Family Ties
Title: Family Ties
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / NCIS: LA
Characters: Buffy, Dawn, Hetty, maybe others
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 2543
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of NCIS: LA belong to CBS, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: NOT related to any previous stories. Writing fic on far too little sleep never ends well. Hopefully this makes more sense than I think it does.
When she came across the paper, she wasn't shocked or surprised, she wasn't taken aback and her world didn't crash around her ears. In fact, her entire response reminded her more of Oz than anything else. She simply said, “Huh.”
“Huh, what?” Dawn asked from where she sat also surrounded by papers.
They were sitting in an apartment in Cleveland at the moment. Buffy would need to go to Europe for a while to help Giles claim the Watcher's Council assets, but until they go their replacement passports, Dawn and Buffy needed to stay in the US. It would only be a few more weeks.
What Buffy hadn't been expecting was to receive several large boxes forwarded from Angel. From the note attached, apparently Spike, having taken exception to Buffy being thrown out of her own home, had boxed up anything he thought might be important to her and shipped it to Angel to hold until things settled in Sunnydale.
After Sunnydale, when Buffy passed out and they discovered her wound, Dawn had panicked and refused to leave Buffy alone. The two had had several long talks about everything they'd been avoiding talking about since Dawn first arrived in Buffy's life. Not only about being kicked out, but also about the fact that medical tests showed Buffy as Dawn's mother, not her sister. They speculated briefly about who the father might be before admitting defeat since they didn't know anyone with blue eyes like Dawn's or her particular shade of hair. In the end, they had decided that their relationship was and needed to remain that of sisters, not mother-daughter.
With that understanding they were better able to live together and got along much better than they had. When the boxes showed up with the note, they had both cried over the loss of Spike once more and then opened the boxes where their tears came from another source. The first box held pictures, priceless artifacts to the girls who had lost everything. Pictures of them growing up, of them with Joyce, with Hank, with the friends. The other boxes held a mix of small items and paperwork. It was an unexpected blessing to them.
The current box they were sorting through seemed to be all the papers from their mother's desk. Dawn had taken one stack of folders and Buffy another. Buffy had just opened an unlabeled folder, smiling at the sight of Dawn's official birth certificate (as official as it could be since Willow hacked into the appropriate computer systems and entered Dawn's information there), her birth certificate and her mother;s. It was while looking at her mother's birth certificate that she had uttered her word of surprise.
“Mom's birth mother wasn't Grandma.”
“Oh?” Dawn asked, curious. She set aside her own folder and moved to look over Buffy's shoulder at the document. “Huh. Think we should have Willow look her up?” Seeing Buffy's grimace, Dawn winced as well. While she and Buffy had worked out their differences, Buffy and the Scoobies had not. Interacting with them was somewhat challenging.
“Why don't we see what we can find out first. I mean, Google should at least provide some information.”
“OK,” Dawn agreed, standing and moving toward the laptop. She called up the search and then typed the name into the search bar. A few seconds later, the expected multiple pages of replies came up. The first few were easy enough to dismiss since the women were either dead before Joyce had been born or were too young to be their grandmother. It wasn't until a small article from a local paper on the fourteenth page of results that they found something that might lead them somewhere.
“I really think we need to get help with this now,” Dawn admitted. “I don't think there's much else we can do.”
Buffy sighed. “I know, but not Willow or Angel.”
Dawn winced. “Riley?”
Buffy's nose wrinkled in distaste. “Probably our best bet.” She sighed at the thought of involving Riley in this. “Let's see what he can find out about Henrietta Lang.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
It had actually taken over a year to finally get current information on Henrietta “Hetty” Lang. The hold up wasn't necessarily identifying where she was, through that had taken some time, nor was it the fact that the Summers sisters were needed to help set up the New Council and Dawn had to deal with school while living overseas. The issue was clearance - theirs and hers. Apparently she worked for NCIS and had ridiculously high clearance. Most of her personnel records were redacted, so there was almost nothing the girls could find out from them.
