"Major Davis," Janet said, entering the conference room ahead of Sam.
"Paul," Sam said.
"Majors, have a seat." Once they were seated he slid two sealed envelopes across the table.
"What's this?" Sam asked.
"No idea," he said. "The President asked me to hand deliver them to you."
"You came here just for that?"
"No." He then slide a folder across the table to each of them. "Please read these. I'll be back in twenty minutes." Standing up, he left the room.
"A bit mysterious," Janet said. "So, which one do you want to look at first?"
"Just a moment," Sam said, taking a small object out of her pocket. Pressing a button on it, she placed it in the middle of the room. "Okay."
"Paranoid?"
"A N.I.D. spook was spotted upstairs this morning."
"Which one first?" Janet repeated, shaking her head.
"I defer to your wisdom as the family matriarch," Sam said, grinning at her.
"Okay," Janet said, glaring. Picking up the envelope in front of her, she examined the official looking object. On the back, overlaying the flap, was the presidential seal. Her name was hand-written on the front. Taking a pen out of a pocket, she slid it under one edge of the flap and pulled it up, ripping the envelope open, leaving the seal intact. Removing the letter, she unfolded it and began to read. "Can he do that?" she asked, rereading it.
"An Executive Order giving us permission to violate Title 10, section 654, subsection b, part 3 of the US Code?" Sam said, looking up from her own letter. "Ps. Don't screw this up? Looks like he just did."
"Do we know what that is exactly?"
"It's part of the law covering DADT," Sam said. "I'll have to look it up to know what if refers to exactly."
"I think we need to talk to a couple young women tonight," Janet said. "Not sure how they did it but it could have backfired."
"Think they're going to explain?" Sam asked.
"Yes," Janet said firmly. "This wasn't part of the plan we agreed on. What's in the folder?"
Pulling off the 'Classified' wrapper, Sam opened her folder.
"It's a non-disclosure agreement from some organization called 'The Council of Watchers'? Have you ever heard of them?"
"No," Janet said. "Maybe?"
"Pick one," Sam said dryly.
"When I was at the CDC we were part of the clean-up after an N.I.D. project was cancelled," Janet said. "Someone representing this Council came in and took any records we had about the project."
"Do I even want to know what the N.I.D. project was about?" Sam murmured, slumping back in her chair.
"An N.I.D. mad scientist wanted to build a super soldier."
"Those never turn out well," Sam said, grimacing. "And that was it?"
"Well, they were mixing magic with science," Janet said. "Though an informed source says they didn't have any real idea about what they were doing."
"Informed source?"
"Who do you know who can do real magic?" Janet asked. "That you're married to? With an older sister?"
"Someone we're going to call tonight and ask what the hell they were thinking?"
"Yes," Janet said. "A certain blonde told me their organization inherited this other organization's property when it was destroyed by terrorists. Looks like they kept the name also."
"So, you think this is full disclosure?" Sam asked.
"Yes," Janet said. "No more of that 'It isn't my secret to tell' excuse."
"Good. I'd really like to know what a slayer is, instead of guessing."
"I've told you all I know that isn't classified," Janet reminded her.
"Mystical Pest control?" Sam said. "That sounds like something Jack would come up with."
"Paul, what does this mean?" Sam asked when he returned several minutes later.
"Several elements in the Pentagon have been courting this N.G.O. for years. They occasionally assist in operations when requested but they prefer to work independently," he told them. "Apparently, their head field agent and their chief archivist met you at a conference?" He gave them a curious look.
"The Summers sisters?" Janet asked. "Buffy and Dawn?"
"Yes," Major Davis said. "They were apparently impressed enough that the Council has invited both of you to their facility in Cleveland in two weeks. The Joint Chiefs expect you to continue to make a good impression."
"Just us?" Janet asked. "Shouldn't they be requesting a General or two if this is that important?"
