If Not For That Girl - August 27th
Twisted Shorts August Fic-a-Day Challenge - Day 27
Title: If Not For That Girl
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/SG-1
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or SG-1 people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Sam meets her teenage cousin.
Notes: Based on Challenge 2112 on TtH
Seasons: Between Season 2 & 3/Season 5 (after “Last Stand”)
Characters: Sam, Jacob/Selmac, Hammond, Willow, Joyce, Oz
Word Count: 2535
Major Samantha Carter frowned at the Stargate activating during SG-1’s debrief.
“Expecting someone?” Jack asked cheekily.
“Actually, yes,” General George Hammond admitted as he stood.
An airmen’s head appeared at the top of the spiral stairs to the control room. “It’s the Tok’ra’s code.”
Hammond bustled over, starting down the stairs and shouting orders.
The team looked at each other a moment before abandoning the conference room for the control room.
The iris opened revealing the blue shimmering event horizon of the Earth Stargate. A brown-clad figure appeared, the Stargate disengaging behind him.
“Dad?” Sam said in surprise. She beat Hammond out of the control room and to the Gate room to greet her father.
Retired-General Jacob Carter smiled at his daughter. “Sam.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked with a quick hug.
“George called me, said it was urgent,” Jacob confessed.
“And so it is,” Hammond admitted. “Let’s continue this in the conference room.” He gestured for SG-1 to lead. He walked with Jacob. “I’m surprised they could spare you so soon.”
Jacob shrugged. He tipped his head a moment, Selmac coming to the fore, his voice deep. “The Tok’ra are grateful for your assistance recently. However, even though we are in transition, we understood that you could not wait the four or five months it would normally take.”
“I appreciate your urgency, Selmac.” They all sat again at the conference table. Hammond debated a moment dismissing SG-1, but this effected them as well. “Do you know a Shelia Rosenberg?” Hammond asked.
“My half-sister,” Jacob answered. “I haven’t talked to her in…a decade or two. I believe she lives outside of L.A.”
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Shelia, and her husband Ira, died in a plane crash three weeks ago.”
Jacob nodded. “That’s too bad. But George, I don’t understand.”
“They have a sixteen year old daughter, Willow. And you and Major Carter - as well as your son - are the only living relatives.”
“Yikes,” O’Neill whispered.
Daniel cringed, having lost both his parents at once, he did not envy the young woman.
“Mark wouldn’t take her in?” Sam asked.
Hammond shifted uncomfortably. “It seems Miss Rosenberg has had some…run-ins in her hometown. The latest one involved a dead girl and Miss Rosenberg ending up in the hospital, badly beaten. According to the school principal, her choice of friends have led her on an unfortunate path.” He cleared his throat. “As you can imagine, with two impressionable children of his own, your brother has outright refused to open his home to her.”
Jacob sighed at Selmac’s insistence that he at least meet the young woman before refusing to help. “Where is she?”
George stood and walked quickly to his office, grabbing the file off the edge of his desk. He handed it to Jacob.
“Sunnydale, California. Who is she staying with?” Jacob asked, handing the file to Sam.
Hammond shrugged. “All social services would tell me was that a friend’s mother offered her home until family willing to take Miss Rosenberg on could be contacted.” He eyed Jacob and Sam. “Since I’m listed as the emergency contact for both of you…”
“We should meet this girl,” Jacob said, echoing Selmac to the room.
“Dad, General, with all due respect, the SGC isn’t exactly conducive to helping a disturbed young woman who just lost her parents.”
“Doc Fraiser does it,” O’Neill pointed out.
“Janet has the advantage of limited Gate travel. But Dad lives with the Tok’ra and I’m off-world - a lot.”
“We should at least talk to her, before we make any decisions,” Jacob said.
Teal’c took their attention. “If the incidents reported are accurate, would a correction facility not be more appropriate?”
