt to protect her fellow students from vampires. He and the other Joes knew that vampires and other things were real, but the thought of his daughter fighting vampires while Cobra might be after her and her protection detail listed as MIA, he couldn't help but agree with the suggestion he received. She needed to be somewhere safe, somewhere guarded and the institution was the best place for that, at least until they could figure out how to keep Buffy safe.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Courtney stood beside him as he watched Joyce and Buffy leave their house for what was probably the last time. He would see Buffy for some holidays and have her for all but two weeks of her summer vacation, but it was killing him not to see her everyday, especially when word came back that she was an agent for a different organization, one that dealt with the supernatural. His little girl was only fifteen. Sure she was his daughter and he saw a lot of himself in her, but she was so very young. He'd been through college and received extensive training before he began facing anything remotely as dangerous as what she was. But Cobra didn't go to Sunnydale - ever. No one back with G. I. Joe knew why, but it would be safer for them there. It was why they'd pulled strings to ensure Buffy and Joyce moved there.
“It will be fine.”
Hank turned to her. “Joyce divorced me. Buffy can barely look at me. They both think we're having an affair.” His voice was as flat and cold as his heart felt.
Courtney winced. There was nothing she could say.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“I'm not fit for duty,” Hank - Alvin - argued. “You know that. It's why I left, why I never tried to go back, why we created Hank Summers in the first place.”
“It's not a field position,” Duke assured.
“No. I made life as Hank Summers. I had a job. I had a wife. I had a great relationship with my daughter, then you came back into my life and my wife divorced me, my daughter has become distant at best. She's supposed to be here in two weeks and I...” The house phone started ringing. As annoyed as he was, as angry as he was he knew he needed to step away for a moment to regain control of his temper. “Hello. Joyce? No. She's not due here for two weeks, a week after school lets out, you know that. What! Do you... No. I know. I'll work what I can from my end. No. We'll find her. She'll be fine.” He hung up the phone and let his head drop as he took a deep breath.
“What happened?” Duke asked in genuine concern.
Turning to face his former boss, Hank prepared to share what he knew and to ask for help. He would use it as payment for agreeing to what they were asking of him. “Something happened at Buffy's school. Her friends were attacked and a girl murdered. The Principal accused Buffy of the murder and the police tried to arrest her, but she ran. She and Joyce got in a fight and Buffy left. All that happened last night. This morning Joyce found a note.” He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Buffy ran and we don't know where.”
Duke and Courtney exchanged a look. “What do you need?”
“I need help finding her. I need her safe,” Hank said.
“We can look into it,” Duke assured slowly. “It might be easier with someone to coordinate communications between here and Sunnydale,” he added hinting at exactly what Hank had been expecting.
Closing his eyes and praying that he would someday be able to repair his relationship with his daughter, he nodded. “Help me with Buffy and I'll do your mission. I'll come back. But I will be telling her the truth.”
Neither of the active Joes smiled or objected, even though telling Buffy the truth would break security.
Hank knew that this wasn't how they wanted this to go, but they desperately needed Breaker back for the upcoming mission and would take him however they could get him. He just hoped he remembered how to be Alvin Kibbey after being Hank Summers for so long.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“Buffy!” Hank cried, half to get her attention, half in relief. He saw his daughter turn in surprise at the sound of his voice. Her eyes flicked to Courtney and Duke behind him and her face closed off somewhat. Hank didn't care, he jogged up to his little girl and hugged her. “Don't scare me like that again. Something or someone could have gotten you,” he scolded.
“D-dad?” Buffy asked, blinking, thrown by his comment of something. What did he know?
Hank sighed and drew her into another hug. “I know, Buffy. I know about vampires and other things. I know you're working for an organization, and I have so much I have to tell you and not a lot of time to do it.”
“Dad,” she repeated, sounding less confused. “Dad. I...”
