Immortal or Immoral

Author: Anne Parnell

Title: Immortal or Immoral

Copyright: May 2002
Rating: PG-13
Keywords: Buffy/ Highlander.
Spoilers: Buffy: Season 2 up until Phases. Specific episodes, anything with the Initiative.
Highlander: Season 5 until Season finale. Richie Ryan lives.

Summary: After being held captive by the Initiative, Alison discovers just who she really is.

Legalese: All characters except those noted below with their respective rights, properties, and copyrights are the property of the respective creators, authors, owners, producers and agencies. These characters are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended or meant, and no money will be made from this story. This story may be copied in its entirety, and may be distributed as long as all copyright information remains.

The character of Shaw Hunter is the property of Tim Knight. He can be contacted at doobytim@aol.com.
The characters of Steven St. Wolf and Ted the Avatar of the Pizza God are the property of Steve Pantovich, as is the universe in which this story takes place. Steve can be contacted at Steve711@concentric.net.
The characters Robin Goodfellow and Liam Danahure and the story ‘Taking the Initiative’ are property of Mike Weyer. Mike may be contacted at SWERJ321@aol.com.
The character Alison, Andrew, and Kait Jarman are mine and anyone who wishes to use them can contact me at anne@kayleyangel.com.

Author's Notes: This started life as a comment to Tim but then began to grow as Steve and Tim both wanted to see why Alison’s Dad talks to elves and faeries. When Tim threw a suggestion to Mike for one of his stories, it gave me an opportunity to finally work out how I would do this story.

Dedications:
To Steve, Grand High Poobah of the Wandererverse, for giving the original Okays for my stories and for tossing in a few wonderful ways to add twists and turns to my stories.
To Tim, Comic Adviser – One Liner Extraordinaire, who makes me laugh when I tell him that I haven’t watched many TV shows… and for editing my stories so quickly. Also for having the daunting task of Americanizing my writing (give me a break! I’m an Aussie!); and for filling me in on basically everything about the elves (and the stories they are from) mentioned in this story.
To Mike, for writing ‘Taking the Initiative’ which this one follows and for bringing in that crazy prankster, Robin Goodfellow, to the verse that is the Wanderer.

Here are the changes from your regular shows:
Buffy:
1. Due to her drowning death at the hands of the Master, Buffy is Immortal.
2. Passion and Becoming never took place, so Jenny and Kendra are still alive and well. Kendra is attending UC Sunnydale. Jenny, sometime between How The Big Bad Stole Christmas and Prodigal Son’s Consort, became the first true priestess to Artemis in 2000 years.
3. Faith is a good kid, and living with Joyce and Buffy.
4. Faith isn’t in a coma and she’s getting ready to start college at this point.

Chapter One: Just who am I anyway?

Can this kid’s life get anymore surprising?

Jarman household

Alison walked through the doorway. After having been kidnapped, imprisoned, and medically tested by a secret "Government" agency, she was glad to finally be home after going through what Oz called "debriefing." <All I can say is I am so glad that Buffy’s group is nothing like that agency. If they were, there’s no way I’d stay in this town.> She still remembered how scared Shaw had been about what might happen to her, like losing her home.

"Hey Dad, Kait… are you here?" she called out as she shut the door. She looked around the first floor before heading up to the bedrooms. As she reached her Dad’s door, it suddenly opened. Her Dad stood there, looking shaggy with his baggy pajamas and desperately needing a shave. Dark shadows under his eyes made him look like the victim of a fraternity prank.

"Daddy? Are you alright?"

"Alison, where have you been? Did you go to Jessica’s place without telling me?" he asked in a tired voice. <Dad looks like death warmed up. I wish I could have called him. Good thing he doesn’t need a nurse anymore. That Sydney guy Buffy got to look after Dad is a treasure! He’s given me back my Dad again!>

"No Dad, I didn’t go see Mom. Do you want a drink? I’ll tell you what’s happened over the last couple days."

Together they walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where Alison made two cups of peppermint tea. She set one cup in front of her Dad and settled into the seat on the other side of the table.

"Where’s Kait?" Ali asked, still acting like a concerned parent.

"She’s gone to see if Brian and Debbie knows where Dawn is. But we’ll know more later, tell me where you were…"

"Dad, you know how this town is full of strange things happening, right?" she carefully began. <Don’t want to say too much, too quickly, just in case some of this goes over his head.>

"You mean the strange things you’ve been ending up in? As well as the elves that I know are around in this town… yes. What about it Alison?" he answered patiently, staring at her intent face.

"Well, I guess you could say these things have attracted some unwanted attention. Some of the attention has been really good for the town…" Drawing breath, Alison thought about Buffy’s group.

"Your school friends right?" he asked her.

"Well, yeah… I guess. Anyways, it recently attracted the attention of a group who thought they were doing the right thing, but they were so of the loop when it comes down to it. They think that they can control the supernatural."

"But in reality, you can’t. Alison, you have to co-exist with it or one will wipe out the other… are they still around?" Alison sighed, thinking of a way to recap the events that took place without revealing too much information to him.

"Well… it seems that the government had this military unit that was catching… well, some of my friends were caught even though they’re good guys like this unit thought they were. Including Shaw and Faith, which is why I got nabbed too. We got attacked by some bad guys being tracked by this unit and, well, to Kait it’d probably sound funny; I got caught in the middle and yanked off to jail with my friends. They had this lab and everything set up and basically, they’re trying to do this combination Rambo/Jane Goodall thing, finding out how many types of nonhuman creatures there are in the world." She paused a bit and he seemed worried. <Well, heck, I was too!> "Anyway, they did some blood and DNA tests on me and everyone else, although the biggest shock they got was from Faith and Shaw being… well, Faith and Shaw. Faith had their bosses pulling their hair out. So when the blood tests came back, they were pretty much normal." <Except for Oz having that werewolf thing and Shaw’s elf blood.> She watched her Dad’s face during the run down. When it came to her mentioning the blood tests, his face took on a look of pure shock.

"Dad, what is it? What’s wrong?"

"Can you repeat what you said about the tests?"

"Well, yeah… they did a blood test, DNA test, and I guess they were expecting it to come back showing something other than human blood, but they picked the wrong people. I mean Shaw, Oz, Faith and Dawn are all human… or part human," she mumbled the last few words. <They certainly got a shock with Oz and Shaw’s blood. Of course they were more shocked by her Mom and Dad’s records.> She secretly smiled at the thought of Maggie Walsh’s face. <And they were even more shocked that I knew some of those commandoes because they order so much pizza.> It was from that that she knew they weren’t really bad guys, just following orders.

"Did they run a test of your blood?" he asked suddenly. <I hope they didn’t tell her she isn’t Jessica’s daughter. That was something the two of us agreed on a long time ago; if she were to find out, then both of us would tell her together. Or at least one of us; she doesn’t deserve to hear it from someone else. Especially someone who doesn’t have her best interests in mind.>

"Yeah, it came back normal. One hundred percent American girl. Why do you ask Daddy? I-is t-there something that you want to t-tell me?" Alison spoke in a suddenly insecure voice. <Why is he so curious? Oh no! Am I adopted? That’s what this is about isn’t it… no wonder I don’t really look like Mom or Dad!>

"Alison, I know, now at least, that Jessica and I should have told you this a long time ago. I am deeply sorry that I never did. From the very start of our relationship, I knew that Jessica wasn’t able to have children of her own. But that didn’t stop her from wanting one. Both of us desperately wanted a child of our own, so we came to the decision to adopt one. Alison, Jessica and I aren’t your parents by birth, but we are your parents because we wanted to be. We adopted one of the smartest girls I have ever met and both of us couldn’t have been prouder of you, even if you were our natural daughter."

Silence surrounded the room. Alison sat there with her mouth wide open while her Dad watched her closely, waiting for her initial reaction. When it happened, he wished he had never told her.

"Thanks for telling me now. Excuse me, I have to be by myself." Waiting until after she exited the house before bursting into tears, Alison stumbled down the driveway and out onto the road in front of her house.

"Ali, watch out!"

She heard the call and spun round to see a car frantically trying to stop without hitting her, but terror froze her to the spot. In the next instant she was on the ground on the other side of the road, cradled in someone’s arms.

"Shhh, Ali… its okay sweetheart. I have you. You’re okay." She looked at the person holding her and for the first time noticed that it was Ted holding her. She snuggled a little closer into his arms so she could kiss him quickly.

"Thanks Ted for saving my life, what are you doing here? Not that I am complaining or anything." He stood up and held a hand down in front of her. Grabbing hold of his hand, Alison regained her footing, even though she was shaking like a leaf. <Oh God, I nearly got run over… >

"Cesar’s new employee is working tonight and it’s been fairly quiet, so Cesar let me go early. I haven’t heard from you in two days and I was worried about you. I’ve been keeping your father and Kait company on and off most nights, I thought you would have wanted someone you trusted to be here, just in case."

"He’s not my father!" Alison spat out venomously, shocking Ted. "Ted, for my whole life they have lied to me. My ‘parents’ lied to me. I was adopted and they never told me… why didn’t they say anything?" Ted held the sobbing Alison to his chest, stroking her hair as she cried.

"Ali, have you ever thought that your parents didn’t love you? Before now, did you ever feel that they weren’t your parents? That they possibly didn’t know how to tell you? Or that they thought you were their daughter so much that they forgot that their miracle child wasn’t actually theirs?" As he spoke, the words calmed her down. She fell silent after a minute.

"Not once did I feel unloved, even when Mom left with Rhys… she still cared for me, as she does now. Dad has always been there for me, even when he has been off in la-la land," she thought out loud. Ted smiled at her, knowing that she would really be all right.

"Don’t you think you should go and talk to your Dad again? At least tell him you are okay?"

"I’m scared to Ted… I ran out of there without really saying anything." He held her hand and tugged her arm slightly toward her house.

"I’m with you in this, through thick and thin… come on Ali, your Dad loves you very much. He was worried sick about you the whole time you were gone. If I hadn’t been there, I don’t know what he would have done. Please, just tell him that you’re hurt that he didn’t tell you, but you still love him and just need time to adjust to the news." Together, they walked back up the driveway and into the house.

Her Dad saw her with Ted and she could see the relief in his eyes. She swallowed and looked into his eyes to show how sorry she was. "Daddy… I’m sorry for running out on you. I was just so shocked, this is going to take me a while to get used to." She watched his face as she spoke, and saw him smile slightly.