"They insisted it only be you two," he said "They claimed you would fit in better than, and I quote, 'some stuffy old general'."
"Sounds like them," Sam said, with a laugh. "Is there a reason the Joint Chiefs want us to, ah, court them?"
"Yes," Davis said, picking up the non-disclosure agreements. "They feel a closer relationship would be beneficial. You'll find out why when you get there."
"So, just go, talk to them, take a look around and come back?" Janet asked.
"Yes," he said, putting the documents in his briefcase.
"I'm sure we can handle the responsibility," Janet said. "Right Sam?"
"Not a problem," she said in agreement. "Assuming nothing comes up."
"General Hammond has already been informed," he said, standing in the door. "He has your orders for this mission," he added before leaving the room.
"Another week without us," Sam said, smirking. "How will Jack survive?"
"He can take Daniel fishing," Janet said. "Again."
"They meant well," Sam said, after hanging up the phone. "And things worked out."
"Yes, but they need to learn to stick to a plan and not 'wing it'," Janet said, leaning back against her chair.
"Are you going to divorce her over this?" Sam asked, intently looking at Janet.
"Of course not," Janet said, giving her a surprised look. "They're just used to moving at their own pace."
"What about Cassie? When are you going to tell her?"
"Cassie was included in the invitation to Cleveland," Janet said. "So, before then."
"The unofficial invitation," Sam corrected. "The Joint Chiefs have no idea that what we've been invited to is a barbecue."
"Invitation to a what?" a soft voice asked from the kitchen door.
"Hey Cassie," Sam said.
"When did you get in?" Janet asked, getting up to hug her.
"Just now." She looked at the two of them suspiciously. "Did you have fun in Vegas?"
"Yes," they both answered.
"Did you get married?" Cassie asked hopefully.
"Married?"
"Isn't that why you went together?"
"Why would you think we married each other?" Janet asked evasively.
"Because you love each other and you get along," Cassie said. "And Sam is always over here? It's like you're married already."
"Cassie, your mom and I do love each other," Sam said. "But like sisters. And you know the Air Force wouldn't like it," she added. "
"Does that mean you're going to marry Uncle Jack instead?"
"Um, no." Sam looked at Janet for help. Jack had been a dream she'd given up on years ago.
"Cassie, you know why that wouldn't work," Janet said, sitting back down.
"Well, I think it's a stupid reason." Cassie said, grumbling. "People marry their boss all the time in movies."
"Real life doesn't work like the movies," Sam said.
"Well, duh!" Cassie said, sitting down across from them. "But some parts must be real."
"Cassie, how would you like to go to Cleveland next week?" Janet asked.
"And see the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame?" she asked eagerly. Grabbing Janet's cup, she took a sip and made a face.
"I'm sure we could fit that in," Janet said, taking her cup back. "But that isn't the reason for the trip."
"Is this a work thing?"
"Partly," Janet said. "We met several people in Vegas and we've been invited to visit."
"Why do I get to go?"
"We might have accidentally gotten married to them, and they want to meet you," Janet quickly mumbled.
"What?" Cassie screeched. "You said you didn't get married."
"To each other," Janet said, looking helplessly at Sam, who was turning a bright red. "Sam got married, and I got married. But not to each other."
"Oh." Cassie stared at them. "Are you going to stay married? Does this mean I have a new dad and a new uncle? Are we moving to Cleveland?"
"No..." Janet said. Cassie was taking it better than she thought she would, so far. She'd expected a lot of noise and stomping of feet, even though Cassie was seventeen.
"Why not?"
"It's complicated," Janet said, ignoring Sam's muttered "That's over-simplifying it."
"Other than I didn't get to see you guys get married, which you so owe me for, how complicated could it be?" Cassie asked.
"Don't look at me," Sam told Janet. "You're oldest."
"Just barely," Janet grumbled. Sighing, she took a large envelope out of her purse. Opening it she took out her copies of the pictures Dawn had insisted they have taken before leaving Vegas.