“Uh, before we go that drastic,” Daniel interrupted. “Perhaps, you should go into this assuming no more than she is your cousin, wh-who has lost her parents.”
Sam took a deep breath, nodding once to indicate she agreed. She had been younger than Willow when she lost her mom, and while her and her father had not had a stellar relationship at the time, she could not imagine losing him at the same time.
88888888
Willow looked around her best friend’s room. Buffy had been gone for over a month, since the attempted re-ensouling spell on Angelus. Giles was tracking down leads. When Willow’s parents had died, Mrs. Summers had volunteered to take her after social services had refused to house her - even temporarily - with the Harris’ given the number of times the police had been called for incidents.
Xander had been by every day. Giles too, though for different reasons - he was assuring Mrs. Summers that he was looking for Buffy. The social worker called the day before, saying her only relatives would be coming today. The holdup had something to do with both of them being military, which made Willow worry. She did not know anything about her mother’s brother.
Leaving behind her friends and her childhood home…magic and demons… it was a hard thing to swallow. Mrs. Summers had been nice enough, but she was angry at Giles, like Buffy being the Slayer was his fault. While she had been nice enough to house Willow, she had questions about what Buffy had been up to since moving to Sunnydale. It was hard to be polite without outing all the times her friend snuck out.
There was a soft knock at the bedroom door. Willow zipped her bag and pulled it off the bed. She opened the door to reveal Mrs. Summers.
“Oz is here,” Mrs. Summers said softly, “he doesn’t look well.”
Willow nodded. Last night had been the first night of the full moon, Oz’s werewolf spent the night in the school library cage, overseen by Xander or Giles. She felt guilty not having been there, too busy packing. If her few relatives did not take her, social services would be delivering her to a group home in LA the following afternoon.
She trooped downstairs, keeping things sunny. It was easier than giving into the unfairness. Either her relatives would take her God knew where or she was headed to L.A. as part of the system.
She hugged Oz, who looked at haggard as Mrs. Summers had suggested.
“Hi,” she whispered as she stepped back. “You didn’t have to be here. You had a long night.”
Oz watched her with bloodshot green eyes. He took her hand and squeezed it, silently communicating support.
Mrs. Summers descended the stairs. “Why don’t I make lunch? It’ll keep us busy while we wait.”
“That sounds good, ma’am,” Oz replied softly.
88888888
Sam and Jacob waited in the lobby of Sunnydale High School.
“You must be here about Miss Rosenberg,” a voice said.
Their attention was drawn to a short, balding man with large ears. His pressed smile looked uncomfortable.
“I’m Principal Snyder. Please, come with me, we’ll talk in my office.”
“How long have you been principal?” Jacob asked.
“Only a year,” he admitted. “The previous administration…met an unfortunate accident.” He sneered. “He was a mamsy-pamsy type, felt the administration should try to relate to the students. Not to speak ill of the dead…”
He opened the door to an office filled with a metal desk and several filing cabinets. The desk was clean, only a calendar and nameplate visible.
Snyder waved them to sit and went around the desk. He pulled keys from his pocket and opened the larger filing cabinet. He extracted a large red file, bound by a rubber band. With a grunt he hefted it onto the desk, making a clang.
Sam and Jacob shifted, glancing at each other.
“This is all Willow Rosenberg?” Jacob asked.
Snyder held up a finger and pulled out a manila folder. He closed the cabinet and set the file on the edge of his desk. He sat down and removed the rubber band. “Miss Rosenberg - as I’m sure social services explained - has been involved in several questionable incidents during her time here.” He laid out several reports and news clippings about the murder of a girl in the school library and the mess found by the paramedics including Willow crushed beneath a shelf.
Jacob folded his hands and studied the man. “We’re aware of the incident described in these articles.”
“It’s unfortunate that Miss Rosenberg has been negatively influenced by her association with one Buffy Summers.” He gleefully explained. “Miss Summers has been kicked out of two schools, starts fights, and is seen in questionable company of men-”
“Willow’s grades,” Sam interrupted, “how are they?”