"It’s okay, sweetheart. No matter what, you are my daughter and that’s all that matters to me."

"Then why the cover story about who I am? Daddy, when you told me I felt so alone. I felt that you were only telling me because of the blood tests, sort of like an ‘I better tell her now just in case’…"

"Alison, the main reason I didn’t say anything was because of Jessica. I didn’t want to put her through the constant realization that she couldn’t have kids. If you knew earlier what would you have done?"

"Looked for my real parents…"

"Exactly, and that meant that Jessica would forever be reminded about her loss. It wasn’t right for us to not tell you, but have we really ever treated you like anything other than our own daughter?"

"No, I guess you haven’t. But it still hurts that you kept it a secret from me. If it wasn’t for Ted, you wouldn’t have had an adopted daughter either." Andrew looked at his daughter and when she wouldn’t answer his unasked question, he turned to the young man that his daughter loved.

"What happened Ted?"

"She ran out in the middle of the road in tears, didn’t look. A car almost hit her, but I managed to get her out of the way."

"Thank you. Thank you for saving my daughter…" Andrew’s voice wavered and Ali had had enough.

"Okay, Kodak moment over, can we talk about something else?"

So the three of them chatted for a while, with Ted filling in Alison and her Dad on the new employee at Romero’s. After a while the phone rang and Alison jumped up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Short Stuff, Shaw and I are going to be hanging out in the school library today and I need someone who ain’t all scholarly to hang around with. Shaw’s too much a book geek for me to handle by myself, you up for it?" Faith’s voice was a welcome interruption to the discussions going on at the table. <But I have to break her habit of calling me Short Stuff… I hate that!>

"When are you heading there?"

"Now, but let me guess, Pizza Stud’s missed you during your forced separation period? Did you tell him why you were away? If not, bring him along… he’s another hottie to help distract my mind!"

"We’ll be there in a little while, Faith. No I haven’t, don’t know how to tell him about it. But I’m spending a little Dad time at the moment."

"Okay, AJ. Say hello to D&D fan and your Dark Phoenix cousin for me. Stay footloose and fancy free… catch ya soon."

Alison smiled as she heard the phone click down. Even now, she still thought it was strange that she, Shaw, and Faith were all friends… they were all extremely different to each other. But she heard about how the Soul Sisters had bonded and after being locked in a building with Ted by them, she discovered just how much fun the two could be. <Although they still haven’t fully paid for embarrassing me in front of Ted. I still need a little more to get back at them, but what?>

She walked back over to the table and wrapped her arms around Ted’s shoulders. Even with Ted sitting down, he was almost too tall for her. She rested her chin on top of his head and winked at her Dad. <Dad has really grown to like Ted, treats him like the son he never had. I just hope he hasn’t started planning my wedding to him… poor Ted probably doesn’t even realize what my parents are like!>

"Who was that Alison?"

"It was Faith, she wants Ted and I to hang out with her and Shaw for a while. Do you mind if we head out soon?"

"No problems at all sweetie, you and Ted should go enjoy yourselves tonight, considering you haven’t seen each other for a couple days. Don’t worry, I have the fairies and elves to talk to until Kaitlyn decides to see if you are back."

"Okay Dad. Ted, you want to head out?" Alison asked as she walked around the table to give her Dad a kiss on his forehead. Ted stood up and shook his hand and waited for Alison to join him again. Together they headed for the library.

*****

Library
Sunnydale High School

Faith sat cross-legged on the counter as Alison and Ted walked in. She smiled widely at them and jumped off the counter.

"Hey, it’s Mr. and Mrs. Cheese Supreme. How’s it going Teddy Boy?" Alison and Ted grimaced at the new nickname and both sat down at the table.

"Not bad Faith, you?" Ted answered politely.

"Oh, you know, five by five. I’m young, alive, and so good looking, don’t have nothing to complain about," Faith said as she approached the young couple. "Just looking around the old stomping grounds for the last few days before we join you at FrankenMaggie’s Castle.. er, the college."

Alison giggled at the comment and then looked around the library. She couldn’t see Faith’s partner in crime and it worried her a little.

"Where’s Shaw?" she asked as Giles’ office door opened and out walked the girl in question. Shaw had her head stuck in a book as she wandered to the stacks.

"Yo! Shaw!" Faith called out causing the startled girl to jump, "We have company."

"Hello Alison, Ted. Thank you for keeping Faith off my back while I finish some work that Giles asked me to do. After he complained for a while about not having an assistant this year after having both Faith and I, I took pity on him. Yet, if it wasn’t for that Maggie Walsh woman, I would have finished this a while ago!"

"No problems Shaw, good luck with it and if you need a hand, I’ll help you out!" Alison volunteered. Nodding her thanks, Shaw headed back into the stacks.

"So PGA, did you find out what happened to AJ here?" Faith pried.

"PGA? Or don’t I want to know?" Ted asked. Alison turned to Faith as well. <Ted plays golf? Since when?>

"Pizza God Avatar. Now answer my question!" Ted groaned at the nickname. <Where does this girl come up with all the names? She probably has a staff of three or four really twisted nutcases writing her stuff. Yeah that's got to be it. I wonder where she keeps them locked up?>

"No, I don't know where Ali was. Do you know what happened to her, I was going nuts!" Before Alison could answer, Faith decided to play with Ted's mind a bit.

"Well, Short Stuff here was having a wild and crazy sleepover with Redeye, Wolfboy, Mini-B, and me! Lots of kinky stuff; handcuffs, Ali being in a cage, drugs, stripping in front of big, muscle bound soldier boys...."

Two seconds and a loud "THUD" later, Alison looked dismally at the body of her boyfriend, who had fainted and fallen out of his chair.

"You better pray this is just a fainting spell, Pryce! If he’s had a heart attack I will kick your Slayer ass all over town. How could you say that to him?"

"Well, it was true. I was just recapping what happened to us."

"I can’t believe this. How am I going to explain to him what really happened without him recalling what you said and they way you said it?"

"Hey, if he can't deal with you being kidnapped, it's not MY fault!" Faith shot back defensively. <Although it was rather cute of her to be so protective of him… AJ really does like him. Kudos Short Stuff for good taste.>

Ali struggled to get Ted into the proper position to maintain clear airways. Faith took pity on her and helped her out.

"Jeez AJ, he’s really heavy. How can you stand him being on top?" Ali’s jaw dropped open from shock.

"Faith! If you must know he has never been on top of me," Ali answered, then groaned at the implication her answer would give the Dark Slayer.

"Oh, so Miss Jarman is a bit of a dominant female huh? I can relate to that…"

"That’s not what I meant Faith. Ted and I, just have never slept together… that’s all," she shyly retorted. <I’m still not over the rape and Ted understands, at least he says he does… I hope he does. Oh no, what if he doesn’t? No, no I know he does, he told me so himself. But what if he was lying? He wouldn’t lie to me would he? No! Not Ted, Ted would never do that to me.>

"You don’t need to sleep together to have sex… you do know that don’t you?" Faith’s question stopped Ali’s warring thoughts.

"What is with you and my sex life Faith? Or lack there of…"

"You really haven’t done anything with Ted have you?" Faith asked, sounding surprised. "Why not?"

"You know the reason why," Ali mumbled back.

"Alison, it’s been over a year, heck it’s been over three or four years now. Do you want to talk about it?" Faith volunteered. <This ain’t healthy for her, and Ted can’t be very happy about the whole situation. I wonder if she told him about it?>

"Not right at this moment. But if the offer is open later?"

"For you Ms. Meat Lovers, any time!"

"FAITH!!!" Alison shouted in dismay. <How could she even suggest that? That’s disgusting.>

"What?"

"How could you imply that I… well, you know…?" she asked, her face flaming red.

"How could I imply what?" Faith began and then saw the embarrassment that her friend was in, "Oh… hang on… you meant… Welcome to the sewers Ali… I hadn’t meant anything like that out of my comment, it was just another pizza topping like Cheese Supreme. Besides, the Meat Lover’s is what you guys are known for making!"

A moan coming from behind them made them spin around. Alison rushed to her boyfriend’s side to see if he was really all right. Easing her hand under his head, she watched him open his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked confused. "Last time I fainted was when I met King Arthur. What happened this time?" Alison glared at Faith, making sure the Dark Slayer wouldn’t answer the question the way she did last time.

"Well, Faith pretty much summed it up with her explanation but not completely. What she didn’t mention was that we had been taken captive by a ‘secret’ government agency…"

"But why take Faith?" He looked at her. "Don’t you work for one?" a confused Ted asked.

"Yeah, actually besides your girl here, everyone taken works with Steve’s group. And Ali has previously turned down the offer to work with us." Alison ducked her head as Ted stared at her.

"You never told me that. Why didn’t you join?"

"Because of Dad. He was in a bad way when they asked. After what I’ve just been through, I may approach Steve about getting some fight training. Aikido’s all well and good but I would like to be a bit more experience behind me. Plus now having Kait around, I have a new work out partner if Steve agrees."

"Hey Scottie! AJ may be joining the group after all," Faith shouted to the stacks. Shaw popped her head around and smiled.

"Good to know, and it is about time Alison," she answered as she walked out of the stacks and towards the group, "but maybe it is also time that you two help Ted off the ground."

"Oh yeah, maybe we should," Faith responded and helped him stand up again. He stood behind Alison and wrapped his arms round her.

"Okay, who is going to fill me in as to what happened to Alison?"

Shaw took up the story. "This agency is known as the Initiative, which was apparently formed using operatives from all branches of the American military, and without the knowledge of President Bartlett, was formed to examine vampires, demons, and other supernatural beings using scientific method, mainly by capturing and conducting tests on them. Since vampires, some demons, and other beings can look human, they mistook us for what they call ‘hostiles’. After running a series of tests on us, they were extremely confused as to why they had a group of human teenagers, that is, except for the half-human teenager." Ted groaned at the joke while Ali laughed.

Alison felt something tickling at her mind. <Tests, why is that bringing up alarm bells in my mind? I have to remember what I needed to do. Something to do with Willow.> "Oh crap! That reminds me, does anyone have Willow’s number? I need to ask her to do a favor for me," she asked.

"Why does the conversation about our kidnapping remind you of calling Willow? Or was it the conversation with Faith about your sex life that reminded you?" Shaw asked innocently. Alison’s face flamed bright red while Ted’s face turned a soft pink.