“Come home with me. We'll pick up your stuff,” he encouraged. He looked at what she was wearing and cringed slightly at the waitress uniform he recognized from a run-down diner he'd been taken to once. “We can talk about your job too.”
Buffy looked down at her clothes. “I just got off shift.”
“Come home with me, Buffy. We need to talk.”
Buffy felt her eyes begin to well with tears, but nodded.
A few hours later, Buffy and Hank were sitting on the couch with Hank's arm around her.
“So, Courtney was never a romantic thing, but a protection thing. Mom and I are safe from these bad guys who may be coming after you as long as we're in Sunnydale. My running away allowed you to be blackmailed into going back to work for the organization that Courtney works for and you used to work for. And your real name is Alvin, as in the chipmunk.”
Hank sighed at that last statement. “True except for the last part. My name is Alvin after my paternal grandfather. It's also true that you are going to spend the rest of the summer with me and you will be contacting your mother and friends to let them know you're OK now that the murder charges have been cleared.”
“But Mom -”
“But your Mom was angry and upset and scared to death that you would be hurt so she tried to make you stay where she thought you'd be safe.”
“Stupid parent logic.”
“Yes, well, my logic isn't overly happy about you feeling the need to keep that job, but I suppose it's better than you sitting around all Summer.” The two sat in silence before Hank drew Buffy closer and kissed the top of her head. “And tomorrow, after we both sleep, you will tell me what really happened up in Sunnydale. Not the part about your friends and the Principal and the cops, but whatever it is that hurt you so badly you felt the need to be lost.”
“Dad -”
“No. I don't care how much you think I won't like it. It's hurting you, Buffy, and I won't let it.”
Buffy turned and wrapped her arms around her father. “Love you Dad.”
“Love you too.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“So what's your plan of attack,” Courtney asked.
Since understanding that there really was nothing romantic between her father and his secretary, Buffy had discovered she actually liked Courtney. She'd also gotten quite the crash course over the summer on tactics, communications and anything else Courtney, her dad and whoever else was around thought she might need to know, especially after her father found out she wasn't an Agent, she was a Slayer and what being a Slayer meant.
“I'm going to have to go in,” Buffy said. “Give me five minutes. By that point I should know if they're legit or if there's something not right. If they're legit, I'll be out within that time frame. If I'm not out, assume they're not legit and come in after me. I'll have them either immobilized or distracted.”
“Sounds like you're thinking clearly,” Hank said.
Buffy smiled at him. It was amazing to have her Dad there with her. She briefly wished he could be with her all the time on these sorts of things. “All right. I'll head into Family Home in two minutes. You guys ready?” When she received affirmative responses, she nodded. “Let's do this.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“What's up?” Duke asked, entering the communications room in their base in Spain and seeing the expression on Breaker's face.
“Buffy called. She doesn't want me at graduation.”
“I thought you were getting along well despite the mission taking you away?”
“We are,” Breaker assured. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Apparently, though, their town Mayor is about to change into a huge demon at graduation. Buffy and her friends have a plan in place which I got her to admit involved blowing up the high school.”
“What?” Duke exclaimed.
Hank nodded. “Last time one of these demons was on Earth it took a volcano to stop it, apparently.”
“Do we have time to send someone in there? We could get things set up correctly, maybe find an alternative...”
“Graduation is in two days and the Mayor is having all ways in or out of town watched. It's why she didn't send Joyce away.”
Duke chewed on that for a few minutes. “Let me talk to the General and see if we can have something ready to go, just in case.”
Breaker could only nod in agreement.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“Why are we waiting here?” Riley asked, getting antsy. “We need to get in there and stop this.”
“Buffy, we have everything we need for the spell,” Willow encouraged, wanting to go before she lost her nerve.
Buffy tilted her head to the side as if listening to something and then smiled. Spike also tilted his head to listen, but his brow furrowed in puzzlement.
“Backup's just a few minutes out,” Buffy assured, relaxing slightly.