Snyder’s demeanor soured. “Until befriending Miss Summers…her grades and attendance were acceptable.” He spread out the red file for them to see. “But as you can see, for the last year her record has been-”
“This is not her official record,” Jacob said, gesturing to the red folder’s contents. “We’d like to take a look at and officially take custody of the official record for Miss Rosenberg.”
“I didn’t think you’d agreed to take on Miss Rosenberg.”
“We haven’t,” Sam said. “But this will save a return trip for ourselves or the social worker.”
Snyder pulled open a desk drawer and handed over a release form and a pen. Sam signed it and took the plain manila file.
Jacob stood. “I think that concludes things.”
Sam nodded and stood as well. They did not wait for a reply but opened the door and exited.
“Selmac doesn’t like him,” Jacob confided softly to Sam as they reached a hallway intersection.
“I don’t like him,” Sam admitted, examining the file. She came to a stop. “Whatever Willow is, she’s a straight-A student. No sign of extracurricular… but she taught a computer class for the last few months of the school year. And her test scores are…impressive. If she scored as high on her SATs as she did on these other standardized tests, she could go to school anywhere.”
“Unless they need a recommendation,” Jacob noted. “Principal Snyder seems determined to damage her and that Buffy girl.”
“Excuse me?” a voice said, stopping near them. “Were you talking about Buffy Summers?”
The man was wearing tweed and glasses.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’m Rupert Giles, the school librarian.”
“I’m Major Samantha Carter, this is my father Jacob.” She closed the file. “We were just meeting with the principal about Willow Rosenberg.”
“Oh-yes-right, of course.” Giles nodded. “I’m afraid the situation has been difficult for Willow these last few weeks.”
“You know her?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, uh, quite well, actually. Willow spent most of her-her free time in the library. A-along with her friends.” He sighed, flustered. “Please don’t let Snyder color your view of Willow before you meet her. She…she’s an incredibly gifted child.” He seemed to be genuine though he looked disturbed.
“Thank you,” Sam said. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
88888888
Willow turned over her grilled cheese sandwich, too anxious to eat.
A knock at the door drew their attention. Mrs. Summers stood suddenly - hopeful - like she did every time the phone rang or someone knocked. She was waiting for Buffy to walk back in, to appear… Then she squared her expectations away and headed for the door. She pulled it open. Her conversation was too quiet to hear. But she stepped back and allowed someone to enter.
Willow stood, Oz ate his last chip and brushed his hands off before standing as well.
“Willow,” Mrs. Summers said.
“Hi,” Willow waved a hand, feeling anxious and off-balance. The urge to babble, to say something, came to the forefront. “I’m Willow. Which Mrs. Summers just said. We were just having lunch. I can’t believe we’re cousins. I didn’t have any cousins, but we look very different. My friend Xander, him and all his cousins look alike. But you’re blond and I have red hair and you’re very tall. I’m still growing - cuz ya know, I’m a kid.”
“Babe,” Oz said softly, setting a hand on her arm. “Breathe.”
Willow clamped her lips together and fought the urge to speak again.
Oz came to the rescue. “I’m Oz.” He offered his hand to the man, feeling a need to size him up.
“Jacob.” They shook hands.
“I’m Sam Carter.” She smiled at Willow. “And yes, we’re cousins.”
88888888
Jacob and Sam returned to their hotel in silence with a bag of burgers and fries from a nearby restaurant. They sat down at the small room table and set out their food.
They were midway through their meal before Sam spoke. “She’ll be fine.”
Jacob sighed. He and Selmac had been arguing for the better part of the interview with Willow, Oz, and Joyce Summers. They were in a precarious position. They had a finite amount of time. And the battles he and Sam were fighting were bigger than the future of an orphaned sixteen year old.