Buffy actually had higher clearance, thanks to her roles with the Initiative and the New Council, but her file was equally redacted making it nearly impossible to offer Henrietta any information on her. As Buffy's charge, any information on Dawn was held at the same level of security as Buffy's.
Despite all the drama, however, Buffy and Dawn finally got the OK to contact her directly. They sent her a letter with a copy of the birth certificate and what information they had.
A month after the letter was sent (and most likely cleared by multiple intelligence agencies), there was a request from Henrietta for a DNA analysis. Buffy, and the entire New Council, was unwilling to let the government have her or Dawn's blood. It was easy enough to not have them test Dawn's blood since she was still a minor. After much research, they found an independent lab that Henrietta agreed to use as well. On their part, Buffy made the lab sign a non-disclosure as well as a number of agreements including one to destroy all samples and data as soon as the results had been given to both parties.
Their next step would be determined by the outcome of the tests.
As expected - hoped for, dreaded - the results of a familial match came back and an actual meeting was set up.
Being familiar with the Los Angeles area, and Henrietta working there, they arranged to meet at a quiet little teahouse, reserving a private parlor for the event.
Entering the Victorian era home that had been converted, Buffy and Dawn found the appropriate parlor.
As they entered, the windows on the wall offered a view of the gardens and lawn. The wall with the door was paneled on bottom and had windows above so they could see out into the public room. The other two walls were solid, one being an outside wall and the other shared with another parlor.
Henrietta was already in the parlor and stood when the Summers women entered.
“I see now where you get your height,” Dawn murmured.
“Dawn,” Buffy hissed, gently elbowing her sister.
“Sorry,” Dawn immediately apologized, her cheeks turning a faint pink.
The younger women relaxed slightly when they saw the expression on Henrietta's face. It was one their mother used to make when she was trying not to laugh at them.
“Henrietta Lang?” Buffy asked, stepping further into the room, allowing Dawn to enter and close the door behind her.
“Yes. And you are Buffy and Dawn Summers,” she returned. The Summers women confirmed it and Henrietta motioned to the table by the interior wall. “Please have a seat and call me Hetty.”
“Thank you,” Buffy replied. As they sat, she added, “If you'll wait on anything further for just a moment...” she reached into her hand bag and pulled out a crystal, handing it to Dawn.
Dawn took the offered crystal and whispered some words to it. It glowed brightly, lighting the whole room before the glow faded to something less than a candle flame and remained steady. She placed it on the table. “It's to stop eavesdroppers,” Dawn explained at Hetty's thoughtful look.
“Given the few things we found out, it seemed safest to put some counter-measures in place. Just as you have three agents in the tea room and two outside. I'm sure you can explain why any listening devices don't work.”
Henrietta contemplated the two young women across for her for several seconds before she let out a sigh and relaxed against the cushions behind her. She suddenly looked older than she had. “So it's the supernatural, then, that you're involved in.”
Buffy calmly nodded. “How much do you know about it?”
“Oh, more than I ever wanted to, but not nearly enough to help my granddaughters,” Hetty replied. They were quiet for a few moments before Hetty continued, “I was told by a gypsy woman in Romania once that I and my family had a great destiny, one that would not be denied. She promised it to myself and to the second generation and beyond. At the time, I thanked her for it and then left as soon as we were across the border.”
“During the cold war? You were over there as a spy?” Dawn asked, excitement and interest burning in her eyes. There was just a hint of hero worship in her voice.
Hetty smiled at her. “Indeed I was. More than once.”
“But you didn't give it a second thought,” Buffy unsure how she felt about yet another prophesy in her life.
“No, I didn't. It was one of my first missions and several months later, I was injured and had to spend time recuperating. That was when I met your grandfather. Things were different then, but not so very different. We met, never fell in love, but enjoyed each other's company.”
“In more ways than one,” Dawn muttered under her breath, earning another gentle elbow from Buffy and a bark of laughter from Hetty.