"You were talking about your sex life? With whom do you have a sex life with?" he asked before realizing what the comment could be taken as. He babbled out an explanation, "Not that I meant it like that. I meant that, well you know, I am taking it slowly for you! So if you were to have a sex life to discuss, it’s not with me is it?"

"Thanks Shaw, Faith. Thank you so much! Ted, Faith had wanted to know about what was going on between us. There is no one else and I will kill anyone who tries to tell you otherwise. As for why I have to call Willow, it’s because I need her help and computer expertise."

"Oh, well that’s easy. Willow is at Steven’s place with Buffy and Oz, discussing who is on patrol for the next week. So why don’t you come with us over there?" Shaw asked.

"Right, let’s mosey on down to boss man’s pad and get Net Girl, or maybe Calendar Girl, to do their thing and find out what’s happening to Pepperoni Girl."

"Pepperoni Girl?" Alison groaned.

"Isn’t it better than Mrs. Meat Lover?" Shaw retorted, her voice as sweet as honey.

"Shut up!" Ali snapped unintentionally.

"AJ are you wheel girl today?" Faith broke the building tension.

"Nope, but Ted is…"

"Ted’s Wheel Girl? Are you sure you’re straight Ali?" Both Ted and Ali blushed. <Faith just finds it too easy to pick on me. This is so unfair!>

"Can't you stop her?" Ali pleaded with Shaw.

"It is futile to even try."

"Plus you enjoy it," Ted added, enjoying the word play between the girls.

"Of course. She is targeting someone else for once."

"AUGH! I am never going to get the last word with you guys am I?" Ali shook her head while asking the question, aware of the obvious answer coming up.

"It sucks to be you, Shorty!" Faith replied, laughing as the group left the library. None of them took another glance at the building that they had once spent so much time in.

*****

Steve St Wolf’s house
Sunnydale, California

Once they were parked in Steve’s driveway, Ali got an attack of the nerves and refused to get out of the car.

"I can’t do it. I barely know Steve or Buffy. Willow and I still aren’t on best terms… yeah, I guess we are friends but still… and how can I look at Oz after what I saw in the Initiative?"

"Ali, does it really matter that Oz is a werewolf? That is not the real problem, is it?" Shaw quietly asked. Alison shook her head.

"No, it’s not that but oh, you’ll understand when I talk to Willow."

"But sweetie, to talk to Willow, you have to get out of the car," Ted spoke up.

They got out of the car and started up the path to Steve’s, dragging poor Alison behind them the rest of the way. <Why do I put up with these two? They embarrass me all the time and are forever playing pranks on me. I guess that’s what real friends are like…>

Ted wrapped his arm round Ali’s waist, allowing Ali to observe everything as she walked up the path. Although she had met Steve a couple of times, she had never really seen inside the front hallway. Usually Ted did the deliveries to Steve’s house but even then, it was mainly the front door he saw.

Without knocking, Faith barged into the house and Shaw was close behind. Ted and Ali walked a little slower, glancing around. <Get a grip Jarman. He may be part of a black ops team but it doesn’t mean he is going to have supercomputers and holographic projectors in his house.>

"Yo! Professionals in da house! Rocking it with da toughest Pizza Gal this side of town!" Faith’s voice echoed down the hallway.

"What about me?" Ted inquired as to why Faith never mentioned him.

Without missing a beat, Faith called out, "And the second toughest Pizza Gal this side of town too!"

Shaw and Alison cracked up with laughter at the look on Ted’s face. <Twice in less than twenty minutes Faith’s referred to me as a girl. I’m not used to this!> Faith led the group down to the lounge room.

Upon entering the room, Alison and Ted saw Buffy, Willow, and Oz relaxing with a beautiful German shepherd at their feet. They don’t seem too surprised by the intrusion of Faith and the others, but instead smiled warmly at the two people who’d never been in the house. The shepherd opens his eyes once, glanced at them, and sniffed the air before going back to sleep.

"Hey Ted, Alison. How are you both?" Buffy asked politely. Faith and Shaw plopped down into a couple of spare seats and motioned for Ali and Ted to do the same.

"We’re fine Buffy. How are all you guys? Happy to have Oz back, Willow?" Alison responded.

"Extremely! How ‘bout you Ted?" Willow asks. Ted smiled at her. <Finally! Finally able to have a shot at someone else! >

"Of course I’m happy to have Oz back. And Alison is a major bonus." Ali and Willow just shook their heads at the lame joke.

"Kudos Pizza Guy, now you’re thinking like me," Faith laughed back.

"Gods help us all if Ted thinks like Faith!" Shaw blurted out.

"Amen!" the rest answered in unison, including Ted.

"HEY! I’m not that bad…"

"As long as you believe it Faith, then everything will be alright," Ted finished.

The unlikely group of friends began to talk about different things happening in their lives. Alison was surprised that both Shaw and Faith would be attending UC Sunnydale. She had thought that at least one of them would have accepted a place at some kind of prestigious university like she had wished she could have. Willow and Buffy were warning them of some of the lecturers and Ali had to laugh. She had the lecturers too and had the exact same opinion of them.

"Did any of you decide to take Mythology?" Alison asked. She watched them shake their heads.

"Why?" Oz asked. She still hadn’t heard him string together more than a few words.

"I took it last year and aced it, they asked questions on different ancient races and their common myths. And then the clincher was that they went into a discussion on vampires. This year is apparently on Artemis, Ares, and Zeus, etc. Do you mind if I come here for help if I need it?" They all started laughing again, while Faith liked the idea of having a class she could possibly sleep through.

"Anyways, Ali and Ted, why did you two come over? Sorry to be blunt but I’m curious…" Buffy asked.

"What? Can’t we just be here to enjoy your company?" Ted asked innocently.

"Spill it AJ, you’ve dodged us enough times with waiting to talk to Willow…" Faith started.

"Well, ummm…"

"If you don’t, Faith will just start talking about your private life again. You know she will," Shaw prodded Ali along. Taking a deep breath Alison collected her thoughts.

"Okay guys, here’s the deal. I was talking to Dad about where I had disappeared to and mentioned that they had run some tests on me. He freaked when he heard about the blood tests and so I questioned him on his reaction…" Ali paused to stop herself from crying.

"Well?"

"Dad wanted to know if they ran a test on my blood. I told him that they had only to discover that I’m just as human as.. well, all of you. I asked him why he wanted to know and he tells me that I am not his daughter, that I was adopted."

"So why did he wait so long to tell you?" Willow asked. Ali looked around the room and saw that all eyes were on her. Even the shepherd’s.

"Because of my Mom… Apparently they knew she couldn’t have children and so they adopted me since they wanted one. Since Dad worked out that I would probably search for my real parents almost as soon as I found out about it, he didn’t want to upset Mom any further. So I have no idea who my parents are…"

"At least your parents knew you were adopted. I just recently found out I was adopted and Mom never knew. They found me outside the hospital around the time Mom was in labor, and they switched me with the stillborn," Buffy said, showing Ali she could identify with her.

"Wow Buffy, we’ve been through some similar life stories… popular to a loner… or whatever I got referred to as… being adopted and finding out late…" Alison tried to joke.

"So why do you need me, Ali?" Willow asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, I’m good with a computer but when it comes to hacking, you’re the best there is. Since the Initiative would most definitely have records of the tests done on us, I was wondering if you could help me do a search on my DNA to see if I can track down my real parents… can you help me? Please?"

"Hey, why not… gives me a new challenge. Buffy, do you think Steve would mind if we use his computer for this? It’s just his would have a better connection to hack with…"

"Yeah, sure go ahead but make sure Ali and Ted go with you. They should be there to help out."

Buffy watched them head towards the computer room before turning to the others.

"I bet a screamer…" she began.

"I say Ted a screamer, Ali a fainter," Faith added.

"Ali a screamer and Ted a fainter…" Shaw countered. Oz just chuckled at them and began to laugh harder when the reaction from the other room came in.

*****

Willow escorted Ted and Alison through to the computer. She kept tight-lipped at the questions on what kind of computer it would be and knew that her friends would be betting on the outcome of what happened in the room.

"Well, here it is… this is Steve’s computer. What do you think? It’s something like a 10,000 MHZ Pentium, the monitor is like the ones they use on fighter jet, and it has touch screen capabilities. The Internet connection is untraceable which makes hacking so much easier!" She watched as Ted’s jaw dropped onto the ground. It was a typical reaction upon viewing the computer. Alison on the other hand took one look and walked out the door.

"Buffy, why are you guys showing me props that look like those from Star Wars?" Alison demanded upon reaching the lounge room.

"What are you talking about Ali?" Buffy looked smug as she answered.

"The supposed computer in there. If that is a real computer then I’m a monkey’s uncle! Can the pranks and show me the real computer."

Willow walked back into the room and heard the end of what Ali had said. Smiling she let herself be seen by everyone in room and walked over to Alison.

"Willow will you just show me the computer, damn it!"

"Watch and learn, Monkey’s Uncle… watch and learn." The holographic display opened up showing the outlay of what was on the computer screen.

"I think I’m in love!" Alison yelled causing Ted to run into the lounge room. He stopped when he saw his girlfriend staring intently at the display.

"Ali…" he waited for her to face him, "wipe your face… you’re drooling."

With that comment, the room cracked up laughing. When Ali flamed red again, Ted joined in.

*****

The trio walked back to the computer and Willow began the process of hacking into the Initiative’s database. Alison intently watched the Amazon at work, hoping to pick up a few tips on how to be a successful hacker.

"There we go, one file on a Miss Alison Madelyn Jarman. Let’s see what they wrote about you," Willow announced a few moments later and began to open the files, heading straight to the file about Alison’s blood work.

Opening it up she found Alison’s sequence of DNA and started running it through the computer.

"This may take a little while, I’m just running it through the police and FBI files before I move onto the doctors, hospital records, and anywhere else I can think of to check." Willow’s fingers tapped quickly over the keyboard, barely touching the keys.

Alison and Ted huddled closely to the computer screen and could scarcely read the data that flowed over the screen. Every now and then, Willow would stop to double check a result before resuming the search.

After about an hour Willow stopped typing. She turned to face Alison and Ted, her face taking on a look of resolve.

"Ali, sorry but we bombed here in America. No records anywhere with matching DNA."

"You mean to tell me that you just ran a check through every damn computer in the United States! And you found nothing? So I am a no body then? Why me? Why do I have to go through all this shit!?" Ali ranted and raved about it, before understanding exactly what Willow was saying.