“Neither of us have time to…parent,” Sam continued. “She would be left alone most of the time. It’s not like she can join you and I come and go a lot.”
“You see a lot of your daughter in your niece,” Selmac advised.
“They are bright girls,” Jacob replied.
“And you feel guilt over both…”
“You’re the one who has pointed out the timetable we’re on.
Selmac made an irritated noise. “This issue needs to be settled to your satisfaction, and Major Carter’s. We need to be able to put this matter to rest and focus on our mission when we return to the Tok’ra. Speak honestly, Jacob.”
“We should take her back to Colorado,” Jacob finally said to Sam.
“Dad…”
“Sam, she’s family. And a child-”
“Only for fourteen more months, then she’s eighteen.”
“Right. But she lost her parents, her home has been cleared out - something she and Joyce had to do immediately after the funeral. She’s losing her friends and the entire life she has built here…she’ll go into the system and be shuffled between overcrowded group homes with runaways and juvenile delinquents, because nobody is going to foster a sixteen years old. Especially if Principal Snyder has his say.”
“What are we supposed to do?”
“You have a friend with a daughter the same age-”
“I can’t foist her off on Janet, Dad.”
“I don’t know what the solution is,” Jacob yelled, “but it is not leaving here to the welfare system.”
“Calm,” Selmac soothed.
“Dad-”
“Sam, this girl is…Willow is your cousin.” He grinned. “You were always quiet and reserved, buried your feelings beneath a plate of armor you still carry around. She doesn’t have any of that. She babbles when she’s uncomfortable and it took Mr. Osbourne three attempts at one point to get her to relax long enough to take a breath.” He shook his head. “She may be an adult in a little over a year, but until then…she needs us.”
Sam sighed, nodding as well. She had been trying to convince herself that there was no need to interfere. But her father - and Selmac - were right. Willow was unprepared. And she could make a difference in the world, she was a genius and had spent her entire life quietly studying. Her association with Buffy Summers aside, she appeared a good student.
“Do you or Selmac have a plan?”
Title: If Not For That Girl
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/SG-1
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or SG-1 people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Sam meets her teenage cousin.
Notes: Based on Challenge 2112 on TtH
Seasons: Between Season 2 & 3/Season 5 (after “Last Stand”)
Characters: Sam, Jacob/Selmac, Hammond, Willow, Joyce, Oz
Word Count: 2535
Major Samantha Carter frowned at the Stargate activating during SG-1’s debrief.
“Expecting someone?” Jack asked cheekily.
“Actually, yes,” General George Hammond admitted as he stood.
An airmen’s head appeared at the top of the spiral stairs to the control room. “It’s the Tok’ra’s code.”
Hammond bustled over, starting down the stairs and shouting orders.
The team looked at each other a moment before abandoning the conference room for the control room.
The iris opened revealing the blue shimmering event horizon of the Earth Stargate. A brown-clad figure appeared, the Stargate disengaging behind him.
“Dad?” Sam said in surprise. She beat Hammond out of the control room and to the Gate room to greet her father.
Retired-General Jacob Carter smiled at his daughter. “Sam.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked with a quick hug.
“George called me, said it was urgent,” Jacob confessed.
“And so it is,” Hammond admitted. “Let’s continue this in the conference room.” He gestured for SG-1 to lead. He walked with Jacob. “I’m surprised they could spare you so soon.”
Jacob shrugged. He tipped his head a moment, Selmac coming to the fore, his voice deep. “The Tok’ra are grateful for your assistance recently. However, even though we are in transition, we understood that you could not wait the four or five months it would normally take.”
“I appreciate your urgency, Selmac.” They all sat again at the conference table. Hammond debated a moment dismissing SG-1, but this effected them as well. “Do you know a Shelia Rosenberg?” Hammond asked.
“My half-sister,” Jacob answered. “I haven’t talked to her in…a decade or two. I believe she lives outside of L.A.”