“That we did,” the older woman agreed, a sparkle in her eyes. “Ten months after I met your grandfather, three months after I'd originally been due back, I gave birth to your mother. I named her Joyce and gave her your grandfather's last name.”
They were interrupted at this point by a server with their tea and teacakes. After they were arranged, Hetty leaned forward to pour out. “That was one of yours, I take it?” she asked.
Buffy smiled while Dawn gaped a little. “Do you think it's a family trait or an occupational one?”
“Probably a little of both,” Hetty replied after a moment's thought. “Most likely we have the traits that lend themselves to our occupations and then become honed as time goes by.”
“Hmm,” Buffy replied, taking a sip of her tea. She noticed Hetty studying Dawn intently. Dawn was distracted trying to choose a pastry.
“Have you ever figured out who Dawn's father is?” Hetty asked out of the blue causing Buffy's cup to come down a little too harshly on her saucer and Dawn to nearly fall off her seat.
“Excuse me?” Buffy asked, almost entirely masking her reaction. She knew Hetty had seen it, saw the woman tense and shift her hand closer to where there was a concealed weapon.
“Though I gave Joyce up at the hospital after I birthed her, I did check on her ever ten years or so. She only had one daughter before moving to Sunnydale,” Hetty informed. “And Dawn has a very distinctive eye color, one I know well from someone else. I was curious as to if you ever looked into it.”
“Dawn is my sister. I'm only six years older than her,” Buffy deflected.
“I'm not denying that. Your relationship couldn't be anything else with that age gap, but however this came to be, and I'm assuming it has something to do with magic, Dawn is my great-granddaughter and I believe I might know who her father is, especially since, if what I believe is true, I can see a bit of her paternal grandmother in her as well. Now that that is out in the open, shall we dispense with the careful dialog and verbal dancing and get to know each other? I might not be the safest person to know or the easiest to get along with, but I am anxious to know my grandchildren.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Deeks and Kensi were stationed outside the house in different areas. Callen, Sam and Nell were inside with Eric running their communications from back in the ops room. They had spotted several the other people's agents easily, though all of them were fairly certain the redhead and brunette sitting together were paying less attention to their surroundings than each other, but at least both of them appeared to belong. The dark haired man with one eye sitting in the corner with a book open was doing a much better job of keeping an eye on the room.
There were a few other patrons there, but no one unusual. There was a woman who looked like a professor of some sort, an trio of older grandmotherly women together at a table and a studious British gentleman absorbed in his book of choice and apparently relaxing in a bit of something familiar.
They were not pleased when they suddenly were unable to hear what was going on in the room and none of them could figure out what the glow had been, but Eric was working on finding out if he could get a clear recording of what the girl had whispered before the light appeared.
“So, anyone else think that the younger Summers sister looks familiar?”
“Deeks,” Callan warned.
“No I'm serious,” he protested. As a police office and detective, he'd had to be very good at identifying people even when they tried to disguise themselves. He had actually become rather good at finding similarities in faces and more often than not could identify family members. “She looks like a mix of her sister and someone else I know.”
“Of course she's going to look like her sister,” Kensi chided. “They're family.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just give me time,” Deeks replied, scanning the area again before focusing on the tea house once more.
“Just be quiet and do your job,” Callen commanded.
It was several hours later when the three women finished their tea and agreed to meet somewhere without all the protection to continue their conversation. Buffy had suggested a private dining room at their hotel. It would be easier for the sisters since they had brought a number of pictures of Joyce and themselves. It would also be somewhere they could more fully discuss the supernatural and spy worlds.
“So, Gramma Hetty?” Dawn began drawing the older woman's attention to her. “Who is it you think I remind you of?”
“Oh, well. That's easy enough. He's actually here right now if you'd like to meet him,” Hetty replied.
Dawn shifted uncomfortably on her feet. “No. Not now. I'm not ready. But if you would share his name?”
“Of course Dawn,” Hetty assured. “It's...”
Outside, Deeks had watched as the girls rose and suddenly realized who Dawn reminded him of. “Guys, I know who it is she reminds me of. Dawn is like a cross between Buffy and ...”