Faith and Shaw came running in when they heard Ali yelling. Noticing the girl pacing the floor in front of the computer, Faith tried to calm her. "Hey, Ali… calm down girl… you okay? What’s going on?"

"I just told Ali that there were no results on the DNA search in the United States," Willow answered while Ted moved over to Ali to settle her down.

"You only searched computers in the United States?" Ali asked to clarify what Willow was talking about.

"Yeah. In the US," Willow repeated, hopeful that Alison would get the point.

"So.... you mean..." Alison asked hopefully, understanding showing in her eyes.

"Maybe. Heck, you could be from the same part of Australia as Kaitlyn for all we know… and considering Kaitlyn is from the land down under, that’s not that far fetched."

"So much for the 'All-American' girl, huh Ali?" Faith asked sarcastically, much to Alison’s exasperation. Rolling her eyes, she smacked Faith on the back of her head. Shaw noticed the action and gravely turned to Ted.

"She is one of us now. I would watch the back of your head from now on," Shaw said to him.

"Oh God," he replied.

"Anyway, if we can get back to the subject at hand. Ali, you might as well go home, this is going to take me a while. I’ll let you know tomorrow about what I find, okay?" Willow told her, looking confident that she could find something. Ali nodded her head and started walking for the door.

"Thanks a lot for this Willow, I know I haven’t always been the friendliest person to you but I really do appreciate it."

"It’s cool Ali, I know why, so don’t worry about it. And hey, I haven’t had a good personal hacking challenge for a while. I’ll talk to you later okay?"

"Sure thing, see ya guys," Ali answered before she and Ted walked out after saying good-bye to Buffy and the others.

*****

As Ted was driving Ali home, Ali kept staring at him. <Why am I so afraid of him? Why do I automatically assume that he will be like Percy? I like him so much, so why can’t I do more than just kissing him? He is so sweet and understanding… giving me as much time as I need. So why can’t I let myself trust him?>

"… so what do you think?" Ted concluded his question. Ali glanced guiltily into his eyes.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you said."

"I just asked if I should have a nose job since you are staring at me… what’s up sweetheart? Are you worried about what Willow is going to find out?" he asked gently.

"What? Oh, yeah I guess I am."

Ted glanced at her quickly and shook his head. Pulling up into her driveway he turned to look at her. <What’s up with her? I know that it isn’t really the adoption that is upsetting her.>

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not at the moment Ted. I’m sorry, it’s just hard to explain." She hopped out of the car and walked round to Ted’s side. Opening the door, she kissed Ted goodbye before heading inside.

Calling out hello to her Dad, Alison headed upstairs and flopped onto her bed. Thinking of how she reacted in the car, Alison broke down into tears. <Why did I brush him off? I could have talked to him about what I’m feeling… but then I would worry that he might use it against me. No! Ted wouldn’t do that to me, he respects me… at least I hope he does. Why can’t I move on with Ted? I didn’t even invite him inside…>

Reaching for the phone, Alison called the one person who she thought would understand her predicament.

"Slayer House, Slayer Supreme talking. It’s your quarter, so what’s up?" Ali smiled when she heard the upbeat, confident voice.

"Faith, do you have a minute? It’s Alison."

"For you Shorty, anytime."

"Thanks. I-I was t-thinking about what you said in the library… you know, about me and Ted?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, what about it? You didn’t, did you?" Faith asked excitedly. Ali blushed again and was grateful that Faith couldn’t see her.

"No, no.. n-nothing like that. It’s just, I feel really bad about how I’m treating Ted. On one hand, I am scared to go any further than I have but on the other, I’m scared I am going to lose him if I don’t. I’m confused, Faith."

"Okay, let’s talk about this rationally okay? I won’t clown around or anything during this, I promise. We’ll take this slowly the whole ‘one step at a time’ thing right?"

"O-okay."

"You like Ted a lot don’t you?" Faith asked the obvious question.

"Yes," Alison blurted back quickly.

"Okay, that’s good then. Now, I want you to tell me why you are scared to move on. I know why and I know you know why, but I want you to start talking about this to me."

"B-because of Percy." Alison heard Faith groan over the phone line.

"What does Percy have to do with the price of fish? Pretend I don’t know what happened okay?"

"Alright then. I-I’m scared that if I decide I don’t want to have sex that Ted won’t stop just like Percy did. I’m scared that if I change my mind, he’ll ignore it."

"That’s more like it, Ali. Okay, a few more questions for you. First one, and take your time answering this… you kissed on your first date, weren’t you worried that it may have gone further then?"

Alison breathed deeply for a few seconds, collecting her thoughts and trying to remember what was running through her head on the night she and Ted found out that they felt mutually about each other.

"I wasn’t really thinking like that then, I was annoyed with you guys but extremely happy that Ted had admitted to liking me. Then again, we had no idea as to when you would let us out, so afterwards I thought that maybe that was the reason Ted didn’t try anything more."

"Okay, second question. Since that night, have you ever felt that Ted would force you into anything that you wouldn’t want to do?"

"Thinking about it, I guess not. He always lets me back out of anything that I feel uncomfortable about."

"Right, now we are getting to the good bit. You’ve just admitted that you think that Ted wouldn’t force you into doing anything that you didn’t want to do. So why do you think that he wouldn’t stop if you asked him to?"

"Because I asked Percy to stop and he didn’t. That’s the only time I have ever had sex, and it was a forced issue," Alison spat back, almost in tears from the memory of that day.

Even though Alison had been in therapy over it, the memories still hurt her. She was moving on and Ted was helping her, but sometimes the memory took control and she couldn’t cope with it.

"Ali, calm down. It was only a question okay? I don’t doubt you and I’m not claiming anything. But you need to open up to the idea that Ted is a completely different guy than Percy. For one thing, Ted is the ultimate goody two shoes. He reminds me of Steve that way. Did you know what happened to Buffy?"

"What do you mean? I know about her burning down her old school and things like that." <Why is Faith bringing up Buffy? I don’t understand what’s she’s doing.>

"Did you ever see or meet her ex-boyfriend?"

"Yeah he was pretty handsome. A vampire wasn’t he?"

"Wow, you really do know a hell of a lot of the things that happened in Sunnydale."

<Of course I do, I live here don’t I? But then again not many people remember in Sunnydale.> Alison thought to herself.

"I heard them talking in the toilets, the Halloween where they turned into their costumes."

"Our own Harriet the Spy huh? Anyways, getting back to why I brought B up in this conversation. You know Angelus was a very deadly vampire who suddenly stopped feeding. Well the story as to what happened with that goes something like this. Angelus killed the favorite daughter of one of the Gypsy clans, so they came up with the ultimate revenge, cursing him with a soul."

"How is that a revenge?" Alison butted in not understanding.

"Imagine, you’ve killed thousands of people and never felt any guilt about them. Suddenly you get your soul back and the memories and guilt hit you all at once."

"Oh, I think I understand, but what does this have to do with anything?"

"Well, Angelus, or as he became known, Angel came to Sunnydale waiting for the Slayer by the name of Buffy. Together they faced the end of the world and survive. Later on, Buffy ends up sleeping with Angel, not knowing about a clause in the curse. One moment of true happiness and the curse would be removed. Angel became Angelus again. Not long after that our very own Steve St. Wolf comes into the neighborhood. He and Buffy hit it off, but Buffy was scared that Steve would leave her like Angel did. The way that Steve allowed Buffy the time to move on reminds me of how Ted is treating you. In fact, if it weren’t for me knowing that Steve doesn’t have children, I would have guessed that Ted was his son. Their mannerisms are a lot alike."

"So what you’re saying is that you don’t think that Ted is anything like Percy and Angelus."

"Bingo. Have you told Ted about what happened? Does he know why you’re scared?"

"He knows something bad happened and that I’m getting help for it. But I didn’t tell him the specifics. But that’s another thing I am scared of, his reaction to finding out about it."

"Okay, before we move onto that one, let’s go to the second thing you’re afraid of. Why do you think that if you don’t do anything with Ted, he’ll leave you?"

"Wouldn’t you?"

"Maybe, maybe not. The thing is that Ted really likes you right? Someone mentioned that he stayed with your Dad and Kaitlyn while we were playing Hogan’s Heroes under the school. Do you think that someone would do that if they were only after sex?"

"N-no, I guess not."

"Exactly. Ted is concerned about you and it has nothing to do with sex. I saw how protective he was of you while Willow was searching on the Net for your folks. So personally, I think he is with you through anything. Thick and thin, Ali."

"You really think so?" Alison sounded cheerful of the prospect.

"Sure do. And I think that deep in your mind, you do too. But moving onto the next question… why are you afraid of how Ted will react about finding out that you were raped? You know in this day and age, a lot of people are publicly making themselves heard over the trauma. That it’s a common idea of hearing and reading stories of rape, so why are you scared of how he would react?"

"Because I fear he will react in one of three ways…"

"Which are?"

"The first one is that he’ll leave me because I am used goods."

"You think Ted would really care if you are no longer a virgin?"

"I don’t know…"

"Okay, the next one."

"The second is that he won’t believe me. That he’d think that I am lying about it and claim it’s just an excuse not to have sex."

"Do you seriously think that that is an option with Ted?"

"Again, I don’t know…"

"Okay, skip the answering to that one just for the moment. Next one?"

"That he’ll become extremely protective of me and not let me out of his sight for a moment."

"Sort of stalker like?" Faith hazarded a guess.

"Yeah, a stalking boyfriend. It’s not what I need at the moment."

"Right, now let me ask you some questions over this. The three reasons are fairly extreme, each in their own way. So let’s dissect them. You used the comment ‘used goods,’ and I asked if you would really believe Ted would leave you because you are no longer a virgin. This is the year 2000; there aren’t many virgins our age anymore. It’s no longer such a strange idea of having pre-marital sex. So why do you think that Ted is any less different to the rest of the world?"

"It’s a phobia, since when do you have to have a good reason for a phobia?"

"Most phobia’s have an underlying reason as to why they exist. But why a phobia over something you had no control over?"

"I guess you’re right."

"Nope, you’re not getting out of this that easily. Why?"

"Because everyone I end up trusting is taken from me. I’m scared that if I trust Ted with what happened, he’ll leave me too. That… that he’ll die."

Faith paused a bit before going on. "Now we’re getting somewhere. This has to do with Jesse right?"