“Backup?” Giles asked. “Who did you call?”
“My dad,” Buffy replied, her smile growing wide as a jeep pulled up, her Dad sitting in the passenger seat.
“Buffy,” Riley hissed as his studies the people in front of him.
Turning to look at him, Buffy laughed slightly at his stunned expression when he caught sight of their operation patch.
“Buffy, they're... they're G. I. Joes,” he stammered.
Laughing outright, Buffy moved forward to greet her father as the other vehicles came to a stop. “Dad. Thank you for coming,” she greeted.
“Anything for you,” he assured. “Let me introduce you to Scarlett. She's going to be leading the Joes in this.”
“Great. We can go inside and review the plans,” Buffy informed, allowing her father to guide her to a red-headed woman. Adam was so going down.
End
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / G. I. Joe
Characters: Hank, Buffy, Joyce,
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 2978
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The character so G. I. Joe belong to Marvel, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Assume timelines are shifted as needed to make this work. Comic book aging may apply. Specific data for G. I. Joe characters taken from Wikipedia and the messed with to make it fit the needs of the story. Per Wikipedia, Alvin R. Kibbey was known as Breaker and has specialties in infantry and radio telecommunications. He went to Signal School and studied covert electronics. He also speaks seven languages. He has a habit of chewing gum and is generally seen as efficient, self-assured and able to turn adverse situations to his favor.
Thanks: Thank you everyone who commented and who wrote stories. Somehow August has been going from wide open to over-full with regard to commitments and time, but I hope to be able to respond to your comments and to comment on your fics soon. For the Mods. Thank you so much for running this every year and for inspiration intended or accidental. :)
Summary: “What's the damage to me?” “Cobra knows you survived. They're targeting you specifically.”
Who You Were, Who You Are, Who You Choose To Be
By Beriaearwen
A low moan crawled out from somewhere deep within him.
But it hurt.
Everything hurt.
And it was so hard to think. Like thinking through molasses.
There was heat.
So hot.
He struggled to open his eyes and managed for only a moment before allowing them to close once more.
“Breaker!”
He had no idea how much time had passed when the voice brought him back to consciousness. He turned his head from side to side.
“See if you can find Crazylegs and Quick Kick. Let's get him stabilized and out of here,” the voice commanded.
If he said anything else, Breaker wouldn't know as darkness claimed him.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
The next time he became aware, his ears are no longer ringing and it's not as hot as he remembered. The pain was also more faint, more distant.
“Anytime you feel like opening your eyes, Al, it would be appreciated,” a familiar voice stated.
With difficulty, he managed to open his eyes. It took a few minutes for him to focus. “Duke,” he rasped, wincing at the pain in his throat.
“Take a small sip,” the other man encouraged, holding a straw near his lips.
Following that suggestion, the small sip felt good on his sore throat, so he took another small one and then nodded to Duke.
“Do you remember the tank?”
His brow furrowed as he tried to grasp at memories that were not coming. Suddenly they all came racing back and he gasped. “The message got through,” he half-stated, half-questioned. Seeing Duke nod, he continued, “The tank was hit... Crazylegs and Quick Kick?” Dukes face told him all he needed to know. He seemed to deflate back into the bed. Pushing aside his emotions, he asked, “What's the damage to me.”
Duke's face was mostly impassive, but it was enough to let him know it wasn't good. “Cobra knows you survived. They're targeting you specifically. They think you know too much. As for your injures... it's not good. It's possible you'll never go out into the field again.”
He closed his eyes as he absorbed that blow. “And.”
“And it would be best if Alvin R. Kibbey from Tennessee disappeared. We've arranged a new identity for you.”
All he could manage was to raise an eyebrow in question.
“From now on, you'll be Hank Summers from Los Angeles, California.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Hank froze in place as he walked into his office. Alice, his normal secretary had gone on maternity leave and a temporary secretary had been called in by HR. The woman sitting in the secretary's desk, however, did not have any skills he needed in her skill set. “Courtney,” he greeted cautiously. “It's been a while.”