End
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / NCIS: LA
Characters: Buffy, Dawn, Hetty, maybe others
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 2543
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of NCIS: LA belong to CBS, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: NOT related to any previous stories. Writing fic on far too little sleep never ends well. Hopefully this makes more sense than I think it does.
When she came across the paper, she wasn't shocked or surprised, she wasn't taken aback and her world didn't crash around her ears. In fact, her entire response reminded her more of Oz than anything else. She simply said, “Huh.”
“Huh, what?” Dawn asked from where she sat also surrounded by papers.
They were sitting in an apartment in Cleveland at the moment. Buffy would need to go to Europe for a while to help Giles claim the Watcher's Council assets, but until they go their replacement passports, Dawn and Buffy needed to stay in the US. It would only be a few more weeks.
What Buffy hadn't been expecting was to receive several large boxes forwarded from Angel. From the note attached, apparently Spike, having taken exception to Buffy being thrown out of her own home, had boxed up anything he thought might be important to her and shipped it to Angel to hold until things settled in Sunnydale.
After Sunnydale, when Buffy passed out and they discovered her wound, Dawn had panicked and refused to leave Buffy alone. The two had had several long talks about everything they'd been avoiding talking about since Dawn first arrived in Buffy's life. Not only about being kicked out, but also about the fact that medical tests showed Buffy as Dawn's mother, not her sister. They speculated briefly about who the father might be before admitting defeat since they didn't know anyone with blue eyes like Dawn's or her particular shade of hair. In the end, they had decided that their relationship was and needed to remain that of sisters, not mother-daughter.
With that understanding they were better able to live together and got along much better than they had. When the boxes showed up with the note, they had both cried over the loss of Spike once more and then opened the boxes where their tears came from another source. The first box held pictures, priceless artifacts to the girls who had lost everything. Pictures of them growing up, of them with Joyce, with Hank, with the friends. The other boxes held a mix of small items and paperwork. It was an unexpected blessing to them.
The current box they were sorting through seemed to be all the papers from their mother's desk. Dawn had taken one stack of folders and Buffy another. Buffy had just opened an unlabeled folder, smiling at the sight of Dawn's official birth certificate (as official as it could be since Willow hacked into the appropriate computer systems and entered Dawn's information there), her birth certificate and her mother;s. It was while looking at her mother's birth certificate that she had uttered her word of surprise.
“Mom's birth mother wasn't Grandma.”
“Oh?” Dawn asked, curious. She set aside her own folder and moved to look over Buffy's shoulder at the document. “Huh. Think we should have Willow look her up?” Seeing Buffy's grimace, Dawn winced as well. While she and Buffy had worked out their differences, Buffy and the Scoobies had not. Interacting with them was somewhat challenging.
“Why don't we see what we can find out first. I mean, Google should at least provide some information.”
“OK,” Dawn agreed, standing and moving toward the laptop. She called up the search and then typed the name into the search bar. A few seconds later, the expected multiple pages of replies came up. The first few were easy enough to dismiss since the women were either dead before Joyce had been born or were too young to be their grandmother. It wasn't until a small article from a local paper on the fourteenth page of results that they found something that might lead them somewhere.
“I really think we need to get help with this now,” Dawn admitted. “I don't think there's much else we can do.”
Buffy sighed. “I know, but not Willow or Angel.”
Dawn winced. “Riley?”
Buffy's nose wrinkled in distaste. “Probably our best bet.” She sighed at the thought of involving Riley in this. “Let's see what he can find out about Henrietta Lang.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
It had actually taken over a year to finally get current information on Henrietta “Hetty” Lang. The hold up wasn't necessarily identifying where she was, through that had taken some time, nor was it the fact that the Summers sisters were needed to help set up the New Council and Dawn had to deal with school while living overseas. The issue was clearance - theirs and hers. Apparently she worked for NCIS and had ridiculously high clearance. Most of her personnel records were redacted, so there was almost nothing the girls could find out from them.