"You have wedding pictures?" Cassie asked eagerly.
"No, these were taken later," Janet said, handing them to her.
"Uh?" Looking up from the pictures, Cassie gave both of them a bewildered look.
"Yes?"
"That's who you married?" Cassie pointed at the picture of Janet and Buffy, their arms wrapped around each other.
"Who knew your mom has a thing for short blondes," Sam said, laughing nervously.
"You're blonde," Cassie said in protest. "Why couldn't you have married Mom?"
"It wouldn't have worked," Sam said, squeezing Janet's hand.
"What's her name?"
"That's Buffy," Janet said. Pointing at the picture of Sam and Dawn she added, "And that's Dawn. They're sisters."
"So, you married sisters?" Cassie said. "Isn't that strange?"
"Strange?" Janet frowned at her. Cassie just shrugged.
"What do they do?"
"It's classified," Sam said.
"I won't tell anyone," Cassie said. "Please?"
"Other than a vague idea, we don't actually know," Janet admitted.
"You mean, you have a more than vague idea," Sam grumbled. "Dawn does research of some sort, and Buffy? She applies the research."
"That's why we've been invited up to Cleveland," Janet reminded her.
"So, one of them is short and one of them is tall? How'd you manage that?" Cassie asked, smirking at them.
Sam shrugged again.
"Dawn presented a paper at that conference," Janet said. "And you know how Sam gets when she's curious about something. So when we met them in a bar that night..."
"Attack of the Science Lady?" Cassie asked, giggling.
"Yup," Janet said, poking Sam. "Buffy and I ended up spending the evening being ignored by the two of them."
"We weren't ignoring you!" Sam protested.
"It's okay, Sam," Janet said, patting her hand and winking at Cassie. "Buffy and I get along quite well. We enjoyed ourselves anyway."
After seeing Sam out, Janet stopped for a minute to watch her daughter working on her homework.
"Cassie?"
"Yes?" she said, looking up from her book.
"This is important," Janet said. "You can't tell anyone."
"Why not?"
"The rules haven't changed. 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' still applies, even though the President gave us special permission," Janet said. "It really isn't fair to anyone else in the military who wants to do the same thing, so we can't say anything about it."
"Who else knows?" Cassie asked.
"In Colorado? No one."
"Not even Uncle Jack?"
"Sam will tell him, Daniel, and Teal'c after we get back from Cleveland."
"Okay, but I want to be there when she does," Cassie said.
"Me too," Janet said, smirking.
"I could get used to traveling like that," Janet said, as they entered the passenger terminal at Burke Lakefront Airport, luggage in tow. "That was a lot more comfortable than the plane you borrowed for our trip to Vegas."
"Don't," Sam said. "We were lucky a C-21 was headed in this direction and there was room for Cassie. Otherwise we'd have traveled commercial, like our return trip."
"I thought it would be bigger," Cassie said, interrupting Janet's reply.
"This isn't like the main Cleveland airport, hon," Sam said. "You'll see that when we head home."
"Oh."
"How are we getting there?" Janet asked. She'd spent the last two weeks busy rearranging schedules and dealing with emergencies, leaving travel details in Sam's capable OCD-ish hands.
"I just need to call Dawn," Sam said. "She'll come get us."
"And?" Janet frowned at her.
"Oh, right," Sam blushed before taking out her phone and turning around so she could speak privately.
Hiding a grin, Janet shook her head.
"Hey!" Dawn said, pausing for a second to drink in the sight of her favorite Air Force officer. They'd spent less than a day together so far, with a few phone calls in between, but Dawn was already certain that lusting after Sam Carter was something she never wanted to give up. And then the world seemed to stop as she found herself buried in Sam's arms.
"Do you think they forgot we're here?" an unfamiliar voice asked, followed by a giggle.
"Make them go away," Dawn murmured, snuggling closer and breathing in Sam's unique scent, Sam's laughter vibrating deliciously down her back.