“Almost seventeen years,” she replied, a small smile on her face.
Hank nodded slowly. “I'm well out of things.”
Courtney rose from her seat behind her desk. “Let's go into your office,” she suggested, eyes darting around the office, taking in the people walking around.
Leading the way, he entered first and moved toward his desk. He heard Courtney close the door behind him and turned before he got behind his desk. He leaned back slightly when she walked right up to him so that they were practically touching.
She offered a wry smile and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “There are three bugs in here,” she informed. Stepping back, she walked around his desk and turned on the radio he had back there before returning to stand too close to him once more. “Your normal handler turned up dead and several files, including yours went missing. We're working to ensure they didn't get into wrong hands, but until we have the word, I'll be your protective detail during the day. Night time will rotate based on availability.”
Hank reached out and placed a hand on either of her arms, working to control his anger and frustration. “I have a wife and daughter. I've been nearly two decades out of it. What the hell would they want with me? What if they take Buffy or Joyce?”
“We're keeping an eye on them as well,” Courtney whispered. “For Buffy -” She cut off and spun out of Hank's grasp to face the door as it began to open, her hand went to the small of her back.
“Hank?” Joyce's voice asked as the door opened. “Oh!” she exclaimed taking in the strange woman standing far too close and looking far too comfortable with her husband. “Hank?” she asked again, a thousand meanings in that single name.
“It's not what you think, Joyce,” he said before wincing. “Courtney's an old friend.” The look of disbelief and hurt on his wife's face let him know he'd said exactly the wrong thing. How he could speak seven languages and still say the wrong things he'd never understand. It was especially bad after the incident with that psycho woman Brittany at the restaurant the other day.
“I see,” Joyce replied, closing her expression off and straightening to her full height. “Odd that you've never mentioned her before,” she added eying the beautiful stranger.
“Joyce -”
With a shake of her head, Joyce took a step back, pulling the door with her. “We'll discuss it at home. Your boss is on his way in.”
“Wait! Why'd you stop by?” Hank asked, stepping around Courtney and trying to reach his wife.
Joyce's eyes flicked from him to Courtney and back. “It doesn't matter.” With that, she turned and walked away, pulling the door closed behind her.
“That could have gone better,” Courtney observed, a wince on her face. When Hank spun around to glare at her, she shrugged, “It could have. You do know you can't tell her the truth?”
Hank seemed to collapse in on himself. “Yeah,” he acknowledged. “Yeah.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
He didn't know if he should laugh, cry or scream. Joyce had caught him and Courtney in what she assumed were more compromising situations including a dinner together which she assumed was romantic. In truth, he and Courtney had been waiting to meet with the newest member of his protection detail so he'd know who to look for. In addition, something had been going on with Buffy that between work, figuring out if Cobra knew about him and fighting with Joyce he hadn't been able to look into and Buffy, having heard what their fight was about had pulled away from him.
Everything was falling apart.
Then the call came that Buffy was suspected of setting fire to the gymnasium in an attempt to protect her fellow students from vampires. He and the other Joes knew that vampires and other things were real, but the thought of his daughter fighting vampires while Cobra might be after her and her protection detail listed as MIA, he couldn't help but agree with the suggestion he received. She needed to be somewhere safe, somewhere guarded and the institution was the best place for that, at least until they could figure out how to keep Buffy safe.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Courtney stood beside him as he watched Joyce and Buffy leave their house for what was probably the last time. He would see Buffy for some holidays and have her for all but two weeks of her summer vacation, but it was killing him not to see her everyday, especially when word came back that she was an agent for a different organization, one that dealt with the supernatural. His little girl was only fifteen. Sure she was his daughter and he saw a lot of himself in her, but she was so very young. He'd been through college and received extensive training before he began facing anything remotely as dangerous as what she was. But Cobra didn't go to Sunnydale - ever. No one back with G. I. Joe knew why, but it would be safer for them there. It was why they'd pulled strings to ensure Buffy and Joyce moved there.