"Yeah, Jesse, Mom, Marisa, and even my shrink."

"Okay, two moved away and I know Jesse died… what happened to Marisa?"

"Vampire."

"Damn, I hate this town some days."

"Same here."

"You do realize that with each of those examples, there was nothing you could do to stop it from happening."

"But I could have with Marisa. I let her walk home by herself at night because she didn’t want to stop me and Percy from having some alone time."

"If you went with her, then it would have been two deaths that night, not just one and the second would be you."

"Really?"

"Yeah really. Vampires don’t care if you’re in a group or by yourself. You’ve been blaming yourself over her death for a while haven’t you?"

"Yes."

"You’re not at fault, remember that. Vampires are a disgusting human-looking lot of vermin. But that’s another story, so let’s move on. Why did you say you thought that Ted wouldn’t believe you?"

"If it hadn’t happened to you, would you believe me?"

"Yes I would, and again it’s because nowadays it is a common thing to hear about. I’m not saying that raping is a new thing to our world, but it is something that you hear more about these days than previous times. And I think that Ted would believe you too; trust him Ali, that’s all you have to do."

"But…"

"I know it’s hard to do, but if you really like him then you have to trust him. Considering what you said about trusting people, I know it will be hard for you but give him the benefit of the doubt. He may show you that it isn’t your fault. You’ve trusted me and Shaw, do you think we are going to leave you?"

"No, I can’t see you leaving me."

"Then why is Ted any different?"

"He’s not, not really."

"Good, last question and then I have to go get ready to patrol alright?"

"Sure thing Faith."

"Why do you think he’ll become a stalker?"

"Because I’ve proven I can’t take care of myself."

"That’s a load of bullshit and you know it! Alison, being raped is a nightmare. But it doesn’t mean you can’t protect yourself. You know as well as I do, that you get frozen into place during it. If Percy was on top of you, of course you wouldn’t be able to fight back, he’s a foot taller than you and plays football, he’s muscular and strong. How are you supposed to fight something like that? And besides, you were the one who helped save mine and Shaw’s bacon last year with those MIB wannabes!"

"You really think so?"

"Think, shmink! I know it, Ali you’re not built to fight against a footballer. Being able to protect yourself against something like that, you’d need super strength. Hell, only reason Shaw kicked his ass twice was ‘cause the first time, he didn’t know her. Second time, the time she popped his shoulder like a cork, was ‘cause she snuck up on him. He snuck up on her, he’d have done the same thing to her he did to you. You get my drift?"

"I guess so…"

"I know so. Listen, I really have to go now, but think about what I told you, all right? Don’t do anything that you don’t want to do, but consider what I told you okay? Give Ted the benefit of the doubt and let him know that he is someone you really like."

"Thanks Faith, I’ll think about it."

"That’s all I ask. I’ll see you tomorrow when you and Willow talk about your folks. Catch ya AJ."

"Bye Faith."

*****

Steve St Wolf’s house
Later that night

Willow groaned in frustration. Every check she had done had come up empty. There were no matches on Alison’s strand of DNA anywhere in the world, not even in the secret groups the team had fought with more than once.

<Could it be possible that Ali appeared out of nowhere?> Willow wondered as she tried again to find a match, just racking her brain to see if she’d missed anything. <What do I know about people appearing out of nowhere? Who was it that said just tonight that at least Ali had known about being adopted? Buffy! That’s right Buffy, Steve were foundlings… they both just appeared and they both turned out to be Immortals… could that mean that Alison is an Immortal to be? I wonder if there is a way to check that fact.>

"Buffy, can you come here a second?"

"Sure Willow, did you find something?" Buffy said as she walked in.

Waiting for Buffy to enter the room, Willow considered all the facts she knew about Alison’s problem in trying to find her real parents. Forming the idea of her being a Pre-Immortal made sense with what she knew about them.

"What’s up Will? Did you find something?" Buffy asked again.

"Nope, not one shred of evidence that Alison was ever born."

"What are you saying?" Buffy asked, trying to clearly understand what Willow was saying.

"There’s nothing to show that Alison was ever born, no records on her DNA or anything enough that would give us a relative, and no birth records that’d give us a clue where she was really born. Would it be possible that she’s an Immortal like you, that just hasn’t died and had the immortality activated yet?"

"Well, I know I’m too young to tell. I think Steve is too, but maybe Sonja or Gabby would be able to help us out in knowing. There aren’t many older than those two."

"Do you think they could help us out? I know you aren’t supposed to tell someone if they are Pre-Immortals but at least we’d then know to look out for her more than what we do already…"

Buffy thought about it for a minute, "I’ll talk to Steve about it and see what he thinks. So what are you going to tell Ali?"

Willow looked at the computer again, wishing she could think of another option. She turned back to Buffy, a helpless look in her eyes. "I don’t know… I just don’t know."

*****

Chapter 2: Just because you are an expert on elves, doesn’t mean you know EVERY elf by name…

It’s time to release everyone’s favorite half elf, faery, and leprechaun

Jarman household
The next day

Alison woke up tired; she hadn’t managed to sleep much last night. She was too busy thinking about what she and Faith had discussed. She slowly got out of bed and went to take a shower to wake up. <After breakfast I should see if Ted would like to come over. Dad’s going to be out this morning. I’m so glad that he is seeing Sydney. I think I might check to see if I can see him too, I need more help with my sex life.> She groaned at the accidental pun. <God…>

After hastily dressing in the new black Chi jeans and silver three-quarter-length top she had just bought, Ali ran downstairs to the kitchen. Once there, she made scrambled eggs and toast, one serving for her Dad and one for her. She poached one egg for Kaitlyn. <That kid always has to be different!> Turning the kettle on, she went back upstairs to call her Dad down for breakfast since Kait was already coming down the stairs.

Her Dad came downstairs just as the kettle boiled and she poured a peppermint tea for him and a raspberry, strawberry, and cranberry tea mix for herself. Kait poured an orange juice and took Andrew’s tea to the table as she went to sit down. Just as Ali was about to sit down with her own tea the doorbell rang.

Placing the cups on the table, she rushed to the door and found Ted standing outside.

"Hey sweetheart, when are you heading over to Steve’s?"

"Not ‘til later in the day," she answered, nerves showing. "Have you eaten breakfast? Come on in…" Alison ushered him inside and followed him into the kitchen. <He looks really good today, we’re almost wearing matching outfits… is it possible for him to wear tighter jeans than what he has on?>

"Hey Andrew, how are you this morning?" Ted greeted Alison’s Dad.

"I’m fine Ted; I was about to head over to see Sydney. Alison’s just made me scrambled eggs but left hers to get cold." He grinned at her glared. "You might as well eat it Ted, Ali looks determined to make another serving."

Sitting down across from Andrew and next to Kaitlyn, Ted took a sniff at Ali’s tea.

"Ummm, since when have you begun drinking herbal teas?"

"Ever since I started getting wound up on caffeine. Is that plate of eggs still warm or would you prefer the plate I’m making now?" Ali responded as she started to scoop the new batch onto two slices of fresh toast.

"Nah, these are fine, you eat those ones. But can I trouble you for a coffee?"

"Not a problem."

"So, Kait, you happy to have the chef back now?" Ted asked.

"Very much so! I can’t believe that the two of us can’t make toast…" Kaitlyn giggled.

"I don’t want to know… Dad, shouldn’t you be off now?" Alison asked as she turned the kettle back on to get it boiling again.

"Is that a not-so-subtle hint that you want to be alone with Ted? Don’t worry, I’ll be off now and won’t be home until sometime this afternoon. You two kids behave, okay? Come on Kaitlyn, I’ll drop you off at the Mall." With that he pushed his chair out from the table, kissed Alison’s forehead, shook Ted’s hand, and walked out.

As Alison picked up the plate and the coffee, she smiled secretly thinking that maybe Faith was right. If any of those things she feared were true, Ted wouldn’t be here now.

"Your Dad is so cool! If I were you, my parents probably would have given me the whole spiel about ‘knowing the police on a first name basis, and no monkey business!’ Instead it’s ‘you kids behave.’ Thanks for breakfast, Ali."

"No thanks needed, I love cooking. So what do you feel like doing before I go to see Willow?" Ali responded while digging into her breakfast. She had been craving a hot breakfast for a while but couldn’t be bothered until now to make one. <And it’s not like those Army asses fed us anything good.>

"Do you want to go out or do you just wanna veg and watch videos?" Ted suggested.

"So what type of videos do you want to watch?" Ali answered. Ted looked at her, a little shocked that she was agreeing to stay at home with him.

"Umm, what do you have?"

"What about ‘Face/Off’, ‘Air Force One’, ‘Rush Hour’ or ‘The Matrix’?"

"Well, let’s start with ‘Air Force One’ and work our way through as many as we can… sound good to you?"

"Sure thing… good choice sweetness. Seriously, do you think Steve or any of the others would have let something like this movie occur?" <Why the Hell did I do that? Why did I mention Steve? I know I’m nervous, but at least I’m not stuttering!>

"I doubt it, but let’s forget about them for a while and just be two normal everyday teenagers who think that the world is a safe place." <Just what we used to be. How does Steve’s group cope? Especially the younger three, Dawn, Debbie and Brian?>

After Ted’s comment, Ali popped the video into the VCR and headed to the couch where Ted had settled. Curling her legs under her, she cuddled up to Ted and relaxed when he wrapped his arm around her but nothing more. Kissing the top of her head, Ted picked up the remote and fast-forwarded through the previews, stopping just as the movie began.

*****

Watching a movie was probably not the best idea Ali had agreed to, being so tired and then sitting down for so long, she fell asleep in Ted’s arms. Ted looked down at one stage, swearing he had heard something.

Picking Alison up, ever so gently, Ted began to carry his sleeping girlfriend upstairs.

Alison woke slightly when Ted was putting her down on her bed. He smoothed her hair away from her face and put the covers over her. After covering her, he began to head out of her room.

"Stay with me."

Turning around, Ted noticed that Ali had opened her eyes enough to see what he was doing. She was holding her hand out to him and he couldn’t deny the pleading look on her face.

"Please, just hold me."

Slipping out of his shoes, Ted hopped onto her bed and held her in his arms. She drifted back off to sleep, contented that he was there.

He kissed her softly on the lips and shut his eyes, and soon both of them were asleep.