"Ladies?" Dawn heard Janet say.
Sighing, Dawn reluctantly released Sam and stepped back. "Hi Janet," she said, looking at their audience, "and you must be Cassie."
"Hi," Cassie said, giving a little wave.
"Dawn," Janet murmured, looking around.
"Buffy had an emergency out of town," Dawn said in a rush. "I was just on my way to pick her up when Sam called me. If you don't mind waiting, her flight should arrive in a few minutes, and she can ride back with us."
"What gate?" Sam asked, after Janet nodded, agreeing with the idea.
"Uhm, It's at the other terminal," Dawn said. "We'll have to drive over. Let's take care of your bags first. Which carousel are they on?"
"We have them," Janet said, waving at the small pile nearby.
"Great! The Rover is out front," Dawn said. "Do you need a cart?"
"Nah, we're used to traveling light," Sam said, grabbing two bags.
"Did you bring your fancy uniforms?" Dawn asked Sam and Janet as they all headed to the exit.
"Yes," Sam said.
"Cool," Dawn said. "Buffy's just dying to see Janet in hers. And I bet you look deliciously commandery in yours."
"It's just a uniform," Sam said, blushing.
Dawn stared at her and then looked at Janet for her thoughts.
"That isn't how I would have put it," Janet admitted, "but Sam is definitely hot stuff in a uniform."
"Oh yeah, I can see that," Dawn said under her breath, smiling at the thought. "Maybe you can convince Buffy to wear hers. I bet Janet and Buffy would look cute together in their uniforms."
"You wear uniforms?" Sam asked.
"Usually just the tweed for the old guys," Dawn said, visibly shuddering. "We don't really have a dress code, except when we're in the field. But Buffy and a couple of the others have commissions in the Royal Navy Reserves so they can wear a uniform for special occasions."
"You married a sailor?" Sam said to Janet, her amusement clear.
"You've obviously crashed your bike one time too many," Janet said. "I suspect we'll need to run some tests when we get back next week."
Sharing a look with Cassie, Dawn stifled a giggle, no longer worried that Sam or Janet wouldn't be able to defend themselves from the inevitable Scooby and Faith snark when they met everyone.
Sam frowned as they pulled up next to a black Hummer with dark tinted windows parked next to a large, closed hanger. "Dawn? What is this terminal used for?" She waved at the cluster of hangers. Calling it a terminal was being overly generous, she thought.
"Freight overflow from Hopkins, mostly. A couple private companies keep their planes out here. And we use it some times. We're hoping to have our own helipad built some day but the paperwork is taking a while."
"You have your own helicopter?" Sam asked, surprised.
"Not yet," Dawn said. "Um, guys? Buffy's going to be here any minute. If you have other questions? She's not going to answer them now anyway, so please save them until tonight after she's had a chance to clean up."
Sam looked in the back at Cassie and Janet for their reaction to the unexpected request. "Okay," Cassie said. Janet just shrugged, though she was clearly curious.
Giving them all a quick smile, Dawn slide out of the Rover and went to stand next to the Hummer. Curious, Sam joined her in staring out across what she assumed was Lake Erie.
"I told Cassie to stay in the car," Janet said, causing Sam to jump. She hadn't noticed her joining them.
She heard it before it became visible, the distinctive muted low hum of a Special Ops Black Hawk running in stealth mode. Before she could say anything, it was there, hovering just above the ground. Sam frowned. It was definitely a Black Hawk, but not any model she recognized. The changes were subtle but it was more streamlined than normal, giving her the impression that it was faster and built for longer distances.
"It isn't ours," Dawn said, her voice barely loud enough to hear.
"Huh?" Sam said, looking at Dawn.
"You're drooling," Janet said, laughing.