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Shelia, and her husband Ira, died in a plane crash three weeks ago.”
Jacob nodded. “That’s too bad. But George, I don’t understand.”
“They have a sixteen year old daughter, Willow. And you and Major Carter - as well as your son - are the only living relatives.”
“Yikes,” O’Neill whispered.
Daniel cringed, having lost both his parents at once, he did not envy the young woman.
“Mark wouldn’t take her in?” Sam asked.
Hammond shifted uncomfortably. “It seems Miss Rosenberg has had some…run-ins in her hometown. The latest one involved a dead girl and Miss Rosenberg ending up in the hospital, badly beaten. According to the school principal, her choice of friends have led her on an unfortunate path.” He cleared his throat. “As you can imagine, with two impressionable children of his own, your brother has outright refused to open his home to her.”
Jacob sighed at Selmac’s insistence that he at least meet the young woman before refusing to help. “Where is she?”
George stood and walked quickly to his office, grabbing the file off the edge of his desk. He handed it to Jacob.
“Sunnydale, California. Who is she staying with?” Jacob asked, handing the file to Sam.
Hammond shrugged. “All social services would tell me was that a friend’s mother offered her home until family willing to take Miss Rosenberg on could be contacted.” He eyed Jacob and Sam. “Since I’m listed as the emergency contact for both of you…”
“We should meet this girl,” Jacob said, echoing Selmac to the room.
“Dad, General, with all due respect, the SGC isn’t exactly conducive to helping a disturbed young woman who just lost her parents.”
“Doc Fraiser does it,” O’Neill pointed out.
“Janet has the advantage of limited Gate travel. But Dad lives with the Tok’ra and I’m off-world - a lot.”
“We should at least talk to her, before we make any decisions,” Jacob said.
Teal’c took their attention. “If the incidents reported are accurate, would a correction facility not be more appropriate?”
“Uh, before we go that drastic,” Daniel interrupted. “Perhaps, you should go into this assuming no more than she is your cousin, wh-who has lost her parents.”
Sam took a deep breath, nodding once to indicate she agreed. She had been younger than Willow when she lost her mom, and while her and her father had not had a stellar relationship at the time, she could not imagine losing him at the same time.
88888888
Willow looked around her best friend’s room. Buffy had been gone for over a month, since the attempted re-ensouling spell on Angelus. Giles was tracking down leads. When Willow’s parents had died, Mrs. Summers had volunteered to take her after social services had refused to house her - even temporarily - with the Harris’ given the number of times the police had been called for incidents.
Xander had been by every day. Giles too, though for different reasons - he was assuring Mrs. Summers that he was looking for Buffy. The social worker called the day before, saying her only relatives would be coming today. The holdup had something to do with both of them being military, which made Willow worry. She did not know anything about her mother’s brother.
Leaving behind her friends and her childhood home…magic and demons… it was a hard thing to swallow. Mrs. Summers had been nice enough, but she was angry at Giles, like Buffy being the Slayer was his fault. While she had been nice enough to house Willow, she had questions about what Buffy had been up to since moving to Sunnydale. It was hard to be polite without outing all the times her friend snuck out.
There was a soft knock at the bedroom door. Willow zipped her bag and pulled it off the bed. She opened the door to reveal Mrs. Summers.
“Oz is here,” Mrs. Summers said softly, “he doesn’t look well.”
Willow nodded. Last night had been the first night of the full moon, Oz’s werewolf spent the night in the school library cage, overseen by Xander or Giles. She felt guilty not having been there, too busy packing. If her few relatives did not take her, social services would be delivering her to a group home in LA the following afternoon.
She trooped downstairs, keeping things sunny. It was easier than giving into the unfairness. Either her relatives would take her God knew where or she was headed to L.A. as part of the system.
She hugged Oz, who looked at haggard as Mrs. Summers had suggested.