“It will be fine.”
Hank turned to her. “Joyce divorced me. Buffy can barely look at me. They both think we're having an affair.” His voice was as flat and cold as his heart felt.
Courtney winced. There was nothing she could say.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“I'm not fit for duty,” Hank - Alvin - argued. “You know that. It's why I left, why I never tried to go back, why we created Hank Summers in the first place.”
“It's not a field position,” Duke assured.
“No. I made life as Hank Summers. I had a job. I had a wife. I had a great relationship with my daughter, then you came back into my life and my wife divorced me, my daughter has become distant at best. She's supposed to be here in two weeks and I...” The house phone started ringing. As annoyed as he was, as angry as he was he knew he needed to step away for a moment to regain control of his temper. “Hello. Joyce? No. She's not due here for two weeks, a week after school lets out, you know that. What! Do you... No. I know. I'll work what I can from my end. No. We'll find her. She'll be fine.” He hung up the phone and let his head drop as he took a deep breath.
“What happened?” Duke asked in genuine concern.
Turning to face his former boss, Hank prepared to share what he knew and to ask for help. He would use it as payment for agreeing to what they were asking of him. “Something happened at Buffy's school. Her friends were attacked and a girl murdered. The Principal accused Buffy of the murder and the police tried to arrest her, but she ran. She and Joyce got in a fight and Buffy left. All that happened last night. This morning Joyce found a note.” He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Buffy ran and we don't know where.”
Duke and Courtney exchanged a look. “What do you need?”
“I need help finding her. I need her safe,” Hank said.
“We can look into it,” Duke assured slowly. “It might be easier with someone to coordinate communications between here and Sunnydale,” he added hinting at exactly what Hank had been expecting.
Closing his eyes and praying that he would someday be able to repair his relationship with his daughter, he nodded. “Help me with Buffy and I'll do your mission. I'll come back. But I will be telling her the truth.”
Neither of the active Joes smiled or objected, even though telling Buffy the truth would break security.
Hank knew that this wasn't how they wanted this to go, but they desperately needed Breaker back for the upcoming mission and would take him however they could get him. He just hoped he remembered how to be Alvin Kibbey after being Hank Summers for so long.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“Buffy!” Hank cried, half to get her attention, half in relief. He saw his daughter turn in surprise at the sound of his voice. Her eyes flicked to Courtney and Duke behind him and her face closed off somewhat. Hank didn't care, he jogged up to his little girl and hugged her. “Don't scare me like that again. Something or someone could have gotten you,” he scolded.
“D-dad?” Buffy asked, blinking, thrown by his comment of something. What did he know?
Hank sighed and drew her into another hug. “I know, Buffy. I know about vampires and other things. I know you're working for an organization, and I have so much I have to tell you and not a lot of time to do it.”
“Dad,” she repeated, sounding less confused. “Dad. I...”
“Come home with me. We'll pick up your stuff,” he encouraged. He looked at what she was wearing and cringed slightly at the waitress uniform he recognized from a run-down diner he'd been taken to once. “We can talk about your job too.”
Buffy looked down at her clothes. “I just got off shift.”
“Come home with me, Buffy. We need to talk.”
Buffy felt her eyes begin to well with tears, but nodded.
A few hours later, Buffy and Hank were sitting on the couch with Hank's arm around her.
“So, Courtney was never a romantic thing, but a protection thing. Mom and I are safe from these bad guys who may be coming after you as long as we're in Sunnydale. My running away allowed you to be blackmailed into going back to work for the organization that Courtney works for and you used to work for. And your real name is Alvin, as in the chipmunk.”