"We've ordered one almost like it," Dawn said. "Without all the super-secret Special Forces stuff we aren't supposed to know about, but the custom ones like ours are backordered over a year. So you'll have to wait if you want to take it out for a spin." She grinned mischievously at Sam. "The pilot, on the other hand, is ours," she added. "Play nice and I'll ask her if you can go for a ride in hers."
"She's got you pegged," Janet said, still laughing.
"I recognized the face," Dawn said, smirking. "Buffy gets the same look when she finds a new toy. Fortunately, her toys aren't twenty million dollar high-tech helicopters."
The side hatch on the Black Hawk slid open and three figures, dressed in black, dropped gracefully onto the tarmac. Gender was hard to determine at that distance, though Sam knew one of them had to be Buffy.
"No, she didn't," Dawn said, shaking her head. "Sis-mom promised."
Sam wondered what she was talking about when a fourth figure gingerly slid out, grabbed the nearest person and stood awkwardly on one leg. The other two busied themselves grabbing large duffle bags, handed to them by an unseen figure inside the helicopter.
After a signal from one of them, the hatch closed and the Black Hawk effortlessly drifted up ten yards while rotating to face the way it'd come. "Impressive," Sam muttered to herself at the display of aircraft control. She couldn't wait to meet the pilot.
The small group started walking in their direction, one of the bag carriers leading the way, the injured person Sam was now certain was Buffy, based on Dawn's reaction, and her helper in the middle. The remaining bag carrier brought up the rear. The way they moved, as if on patrol, caused the hair to rise on the back of Sam's neck. She could feel herself slipping into hyper-awareness in reaction, only peripherally aware of the helicopter leaving as she scanned the area for some kind of threat, feeling the distinct lack of her side arm.
"Sam?" Dawn asked quietly, gently taking her hand. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," she answered, taking slow, deep breaths to get herself under control and focusing on the feel of Dawn's hand in hers. "I'm fine."
"If you say so," Dawn said skeptically before letting go. "Stay here," she said, looking at both of them. Sam noticed that she waited longest for Janet to nod in agreement before running out to join the four women headed their way, at this point their gender obvious in some kind of form fitting body armor.
"I think dancing is going to have to wait until another visit," Sam said, carefully gauging Janet's expression. If they'd been at the Mountain, she knew her friend would have gotten to them before Dawn. But this wasn't her territory. Putting her hand on Janet's shoulder, she squeezed. They watched Dawn meet them half way, and after a quick discussion, swap places with the woman helping Buffy, who grabbed a bag from the leader.
"We really need to sit down and talk with them," Janet said softly to Sam as they watched the five women walk towards them, shaking her head at their appearance, the meaning behind Major Davis's comments from several weeks ago only now really hitting her.
The three women carrying bags paused for a moment as they neared Sam and Janet to give them intense looks before heading to the Hummer. Dawn and Buffy stopped in front of them.
"Hey Janet," Buffy said, her voice strained.
"Sam, there's a stool in the back," Janet said, shaking her head, "Please get it out. I believe there's also a first aid kit. I want to take a look at that leg before she tries to get in the Rover."
"I'm fine," Buffy protested.
"Sure you are," Janet muttered. "How long?"
"A couple hours," Buffy said, sitting down gingerly. "It isn't broken."
"How many happy pills did you take?" Dawn asked, frowning as she leaned against the Rover next to them.
"Happy pills?" Janet asked, looking at Dawn.
"A couple?" Buffy said. "Maybe four?"
"Four!" Dawn squeaked. "That's enough for twenty four hours."
"Dawn? What are 'happy pills'?" Janet asked, taking out her penlight. "Buffy, please tilt your head back."
"Dawn?" she asked again, shining the light into Buffy's eyes.
"It's a pain pill. Our London office gets them for us. One'll knock out a normal person like you or me in five minutes. Buffy, after four in six hours? Right now she shouldn't be feeling anything. Knowing her, she probably took them all at once. They should have knocked her out."
"I'm fine," Buffy muttered. "They're already wearing off."