“Hi,” she whispered as she stepped back. “You didn’t have to be here. You had a long night.”
Oz watched her with bloodshot green eyes. He took her hand and squeezed it, silently communicating support.
Mrs. Summers descended the stairs. “Why don’t I make lunch? It’ll keep us busy while we wait.”
“That sounds good, ma’am,” Oz replied softly.
88888888
Sam and Jacob waited in the lobby of Sunnydale High School.
“You must be here about Miss Rosenberg,” a voice said.
Their attention was drawn to a short, balding man with large ears. His pressed smile looked uncomfortable.
“I’m Principal Snyder. Please, come with me, we’ll talk in my office.”
“How long have you been principal?” Jacob asked.
“Only a year,” he admitted. “The previous administration…met an unfortunate accident.” He sneered. “He was a mamsy-pamsy type, felt the administration should try to relate to the students. Not to speak ill of the dead…”
He opened the door to an office filled with a metal desk and several filing cabinets. The desk was clean, only a calendar and nameplate visible.
Snyder waved them to sit and went around the desk. He pulled keys from his pocket and opened the larger filing cabinet. He extracted a large red file, bound by a rubber band. With a grunt he hefted it onto the desk, making a clang.
Sam and Jacob shifted, glancing at each other.
“This is all Willow Rosenberg?” Jacob asked.
Snyder held up a finger and pulled out a manila folder. He closed the cabinet and set the file on the edge of his desk. He sat down and removed the rubber band. “Miss Rosenberg - as I’m sure social services explained - has been involved in several questionable incidents during her time here.” He laid out several reports and news clippings about the murder of a girl in the school library and the mess found by the paramedics including Willow crushed beneath a shelf.
Jacob folded his hands and studied the man. “We’re aware of the incident described in these articles.”
“It’s unfortunate that Miss Rosenberg has been negatively influenced by her association with one Buffy Summers.” He gleefully explained. “Miss Summers has been kicked out of two schools, starts fights, and is seen in questionable company of men-”
“Willow’s grades,” Sam interrupted, “how are they?”
Snyder’s demeanor soured. “Until befriending Miss Summers…her grades and attendance were acceptable.” He spread out the red file for them to see. “But as you can see, for the last year her record has been-”
“This is not her official record,” Jacob said, gesturing to the red folder’s contents. “We’d like to take a look at and officially take custody of the official record for Miss Rosenberg.”
“I didn’t think you’d agreed to take on Miss Rosenberg.”
“We haven’t,” Sam said. “But this will save a return trip for ourselves or the social worker.”
Snyder pulled open a desk drawer and handed over a release form and a pen. Sam signed it and took the plain manila file.
Jacob stood. “I think that concludes things.”
Sam nodded and stood as well. They did not wait for a reply but opened the door and exited.
“Selmac doesn’t like him,” Jacob confided softly to Sam as they reached a hallway intersection.
“I don’t like him,” Sam admitted, examining the file. She came to a stop. “Whatever Willow is, she’s a straight-A student. No sign of extracurricular… but she taught a computer class for the last few months of the school year. And her test scores are…impressive. If she scored as high on her SATs as she did on these other standardized tests, she could go to school anywhere.”
“Unless they need a recommendation,” Jacob noted. “Principal Snyder seems determined to damage her and that Buffy girl.”
“Excuse me?” a voice said, stopping near them. “Were you talking about Buffy Summers?”
The man was wearing tweed and glasses.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’m Rupert Giles, the school librarian.”
“I’m Major Samantha Carter, this is my father Jacob.” She closed the file. “We were just meeting with the principal about Willow Rosenberg.”
“Oh-yes-right, of course.” Giles nodded. “I’m afraid the situation has been difficult for Willow these last few weeks.”
“You know her?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, uh, quite well, actually. Willow spent most of her-her free time in the library. A-along with her friends.” He sighed, flustered. “Please don’t let Snyder color your view of Willow before you meet her. She…she’s an incredibly gifted child.” He seemed to be genuine though he looked disturbed.