*****

Steve St Wolf’s house
Later that afternoon

Willow knocked on Steve’s door and politely waited to be let in. She didn’t have to wait long before Buffy answered the door. Smiling, Willow walked inside and headed towards the lounge room. She was surprised to see only Steve sitting there.

"Hey Steve, did I interrupt your private time?"

"Nope, we were waiting for you to come over before getting started," he answered sarcastically before ducking the expected blow to the back of his head by Buffy.

"Funny Steve, very funny. Anyways, did Buffy mention anything about what I found last night and what I want to find out?" Willow asked, watching Buffy turn slightly pink.

"No she didn’t." He turned to face her, his face serious. "Buffy, what were you supposed to tell me last night?"

"I was supposed to ask if Sonja or Gabby would be able to sense a Pre-immie and if so, would they help us out with a theory?"

"And why didn’t you ask me this last night?" he asked patiently.

"Well, ummm, because…" The flaming red Buffy finally managed to get out an answer. "That’s what I was going to ask when you decided that I had said enough already for the night and started kissing me. So it’s all your fault!"

With that Steve’s face also turned bright red as he recalled what Buffy was referring to.

"Anyways, getting back to the question…" Willow decided to stop them in their tracks and keep her sanity levels in check at the same time, "would Sonja or Gabby be able to tell a Pre-immie if they saw one?"

"Definitely. Whereas Buffy and I are too young to do so, the majority of Immortals over a certain age can sense a Pre-immie. Sonja and Gabrielle would definitely be able to tell and probably Sonja would be more accurate than most, considering her age. But my question, is why do you want them to find out if someone is a Pre-immie?"

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Willow launched into an explanation about Ali approaching her to help track down her real parents, and Willow’s discovery that there were no matching records with any level of accuracy that would provide any clues as to the location of a close relative or parents.

"It’s almost as if she just appeared one day and that got me thinking; I know about you and what Buffy found out about Immortals. So I was thinking, maybe it would be a good idea to know in advance so if she eventually joins us, then you guys can keep an eye out for her," Willow concluded.

"I guess that makes sense. I could ask Sonja and Gabrielle if they would be willing to test your theory. But if they do and it turns out that she is, what are you going to tell her? Will you tell her that she is a Pre-immie?"

"No way, I’ve heard before that it’s not smart to do that." Willow chewed her bottom lip, considering her plan. "I’m going to her today to see if she can approach her Dad for more details on her adoption. It just might be that the reason why there is nothing matching her is that her parents were poor and never had a record. She still doesn’t know about you guys being Immortal and although she knows a lot about what is really out there, I don’t think she would cope with the idea of people who won’t die. At least ones that walk around in the sun."

Accepting Willow’s answer, Steve turned to Buffy. "Would you tell her?"

"No way; the less she knows about there being Immortals the better. Could you imagine someone taking her to get to us? The amount of knowledge she has is amazing, but wouldn’t knowing about Immortality be worse? Anyone who plays the ‘Game’ and cheats would pinpoint the weakest in the group to go after." Buffy grimaced. "Or worse. Some really sick Immie could take her, kill her, then wait for her to come back and just take her head for an easy Quickening."

Steve smiled at the level of tactical thinking that Buffy was developing. <She’s really turning into a great second-in-command. Turning anything into something combat related. Always think of your troops and what’s best for them.>

"Okay, I’ll approach Sonja and Gabby about this next time I see them. Willow, since you’re an Amazon, you’ll probably see them before I do. But if they disagree to help, neither of you are going to try to hassle them into changing their minds. This is something that they have to do freely or not at all."

Nodding their heads in agreement, they began to talk about what Willow would tell Alison when she called.

*****

Jarman household
An hour later

Alison woke to the ringing of the telephone. Something felt out of place and in her tiredness it took a while to work out what was happening. Finally freeing herself of whatever was holding her in place, she reached for the phone.

"’ello?" she drowsily asked. <Okay, so I’m not an afternoon person.>

"Alison? Are you okay?" Willow’s voice echoed down the phone line.

"Yeah, just catching up on some sleep. What’s up?"

"Anytime you’re ready, come over to Steve’s so we can talk about what I could find out."

That woke her up a bit more as anxiety and hope started warring in her head. "Thanks Willow. I’ll be there soon."

"Okay, well, I’ll see you shortly. Bye."

When Alison heard the click of the phone hanging up, she looked at the lump in her bed that had pinned her down slightly. Noticing that it was a person, definitely a male person, she pushed herself as far away from the male as possible. Doing so, she fell off the edge of the bed and swore.

Ted woke up to Ali’s swearing and looked next to him but couldn’t see her. Edging across the bed, he looked onto the floor and saw her cowering against the door.

"Ali? What’s wrong sweetheart?" his voice was sounding husky from his sleep. He sat up and was going to walk over to her. <Actually walking over to her at the moment may be suicide. I’ll wait till she settles a little bit first, ‘cause I don’t want her going Bruce Lee on me.>

When Ali heard Ted’s voice, she calmed herself down slightly. Still terrified that something may have happened, she didn’t realize that both of them were fully clothed.

"Ali, are you okay? What’s going on? It’s me, Alison."

"D-d-did anything happen? Why were you in my bed?"

Hearing the panic in Alison’s voice, Ted started to piece things together. <Has something like this happen before but with something actually happening? That could explain why she’s afraid to be by herself with me and why she’s uncomfortable with anything more than kissing.>

"What do you remember about what happened earlier?"

"I-I can remember we w-were watching a v-video. I can’t r-remember anything after that. What h-happened?"

"It’s okay Ali, nothing bad happened. You fell asleep not even halfway through the movie; it looked like such an uncomfortable position you were in, so I carried you upstairs and after tucking you into bed I started to leave. You asked me to stay with you. I did but I swear, other than kiss you good night I did nothing."

"I believe you it’s just…" <It’s now or never Alison Jarman, tell him the truth!>

"Just what sweetheart?" Ted asked before Ali told him about what happened with Percy. Ted was furious; he couldn’t believe that the animal was still free and roaming around Sunnydale.

"Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Were you afraid of what I’d think?"

"Yeah, I didn’t know how you would cope with knowing what happened to me," Ali said before she went on telling him about how scared she’d been about telling him.

Ted finally stood up and walked over to the calmer Ali. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her hair. Wrapping her arms around him, Ali let all her pent up fears spill out.

"Ali, no matter what has happened to you before, I am here now. I promise you that I will not treat you any differently than I already have. I’m not going to force you in anyway and I don’t feel that I need to go all overly protective of you. I know you can look after yourself; hell if you couldn’t Cesar and I wouldn’t have let you drive at Romero’s. I love you Alison."

*****

Steve St Wolf’s house
Half an hour later

Ted and Ali got out of the car and headed toward the front door. Before they could knock, it opened in front of them and Brian ran out, followed closely by Duke.

"Go in guys, they know you’re here. I’m off now, bye!" he yelled as he ran down the sidewalk.

"I still don’t know how they can keep that dog under such good control without a leash, it’s uncanny!" Ali exclaimed as they walked into the house.

They headed toward the most logical place that Willow would be; the lounge room. They found her sitting there with Shaw, Faith, Buffy, and Steve. After greeting everyone in turn, Ali anxiously faced Willow. She was so nervous about learning if Willow had found out anything about her parents.

"Do you want to take this discussion into the computer room, Willow? Give Ali a little bit of privacy while you talk to her about her family. Plus it would be easier to explain in there when you can show her first hand," Steve begun, taking pity on the nervous Alison.

Willow took one look at Alison’s face and agreed. She escorted Alison into the computer room but motioned for Ted to stay outside.

*****

"Ali, I’m gonna give this to you straight, I won’t beat around the bush. I ran checks through every database I could think of, both in public files and in top-secret files, but I couldn’t track anything down on your DNA, blood work, or adoption records. The closet match wouldn’t even have been a relative to you. I’m sorry, but unless I can get some more information about your adoption, I’m not going to be able to track you down using what I’ve got so far."

Alison took a minute to let what Willow had said sink in. <I’m still a nobody. But at least I know Ted is behind me 100%. Maybe Willow is right and this was a long shot without more information to work on. I wonder if Dad would be up to talking about my adoption with me later tonight?> She sighed in defeat. "T-thanks for trying Willow. If Dad will tell me anymore about my adoption, will you take another shot at it?"

"Definitely Ali, I’ll help you out anytime you need it. I’m glad that you’re trusting Xander and me again. Like I said a couple years ago, we never meant to hurt you the way we did."

"I know you didn’t, Will. I understand that you did what you did because you were coming to grips with the weird stuff happening. I’m glad that you aren’t holding my bitterness against me. Jesse wouldn’t have wanted us to be at war with each other," Ali admitted, feeling better now that she got her feelings off her chest. Even though she was back at square one, she was at ease knowing that Ted was with her, and so was Willow.

"I know, so have you thought about how you’re going to approach your Dad to get the information?"

"I have no idea."

Giving Alison a quick hug, Willow wished her luck and together they walked back to the others.

Sitting next to Ted, Alison listened into the conversation that the others were having.

"So anyway Ted, it was so much fun in there…" Faith continues on ignoring the pained looks shot at her. "All those muscled bodies in tight Army fatigues. And hell, I even managed to annoy FrankenMaggie to no end! She thought Slayers were myths, well I had to give her a point for even hearing of us, but it left the greatest opening for me. I’m like ‘No myth, I’m one hundred percent authentic. Nothing fake, what you see is what you get, right down to these.’ Then I puffed out my chest and all the solider boys couldn’t keep their eyes off me. Maggie is there moaning and groaning. She’s like ‘eye’s front’ and I’m like, ‘Trust me, the front’s what they’re staring at.’"

"You never said that! You just wish you had thought of that earlier!" Ali cut in, much to Faith’s annoyance.

"Well, okay, I wish I had said that."

"And as for you putting HER through Hell? What do you think *I* went through! I’m the only one without powers who got caught up in that!"

"We know Short Stuff and you handled it well… But then again, I’m thankful that none of you other guys are pissed at me."

"Why?" Buffy asked, rising to the bait.

"None of you were takin' FrankenMaggie's class, so you don't have to break in a new teacher." Everyone groaned at her answer.

"So what ended up happening to the bastards who kidnapped Ali… umm, you guys?" Ted asked, worried that they might come back.