"And you're so gonna crash when they do," Dawn muttered. "Not making the best impression here, Sis-mom."
"Sis-mom?" Sam mouthed at Janet, who shrugged.
"Ladies, hovering isn't going to make this go any faster," Janet said, acknowledging the three other women who'd now rejoined them.
"Buffy? How do you take this off?" Janet asked quietly, looking at the semi-rigid material covering her from head to toe.
"Just a sec. I have to turn it off," Buffy said, fumbling at a spot at her waist. "I have it stiffer than normal there because of the leg."
"How does it work?" Sam asked, watching her.
"It's some hi-tech stuff Xander found for us," Buffy said, her leg seeming to deflate. "You'll have to ask him."
"Dawn?" Janet asked.
"Yes, Janet?"
"Introductions would be useful," she said, as she started to carefully remove the sections of material covering Buffy's left leg.
"Yes, ma'am," Dawn said, winking at her. "So... let's start with the new people. The feisty Doc is Janet. That's my Sam, and I don't share," Dawn said, smirking at Sam's blush. Pointing at the Rover's remaining occupant, "Cassie is Janet's daughter. Miss Grumpy with the bad leg is Buffy. Her Second is Vi," Dawn said, gesturing at the skinning redhead. "The redheaded twins are Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei Lee."
"No we aren't," one of them protested. "I'm Cassidy, and that's Caroline."
"You're just in denial," Dawn said, winking at them. "As you can tell, Buffy has a redhead fetish."
Janet briefly frowned at the comment. "Is anyone else hurt?" she asked, looking up from Buffy's swollen leg for a moment.
"Just the Boss, ma'am," one of the twins said. "She did that pushing one of the hostages out of the way."
"Getting clumsy in your old age?" Dawn asked.
"No," Buffy grumbled. "Stupid old building with rotten floors." She hissed as Janet probed around her knee.
"You heal at a faster rate than the rest of us, don't you," Janet asked quietly, carefully wiping away the blood that had started to seep from a deep gash on Buffy's leg, now that there was no longer any pressure on it from the suit.
"Yup," Buffy said, wincing as she leaned back against the Rover. "Not exactly a secret with this crowd."
"We should probably get you to a hospital and have that knee X-rayed. I want to make sure it heals correctly and that nothing is in that cut on your thigh before it heals over," Janet said, carefully wrapping the knee and bandaging her thigh.
"We save trips to the hospital for the really serious stuff," Dawn said. "We have a doctor on call for non-hospital emergencies if Max, who's a nurse practitioner, can't handle something in the infirmary back at the Mansion. Everyone has to see her after a mission so she'll be expecting us anyway."
"Sounds familiar," Sam whispered to Janet.
"Okay," Janet said, reluctantly agreeing. "Let's get her into the truck. Can we use the armor to immobilized that leg more?"
"No," Vi said. "You break the seal on the suit and it has to be reset."
"Okay, Vi?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Hold the pieces like this while I wrap it," Janet said demonstrating. "As tight as you can."
"Shit!" Buffy shouted. "Vi? What's Rule 5?"
"The Boss can't assign extra training if the party of the first part, that would be me, is following orders of the Doc in charge, that would be Janet, when the Boss gets hurt," she said with a smirk.
"Smart-ass,"Buffy grumbled.
"But you love me anyway," Vi said. "In a totally no romantic way," she added, glancing at Janet.
"After all that I don't even get a hug?" Buffy asked, pouting.
It probably wasn't very comfortable, Janet thought, squashed into a corner in the back seat of the Hummer, still in her body armor with her injured leg in Janet's lap. "Let's get you to the infirmary and out of that armor first," Janet said.
"Naked, full body hug? I can wait," Buffy said, smiling at her.
"Naked?" Janet stared at Buffy.
"Yup," Vi tossed in from the front. "The plumbing and med censors don't work too well otherwise."