Buffy actually had higher clearance, thanks to her roles with the Initiative and the New Council, but her file was equally redacted making it nearly impossible to offer Henrietta any information on her. As Buffy's charge, any information on Dawn was held at the same level of security as Buffy's.
Despite all the drama, however, Buffy and Dawn finally got the OK to contact her directly. They sent her a letter with a copy of the birth certificate and what information they had.
A month after the letter was sent (and most likely cleared by multiple intelligence agencies), there was a request from Henrietta for a DNA analysis. Buffy, and the entire New Council, was unwilling to let the government have her or Dawn's blood. It was easy enough to not have them test Dawn's blood since she was still a minor. After much research, they found an independent lab that Henrietta agreed to use as well. On their part, Buffy made the lab sign a non-disclosure as well as a number of agreements including one to destroy all samples and data as soon as the results had been given to both parties.
Their next step would be determined by the outcome of the tests.
As expected - hoped for, dreaded - the results of a familial match came back and an actual meeting was set up.
Being familiar with the Los Angeles area, and Henrietta working there, they arranged to meet at a quiet little teahouse, reserving a private parlor for the event.
Entering the Victorian era home that had been converted, Buffy and Dawn found the appropriate parlor.
As they entered, the windows on the wall offered a view of the gardens and lawn. The wall with the door was paneled on bottom and had windows above so they could see out into the public room. The other two walls were solid, one being an outside wall and the other shared with another parlor.
Henrietta was already in the parlor and stood when the Summers women entered.
“I see now where you get your height,” Dawn murmured.
“Dawn,” Buffy hissed, gently elbowing her sister.
“Sorry,” Dawn immediately apologized, her cheeks turning a faint pink.
The younger women relaxed slightly when they saw the expression on Henrietta's face. It was one their mother used to make when she was trying not to laugh at them.
“Henrietta Lang?” Buffy asked, stepping further into the room, allowing Dawn to enter and close the door behind her.
“Yes. And you are Buffy and Dawn Summers,” she returned. The Summers women confirmed it and Henrietta motioned to the table by the interior wall. “Please have a seat and call me Hetty.”
“Thank you,” Buffy replied. As they sat, she added, “If you'll wait on anything further for just a moment...” she reached into her hand bag and pulled out a crystal, handing it to Dawn.
Dawn took the offered crystal and whispered some words to it. It glowed brightly, lighting the whole room before the glow faded to something less than a candle flame and remained steady. She placed it on the table. “It's to stop eavesdroppers,” Dawn explained at Hetty's thoughtful look.
“Given the few things we found out, it seemed safest to put some counter-measures in place. Just as you have three agents in the tea room and two outside. I'm sure you can explain why any listening devices don't work.”
Henrietta contemplated the two young women across for her for several seconds before she let out a sigh and relaxed against the cushions behind her. She suddenly looked older than she had. “So it's the supernatural, then, that you're involved in.”
Buffy calmly nodded. “How much do you know about it?”
“Oh, more than I ever wanted to, but not nearly enough to help my granddaughters,” Hetty replied. They were quiet for a few moments before Hetty continued, “I was told by a gypsy woman in Romania once that I and my family had a great destiny, one that would not be denied. She promised it to myself and to the second generation and beyond. At the time, I thanked her for it and then left as soon as we were across the border.”
“During the cold war? You were over there as a spy?” Dawn asked, excitement and interest burning in her eyes. There was just a hint of hero worship in her voice.
Hetty smiled at her. “Indeed I was. More than once.”
“But you didn't give it a second thought,” Buffy unsure how she felt about yet another prophesy in her life.
“No, I didn't. It was one of my first missions and several months later, I was injured and had to spend time recuperating. That was when I met your grandfather. Things were different then, but not so very different. We met, never fell in love, but enjoyed each other's company.”
“In more ways than one,” Dawn muttered under her breath, earning another gentle elbow from Buffy and a bark of laughter from Hetty.
“That we did,” the older woman agreed, a sparkle in her eyes. “Ten months after I met your grandfather, three months after I'd originally been due back, I gave birth to your mother. I named her Joyce and gave her your grandfather's last name.”