"Firstly, the soldiers involved in it were good people, just following bad orders. They’ve been relocated to other sections," Steve spoke up. Ted looked at him as he spoke. Steve added, "I didn’t want to ruin their careers when it was their commanders who misled them."

"But what about the people who gave them the orders… what if they try again? Or decide to keep people quiet about it?" Ted brought up, still very concerned for Alison’s safety.

"They would most probably be dealt with by their overall superior."

"Who would be their overall superior?"

Steve gave Ted an evil grin. "President Bartlett."

"Oh."

*****

Alison could see the two ‘sisters’ huddled over and whispering to each other. Not able to hear what they were saying, all she could get the drift of was that they were whispering about her. Finally the two smiled at each other and looked pointedly at Ali.

"Hey Ali, can you help us get some drinks for everyone?" Shaw spoke up as she and Faith stood.

"Umm, sure… okay."

The three girls walked into the kitchen and Shaw headed to the fridge to get a few sodas out.

"So what’s the go with you and Teddy boy, AJ?" Faith automatically began the interrogation of her friend.

"We talked earlier, I told him everything," Ali replied, not really wanting to go into the details of her earlier conversation with Ted. But the mere thought of it brought a light blush to her cheeks.

"You told him everything? The whole Percy issue and your fears? Go AJ!" Faith responded.

"Yeah, it was really sweet you know. I woke up with him in my bed and panicked but he seemed careful about it and so we talked and he…" Alison stopped, not knowing whether she should tell them that Ted said he loved her.

"And he…?" Shaw softly prompted.

<Faith’s not the only one with good instincts…> Ali sighed. "And he told me he loved me."

With that Shaw and Faith both hugged Alison, both happy that she was finally happy with her relationship.

"He said he loves you? What was your response?" Shaw enquired as they broke the hug and watched for her response.

"I c-couldn’t say it back. I actually started crying and now I hate myself because I couldn’t say it back to him," she responded to them, trying hard not to cry again.

"Shorty, did Ted push the issue?" Faith interrupted before the floodgates would open. <If he did, I will cane his ass!>

"No, no he didn’t. He just held me until I stopped crying, then he asked what happened to Percy, if he was still alive and walking. I told him I had forgiven him and he kind of knows what Shaw did to him…" Ali paused, not knowing if she should have told Ted about it.

"What do you mean, he kind of knows what I did to him?" Shaw inquired.

Ali’s eyes glazed over as she tried to recall the conversation that she had with Ted earlier…

*****

Flashback

"You actually forgave that piece of shit?" Ted ranted, trying to understand exactly what Alison was saying.

"Ted, part of the reason it took so long for us to start dating, besides the whole 'my best friends tend to die' thing, was because the only time I'd even *kissed* a guy before you was when..."

"When that son of a bitch raped you," Ted said vehemently as he shook his head. <How could she forgive that asshole? After what he did to her!> "So what changed that?"

"Well, part of it was Faith talking to me and telling me she understood and she did; her old foster dad tried to rape *her*. That made me go off on Percy and tell him goodbye from my life, asshole. In front of his friends." Ted and Ali shared a laugh, Ali from remembering Percy’s face and Ted for knowing that she wasn’t a pushover.

"Oh God. What made you brave enough to do that in front of the football team?"

"Well, I think part of it was how pitiful he looked after Shaw separated his shoulder for hitting me," she saw Ted about to comment again and quickly added, "Before you demand his blood… I hit him first, so you can't blame him."

"Shaw separated his shoulder? Shaw who hangs around with Faith and you, that Shaw?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes that Shaw. Actually Percy is lucky it was Shaw who did it, Faith would've done worse. But yeah, you know, seeing her reactions… And it definitely helped once we talked about it."

"What was the last thing that got you over it and dating me?" curiosity filled his voice.

"Something involving an abandoned warehouse, dancing and a lot of kissing…"

*****

Back to present

Alison finished the story and knew that Faith and Shaw were happy for her.

"You’re right, if it was me that asshole would have been buried!" Faith spoke up before it got too mushy for her.

Ali hugged her again, "I know that Faith, but I am grateful that it wasn’t. Considering how much trouble Shaw got into for it, and Snyder loved Shaw, you would have been out forever!"

"So where do you go from here, Ali?" Shaw asked.

"I don’t know, I know that Ted is going to be beside me no matter where we end up. And he is giving me time to work through it all. He promised me that he would let ME decide when I feel comfortable in moving forward."

"Good, cause you know that if he hurts you, he’s not only going to have to hide from your Dad but from us as well," Faith promised.

"Darn tootin’ he does." Faith and Ali looked at the now embarrassed Shaw.

"You have told me many times Faith to ‘get with the program’ so I am trying!" she retorted to the silent question.

"Just promise me this, you won’t separate his shoulder if he hurts me?" Ali asked.

"Why not?" Shaw asked curiously.

"That'd be my job! And I think I know the perfect teacher for that move… Ms Hunter!"

The three burst out laughing and gathered up the drinks to head back in to face the others.

Ali grabbed her seat next to Ted and looked at Steve. <Should I ask him now? I don’t know… I really want to learn more but I don’t want him to think that I want to patrol or anything with them. Not after the whole Initiative saga, I’m just not cut out for fighting, at least not for fighting people who don’t wear stupid green MIB suits!>

"Can I help you with something Alison?" Steve interrupted her thoughts. She blushed slightly, embarrassed that he had caught her staring.

"I-I was j-just wondering if I could ask you something in p-private?" she stammered out.

"Sure, we’ll wait until the others have left if you like?"

"Thanks Steve."

With that Shaw and Faith stood up again and started towards the door, with Willow and Oz not very far behind.

"We know when you’re hinting for us to go, adios amigos," Faith called over her shoulder as she sauntered out of the room.

"Goodbye Steven, everyone," Shaw said a little more formally as she followed Faith out of the house.

Willow hugged Ali again and said goodbye to everyone while Oz just nodded at them. Finally it was just Buffy, Steve, Ted and Alison left.

"O-okay. I know Buffy offered to me earlier to join your local team and I turned it down. After this whole saga that I have been through, I was wondering Steve, if I could get some more martial arts training off you? I’m already learning aikido but it’s not enough in today’s world, especially today in Sunnydale. I mean, the only reason I was able to stand up to those commandoes was because Shaw used those steroid-type spells on me." <Even if they say I’m better than the ‘average’ person.>

<I’ve been waiting for her to approach me over this. But is she willing to help us out in the fight?>

"What would be the benefit in me training you? Would you patrol or pull your weight within the team or are you expecting a free trip?" Steve questioned her instead of answering.

"N-no, nothing like that. I was going to volunteer to help you with the researching if everyone who usually does it is fighting. I-I’m no good fighting super powered things, as my previous attempts have shown, but I do want to know how to properly protect myself and considering I have nothing left to offer, research it is."

"Wait a minute, Ali are you volunteering to join? What about your Dad? Isn’t that why you didn’t join up when we offered?" Buffy cut in.

"Yes that’s why I didn’t join up, but it’s remarkable how much of a difference your psychiatrist Sydney is. I don’t know what he is doing differently but I have my Dad back now! I don’t always need to be there for him. He’s managed to give me back my freedom. So now, I know I can’t fight very well compared to you guys, but I want to be able to protect myself properly. But I also feel like it’s time I helped you out more. I know what you do and how much effort you put into it, not only keeping this town safe but other towns too, I want to help in any way I can," Alison defended her choice.

"That’s what we were waiting to hear from you. We just had to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into and that it was for the right reasons," Steve calmed her down again. "Besides, I seem to recall last year that it was you who kept Faith and Shaw from getting kidnapped, right? After you kicked a PDI Agent’s butt?"

"T-thank you, I think…"

"Don’t thank him until AFTER you train with him," Buffy answered her, giggling.

"Would you also considering taking Kaitlyn in as well, I mean officially. I know she helped out with the whole Middle Earth thing but that was because some Witch saw her in a vision. With the whole telekinetic business I think that I would prefer knowing she could handle herself properly if for some reason she couldn’t rely on it. I think it would just be, I dunno, safer I guess."

"Talk to her first, it’s her decision. I know why you’re concerned, but I don’t like taking someone’s childhood away from them. Dawn, Brian and Debbie all know what’s involved in this fight and are aware to try to do as much as they can normally, but I don’t think Kaitlyn is fully aware of things."

"Okay Steve, if she has any questions that I can’t answer, would you talk to her?"

"Certainly."

Thanking Steve and Buffy again, Ted and Ali decided it was time to leave and said goodbye to their hosts. Getting back into car they headed back to Alison’s house so Ali could approach her father, again, on what happened all those years ago.

*****

Meanwhile

"Hey, if she’s agreeing to join up at least that means we can keep a closer eye on her in case she is a Pre-immie," Buffy said.

"Just because she doesn’t know who her parents are, doesn’t mean that she’s an Immortal. But I agree, it does mean you can keep a closer eye on her. I’ll still ask Gabby and Sonja just in case she is, but remember if she is or not, it’s not time for her to know about Immortals yet."

"I know Steve. And thanks for setting Sydney up for her Dad, she needs time to grow up properly and not have to rush it."

"You all rushed your childhoods Buffy, Ali is so like you and so different. Both of you have been forced to become adults before you should. But at least she’s got a good group of friends around her like you do."

*****

Jarman household

Ted and Alison walked inside her house and flopped onto the sofa.

"So what are you going to do now?" Ted quietly asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Willow asked if I could get more information out of Dad about what happened. I just don’t know how much he will remember… it was almost twenty years ago!" she answered, snuggling closer to Ted.

"I think he knows more than what he’s saying, sweetie. Ask him and if he does, find out what it is and if he doesn’t, then there is no harm in finding out he doesn’t. You need to know," Ted pleaded.

"Okay but you have to let me do this myself, I don’t think Daddy will talk with you around."

"That’s okay sweetie, I understand. When is he due home?"

With that, the door opened and in walked Andrew Jarman. Kaitlyn followed, struggling behind him with a bunch of bags and heading straight upstairs. Andrew on the other hand came into the lounge room and smiled when he saw two of this three favorite people sitting on the couch. As soon as Ali saw him, she became a bundle of nerves.

"Alison, Ted… how are you both?"

"Andrew, I’m just about to leave actually. I’ll catch up with you sometime soon okay?" Ted asked.

"Certainly Ted."

"Good luck Ali, and remember that I am just a phone call away…" he said as he kissed her and quickly left the two together.

"What’s going on Ali?" her Dad asked.