Looking at them, Cassidy giggled and then went back to texting.
"Med censors?" Janet asked. "So you have remote telemetry for these suits?"
"Remote tele-what?" Buffy asked drowsily.
"Short range," Vi said. "The suits are kinetically powered but that doesn't provide enough juice for more than a couple feet. There's a reader in the infirmary."
"So the armor is some kind of flight suit?" Janet murmured. "Or is based on one."
"How'd you guess?" Vi said, turning to look at Janet for a moment, her surprise obvious.
"Air Force doctor," Janet said. "I've had to cut Sam out of something similar more than once. Not as hi-tech as yours though."
"Oh," Vi said. "Giles frowns on the whole removing body armor with a sharp object thing. They're custom fitted, and very expensive."
"I understand," Janet said, nodding. "It takes an hour to fill out all of the paperwork whenever Sam destroys something."
"Ma'am?"
"Yes, Cassidy?"
"Sam's married to Dawn, right?" she asked. "And you're married to Buffy. Right?"
Janet looked over at Buffy for a hint on how to answer the question. Unsurprisingly, she was asleep. "Yes."
"Which makes you the Boss's consort."
"Her what?" Janet blurted out in surprise.
"Buffy hasn't explain the whole slayer thing to you yet?" Vi said. "Of course she didn't," she grumbled. "That would make too much sense."
"I know she's special," Janet admitted. "We're expecting Dawn and Buffy to explain everything while we're here this week."
"Well, we won't ruin it for her then," Vi said, laughing. "Buffy gets a kick out of making Giles explain things. But, you should know she's not the only one whose special that way, but Buffy? She's extra special."
"What do you mean?" Janet asked, checking to see if Buffy was still sleeping.
"Being a slayer? It's like being in a very exclusive club. If we were a pack she'd be our alpha, our queen. Any one of us would die for her without a thought. Not that she would ever ask us. And she would do the same."
"Queen Buffy," Cassidy said, giggling softly. "Just don't call her that to her face. Unless you're Faith."
"Faith?" Janet asked.
"She can't be explained, only experienced," Vi said. "That's a Dawn quote," she added with a laugh. "Where was I?"
"Queen Buffy," Cassidy said. "We're almost there so make it quick."
"Yes, Miranda," Vi said.
"Don't call me that!" Cassidy grumbled.
"So... in this all female, all slayer club..."
"All female?" Janet asked.
"Did I forget that? Sorry. No Y chromosomes on this bus."
"Science geek," Cassidy muttered.
Vi glared at her before continuing. "There used to be only two non-slayers in the club. Dawn, because of Buffy, and Willow for reasons you'll find out later. And now the Queen has a consort, you, and the Princess, Dawn, has her consort, Sam. And it makes things different for all of us."
"What does that mean?" Janet asked.
"Right now? I'm not sure. But we aren't all as clueless as Willow thinks. We do know that being a slayer affects our behavior. And you and Sam are now part of that wackiness like Dawn and Willow."
"And where does Cassie fit into this?"
"Not sure yet," Vi admitted. "Nothing bad. Family but not part of the club? Maybe?"
"Like Xander, Andrew, and Giles," Cassidy said authoritatively. "Well, maybe not Andrew."
"And on that disturbing thought - thus ends the exposition," Vi said, stopping the Hummer in front of a large gate and honking the horn twice.
"It was your turn," Cassidy said.
"You might want to pass that along to Sam. Dawn probably won't think of it." Vi added. "And Buffy likes to pretend that she's just a normal slayer who happens to be in charge of the rest of us."
"She's in denial, or maybe deluded," muttered Cassidy. "We're hoping you'll cure her of that."
"Hush!" Vi said. Cassidy stuck out her tongue in response.
Looking out the back window as they waited for the gate to open, Janet could see the Rover, with Dawn at the wheel, pulling up behind then. So far, the trip had given her more questions than it'd answered, she thought with a sigh.