Hank sighed at that last statement. “True except for the last part. My name is Alvin after my paternal grandfather. It's also true that you are going to spend the rest of the summer with me and you will be contacting your mother and friends to let them know you're OK now that the murder charges have been cleared.”
“But Mom -”
“But your Mom was angry and upset and scared to death that you would be hurt so she tried to make you stay where she thought you'd be safe.”
“Stupid parent logic.”
“Yes, well, my logic isn't overly happy about you feeling the need to keep that job, but I suppose it's better than you sitting around all Summer.” The two sat in silence before Hank drew Buffy closer and kissed the top of her head. “And tomorrow, after we both sleep, you will tell me what really happened up in Sunnydale. Not the part about your friends and the Principal and the cops, but whatever it is that hurt you so badly you felt the need to be lost.”
“Dad -”
“No. I don't care how much you think I won't like it. It's hurting you, Buffy, and I won't let it.”
Buffy turned and wrapped her arms around her father. “Love you Dad.”
“Love you too.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“So what's your plan of attack,” Courtney asked.
Since understanding that there really was nothing romantic between her father and his secretary, Buffy had discovered she actually liked Courtney. She'd also gotten quite the crash course over the summer on tactics, communications and anything else Courtney, her dad and whoever else was around thought she might need to know, especially after her father found out she wasn't an Agent, she was a Slayer and what being a Slayer meant.
“I'm going to have to go in,” Buffy said. “Give me five minutes. By that point I should know if they're legit or if there's something not right. If they're legit, I'll be out within that time frame. If I'm not out, assume they're not legit and come in after me. I'll have them either immobilized or distracted.”
“Sounds like you're thinking clearly,” Hank said.
Buffy smiled at him. It was amazing to have her Dad there with her. She briefly wished he could be with her all the time on these sorts of things. “All right. I'll head into Family Home in two minutes. You guys ready?” When she received affirmative responses, she nodded. “Let's do this.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“What's up?” Duke asked, entering the communications room in their base in Spain and seeing the expression on Breaker's face.
“Buffy called. She doesn't want me at graduation.”
“I thought you were getting along well despite the mission taking you away?”
“We are,” Breaker assured. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Apparently, though, their town Mayor is about to change into a huge demon at graduation. Buffy and her friends have a plan in place which I got her to admit involved blowing up the high school.”
“What?” Duke exclaimed.
Hank nodded. “Last time one of these demons was on Earth it took a volcano to stop it, apparently.”
“Do we have time to send someone in there? We could get things set up correctly, maybe find an alternative...”
“Graduation is in two days and the Mayor is having all ways in or out of town watched. It's why she didn't send Joyce away.”
Duke chewed on that for a few minutes. “Let me talk to the General and see if we can have something ready to go, just in case.”
Breaker could only nod in agreement.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
“Why are we waiting here?” Riley asked, getting antsy. “We need to get in there and stop this.”
“Buffy, we have everything we need for the spell,” Willow encouraged, wanting to go before she lost her nerve.
Buffy tilted her head to the side as if listening to something and then smiled. Spike also tilted his head to listen, but his brow furrowed in puzzlement.
“Backup's just a few minutes out,” Buffy assured, relaxing slightly.
“Backup?” Giles asked. “Who did you call?”
“My dad,” Buffy replied, her smile growing wide as a jeep pulled up, her Dad sitting in the passenger seat.
“Buffy,” Riley hissed as his studies the people in front of him.
Turning to look at him, Buffy laughed slightly at his stunned expression when he caught sight of their operation patch.
“Buffy, they're... they're G. I. Joes,” he stammered.
Laughing outright, Buffy moved forward to greet her father as the other vehicles came to a stop. “Dad. Thank you for coming,” she greeted.
“Anything for you,” he assured. “Let me introduce you to Scarlett. She's going to be leading the Joes in this.”
“Great. We can go inside and review the plans,” Buffy informed, allowing her father to guide her to a red-headed woman. Adam was so going down.
End