“Thank you,” Sam said. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
88888888
Willow turned over her grilled cheese sandwich, too anxious to eat.
A knock at the door drew their attention. Mrs. Summers stood suddenly - hopeful - like she did every time the phone rang or someone knocked. She was waiting for Buffy to walk back in, to appear… Then she squared her expectations away and headed for the door. She pulled it open. Her conversation was too quiet to hear. But she stepped back and allowed someone to enter.
Willow stood, Oz ate his last chip and brushed his hands off before standing as well.
“Willow,” Mrs. Summers said.
“Hi,” Willow waved a hand, feeling anxious and off-balance. The urge to babble, to say something, came to the forefront. “I’m Willow. Which Mrs. Summers just said. We were just having lunch. I can’t believe we’re cousins. I didn’t have any cousins, but we look very different. My friend Xander, him and all his cousins look alike. But you’re blond and I have red hair and you’re very tall. I’m still growing - cuz ya know, I’m a kid.”
“Babe,” Oz said softly, setting a hand on her arm. “Breathe.”
Willow clamped her lips together and fought the urge to speak again.
Oz came to the rescue. “I’m Oz.” He offered his hand to the man, feeling a need to size him up.
“Jacob.” They shook hands.
“I’m Sam Carter.” She smiled at Willow. “And yes, we’re cousins.”
88888888
Jacob and Sam returned to their hotel in silence with a bag of burgers and fries from a nearby restaurant. They sat down at the small room table and set out their food.
They were midway through their meal before Sam spoke. “She’ll be fine.”
Jacob sighed. He and Selmac had been arguing for the better part of the interview with Willow, Oz, and Joyce Summers. They were in a precarious position. They had a finite amount of time. And the battles he and Sam were fighting were bigger than the future of an orphaned sixteen year old.
“Neither of us have time to…parent,” Sam continued. “She would be left alone most of the time. It’s not like she can join you and I come and go a lot.”
“You see a lot of your daughter in your niece,” Selmac advised.
“They are bright girls,” Jacob replied.
“And you feel guilt over both…”
“You’re the one who has pointed out the timetable we’re on.
Selmac made an irritated noise. “This issue needs to be settled to your satisfaction, and Major Carter’s. We need to be able to put this matter to rest and focus on our mission when we return to the Tok’ra. Speak honestly, Jacob.”
“We should take her back to Colorado,” Jacob finally said to Sam.
“Dad…”
“Sam, she’s family. And a child-”
“Only for fourteen more months, then she’s eighteen.”
“Right. But she lost her parents, her home has been cleared out - something she and Joyce had to do immediately after the funeral. She’s losing her friends and the entire life she has built here…she’ll go into the system and be shuffled between overcrowded group homes with runaways and juvenile delinquents, because nobody is going to foster a sixteen years old. Especially if Principal Snyder has his say.”
“What are we supposed to do?”
“You have a friend with a daughter the same age-”
“I can’t foist her off on Janet, Dad.”
“I don’t know what the solution is,” Jacob yelled, “but it is not leaving here to the welfare system.”
“Calm,” Selmac soothed.
“Dad-”
“Sam, this girl is…Willow is your cousin.” He grinned. “You were always quiet and reserved, buried your feelings beneath a plate of armor you still carry around. She doesn’t have any of that. She babbles when she’s uncomfortable and it took Mr. Osbourne three attempts at one point to get her to relax long enough to take a breath.” He shook his head. “She may be an adult in a little over a year, but until then…she needs us.”
Sam sighed, nodding as well. She had been trying to convince herself that there was no need to interfere. But her father - and Selmac - were right. Willow was unprepared. And she could make a difference in the world, she was a genius and had spent her entire life quietly studying. Her association with Buffy Summers aside, she appeared a good student.
“Do you or Selmac have a plan?”