They were interrupted at this point by a server with their tea and teacakes. After they were arranged, Hetty leaned forward to pour out. “That was one of yours, I take it?” she asked.
Buffy smiled while Dawn gaped a little. “Do you think it's a family trait or an occupational one?”
“Probably a little of both,” Hetty replied after a moment's thought. “Most likely we have the traits that lend themselves to our occupations and then become honed as time goes by.”
“Hmm,” Buffy replied, taking a sip of her tea. She noticed Hetty studying Dawn intently. Dawn was distracted trying to choose a pastry.
“Have you ever figured out who Dawn's father is?” Hetty asked out of the blue causing Buffy's cup to come down a little too harshly on her saucer and Dawn to nearly fall off her seat.
“Excuse me?” Buffy asked, almost entirely masking her reaction. She knew Hetty had seen it, saw the woman tense and shift her hand closer to where there was a concealed weapon.
“Though I gave Joyce up at the hospital after I birthed her, I did check on her ever ten years or so. She only had one daughter before moving to Sunnydale,” Hetty informed. “And Dawn has a very distinctive eye color, one I know well from someone else. I was curious as to if you ever looked into it.”
“Dawn is my sister. I'm only six years older than her,” Buffy deflected.
“I'm not denying that. Your relationship couldn't be anything else with that age gap, but however this came to be, and I'm assuming it has something to do with magic, Dawn is my great-granddaughter and I believe I might know who her father is, especially since, if what I believe is true, I can see a bit of her paternal grandmother in her as well. Now that that is out in the open, shall we dispense with the careful dialog and verbal dancing and get to know each other? I might not be the safest person to know or the easiest to get along with, but I am anxious to know my grandchildren.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Deeks and Kensi were stationed outside the house in different areas. Callen, Sam and Nell were inside with Eric running their communications from back in the ops room. They had spotted several the other people's agents easily, though all of them were fairly certain the redhead and brunette sitting together were paying less attention to their surroundings than each other, but at least both of them appeared to belong. The dark haired man with one eye sitting in the corner with a book open was doing a much better job of keeping an eye on the room.
There were a few other patrons there, but no one unusual. There was a woman who looked like a professor of some sort, an trio of older grandmotherly women together at a table and a studious British gentleman absorbed in his book of choice and apparently relaxing in a bit of something familiar.
They were not pleased when they suddenly were unable to hear what was going on in the room and none of them could figure out what the glow had been, but Eric was working on finding out if he could get a clear recording of what the girl had whispered before the light appeared.
“So, anyone else think that the younger Summers sister looks familiar?”
“Deeks,” Callan warned.
“No I'm serious,” he protested. As a police office and detective, he'd had to be very good at identifying people even when they tried to disguise themselves. He had actually become rather good at finding similarities in faces and more often than not could identify family members. “She looks like a mix of her sister and someone else I know.”
“Of course she's going to look like her sister,” Kensi chided. “They're family.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just give me time,” Deeks replied, scanning the area again before focusing on the tea house once more.
“Just be quiet and do your job,” Callen commanded.
It was several hours later when the three women finished their tea and agreed to meet somewhere without all the protection to continue their conversation. Buffy had suggested a private dining room at their hotel. It would be easier for the sisters since they had brought a number of pictures of Joyce and themselves. It would also be somewhere they could more fully discuss the supernatural and spy worlds.
“So, Gramma Hetty?” Dawn began drawing the older woman's attention to her. “Who is it you think I remind you of?”
“Oh, well. That's easy enough. He's actually here right now if you'd like to meet him,” Hetty replied.
Dawn shifted uncomfortably on her feet. “No. Not now. I'm not ready. But if you would share his name?”
“Of course Dawn,” Hetty assured. “It's...”
Outside, Deeks had watched as the girls rose and suddenly realized who Dawn reminded him of. “Guys, I know who it is she reminds me of. Dawn is like a cross between Buffy and ...”
End