"You may want to sit down, this is going to be a long talk Dad."

He sat down on the sofa next to his daughter and waited for her to start explaining what was happening.

"Daddy, I want to find my real parents. You know I love you, but I want to find out why they gave me up."

Andrew watched her and noticed how upset she was about not knowing who she really was. He gently hugged her and decided to tell her absolutely everything that he had been keeping secret.

"You want to know what happened before you were born, don’t you?" he asked gently. She nodded at his question, not trusting her voice.

"I’ll tell you but this may sound a little far fetched. But I swear that I am telling you the truth with this. It was when I was about 18 that I met this girl Adelaide. She was petite, that’s the best way to describe her. Her hair was the same dark brown/black that yours is. We dated for about a year and a half before we became involved… intimately. I thought I loved her but she told me something about herself that I-I couldn’t accept," he began to sob, "she told me that she loved me but she had been keeping a secret from me."

Alison watched her Dad, there was nothing far fetched in this yet. Noticing him still sobbing, she handed him a tissue to wipe his face. "S-she told me that I had to choose whether enough I loved her enough to accept the secret or she would leave."

"Daddy, what secret?"

"She was an elf. I know you hear me rambling on about elves and faeries but seriously, they do exist. I scoffed at her, I couldn’t accept the truth. I was almost twenty years old and she wanted me to believe in fairytales. I told her to get out, to leave me because I couldn’t accept the truth."

"She left and a few months later I met Jessica. We hit it off so well, it was like she was the other half of me… I know that sounds corny but she was a perfect match. Jess told me from the start that she couldn’t have children, she was so truthful and we talked about it. We decided that we would decide to adopt later on after we wed."

<Okay, so I was definitely adopted but would he just tell me how? And what does the elf have to do with the story?>

"A year later Adelaide knocked on our door. I was in complete shock but I invited her in. Jess knew her somehow, but she wouldn’t say how. We talked for a while and that’s when she dropped the bombshell, I was a father. Apparently she had become pregnant in our last few days together but, because I had thrown her out of the house, she was scared to tell me."

"WHAT?" Ali interrupted loudly, not believing her ears.

<He’s trying to tell me he is my father? And my mother is an ELF? Oh man, looks like Shaw and I have something else in common… yet the tests said I was human? How does that work? And wait a minute. Shaw’s ears are pointed! Human size, yeah, but still Vulcan pointy.>

"We talked a bit longer and we found out you had been born only a few months after Jess and I married, which meant by the time I found out you were close to having your first birthday. She told me that she wouldn’t be able to care for you properly, because you needed to be around humans and live a normal life. Her home wasn’t right for someone like you, even though she loved you. Jess was so ecstatic at the chance of being a mother that she volunteered for us to take you in, claiming it was only right considering I was your father. Adelaide was so happy that we were taking you in but she made us promise that we wouldn’t tell you the truth, because if word got out that you were half elven we wouldn’t know what would happen to you." Dad wiped the tears from his eyes and shook with fear. "She told us that there had been government agencies, American agencies, who kidnapped elves or people like them. We obeyed her wishes, which is why I reacted the way I did when you announced you were fully human. It didn’t make sense and it still doesn’t. She said you were our daughter, that you were half elven, but the tests say you are human!"

Ali sat there, silently trying to take in everything that her Dad had told her. It made a strange sense in explaining why he had reacted the way he did when she told him about the tests. And it also explained why he had told her that she was adopted as well. But the whole story didn’t make much sense to her.

"Hey guys, when’s tea?" Kaitlyn yelled as she came downstairs.

Andrew and Ali looked at each other. The feeling of betrayal from her family was surfacing again. Excusing herself she ran up the stairs to her room.

"What did I say?" Kait asked, looking confused. Finally, she decided that it was another one of those Yank things.

*****

Ali threw herself on her bed; things were just getting weirder and weirder. <Why can’t my life be simple?>

She sobbed into her pillow, trying to get her head around everything she had been told. Her whole life was collapsing around her. Although she loved her Dad still, it hurt that he hadn’t told her the truth until now.

A knock on the door interrupted her thought process. She rolled over and saw Kaitlyn’s head pop round the door.

"Ali, are you alright? You ran off rather quickly…"

"Kait, just leave me alone."

"Hey, just ‘cause half the time we don’t see eye to eye, doesn’t mean that you can treat me like dirt! Bloody hell, sure, you’ve only know me for around a year but we are family."

"No, we’re not… not really…" Ali shot back at her.

"How can you say that?" a hurt Kaitlyn asked.

"Kait, I'm practically adopted. I was dropped off on the doorstep." she forced out. "Dad told me yesterday that I’m adopted and now tells me that he’s my Dad. I don’t know which story to believe! Do you know how that feels?"

"Actually, yes, I know better than most kids what you’re going through. What do you think I was going through last year?" Kait shot back. "And what happens my first day on this side of the doorstep? I find out I’m living the Aussie version of ‘Poltergeist’ and the TV people."

"It's not the same, is your mother an elf? A pointy eared, magic using elf?"

"What? Never knew you were prejudice!" scoffed Kaitlyn.

"I'm not!" argued Ali.

"Then what difference does it make if she is fully human or an elf?" Kait retorted.

"None I guess."

"Hell, look at Shaw. She's half elf, half human and you don't see her whining!"

"Shaw!" The light bulb above Ali's head lit up.

"What about her?" a curious Kait asked.

"She knows elves, full blooded elves!"

"So?"

"So she can help me, she can help find my real mother!"

"I suppose but what happens if your real mum doesn't want to be found?" Kait asked softly.

"She will. She has to!"

"No she doesn't. She apparently had a good reason to give you up, maybe that reason still stands now!"

"When did you get so smart?" Ali asked after realizing where Kaitlyn was going.

"Today obviously!"

"But I still need to find her, even if it is just to have her turn me away."

Turning away, she thought about how much Kait had helped her. Turning back, she smiled.

"Thanks Kait."

"Anytime. You may only be my cousin but you feel like my sister."

"You do too!" Ali added with a slight teary waver in her voice.

"Oh bloody hell, don’t you get all girly on me," Kait responded with a shudder. "Cripes I gotta get going, I promised Damien I would teach him backyard cricket."

While Kait rushed down the stairs Ali had a puzzled look on her face. "Cricket? I’ll never understand that girl."

*****

Out the front of Shaw’s house
The next day

Nervously Ali approached Shaw’s house. She racked her brain over what she was going to ask Shaw. Slowly, as if to give her more time, she reached up to knock on the door.

The door opened to reveal Amy standing there.

"Hi Amy, is Shaw around?"

"Yeah she is, come in Ali. Is everything all right? Did you find out more about your parents?" she asked.

"Ah… yeah a little," Ali replied confused as to how Amy knew.

"Sorry, Shaw told me about your search."

"Oh, okay then," Ali answered as she walked into the lounge room where there were two boys she didn’t know talking to Shaw.

"Hello Alison, how are you?" Shaw asked.

"Not bad Shaw. Just wanted to talk to you about something I found out last night."

"Go right ahead. Do not mind them," Shaw said, indicating to the two boys.

"Oh lass you wound me so," one started.

"Liam and Robin, behave yourselves," Amy laughed.

"What did I do?" Robin protested to his girlfriend.

Ali’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two guys and Amy.

"Oh sorry, I’m being rude, I know you have seen them but I don’t think I have actually introduced them before now, have I?" Amy apologized. "This is my boyfriend Robin and that is Liam."

"Resident clown," Shaw finished. Ali remembered her mentioning Liam when they’d talked after the Percy incident.

"I thought that was Xander…" Liam argued.

"Anyways, what did you want to discuss Alison?" Shaw asked to get them back on track.

So Ali skimmed over what her father had told her.

"I know that it isn't that common, but do you happen to know any other elves that may live in Sunnydale or America?" she concluded.

The answer she got surprised her. Robin and Liam cracked up laughing.

"What? What did I say? What’s so funny?" Ali demanded.

"You want them in alphabetical order or by area?" Robin asked after he managed to stop laughing.

"Huh?"

"Simple question really… alphabetical order or by area in which they live?" Robin asked again.

"Wait a minute...Don't tell me you two are elves..." Ali started in surprise.

"Course, not. We have taste," Liam answered her.

"Excuse me?" Shaw asked with an icy tone.

"Nice one, Liam," Robin groaned.

Ali couldn’t stop staring at the guys in front of her.

"So… wait... just what are you guys?" she asked.

"I'm a leprechaun," Liam answered proudly.

"Oh, like that movie?" Ali laughs as she looks at him. With that his expression turns extremely dark.

"Uh oh… Liam, calm down lad. She didn’t know," Robin spoke quickly, trying to head off a disaster.

"Listen here Goodfellow," Liam began.

"Goodfellow? As in Robin Goodfellow?" Ali started. "A Midsummer’s Night Dream type Goodfellow? You’re Puck?"

"Here we go again," Liam groaned.

"Oh shit, did I just say something I shouldn’t have?" Ali asked nervously as she watched Robin.

"Yes," Shaw and Amy blurted out. Shaw rushed out of the room before quickly returning with a paper bag, handing it over to Amy. She then stood in front of Ali to provide a bit of protection from the madly pacing fairy. Liam and Amy worked together to calm Robin down, whispering softly to him.

"Let me guess," Ali whispered to Shaw. "He isn’t Puck?"

"No," Shaw whispered back. "And it is a sore point to bring up the name Puck in his presence."

"I’ll keep that in mind."

*****

After Robin had managed to calm down and it was safe for Ali to come out of hiding, they sat down to get on with the business that had brought Ali to Shaw’s place.

"All I really know was that she was living here and went under the name of Adelaide. Dad thinks she went to France after leaving Sunnydale. Her surname was du Luc or something similar."

Ali’s comments left the room silent. The three "Wee Folk" experts were deep in their thoughts, which were driving Ali crazy. Amy excused herself a moment later to get a drink.

"Adelaide du Luc? Impossible! But then again it would make sense," Robin said after a moment’s thought. "She’s in France now but I do know that she got into her Elfhame’s bad books about twenty years ago."

"Wasn’t that because..." Liam began before he and Robin finished the sentence together. "She had come to America without informing the Elfhame. You know that they don’t take that kind of behavior from their highest ranking girls."

"Except in California where the next Prince of Misthold is a male stripper."

"Why would she be in trouble?" Ali asked, confused about more than one thing at this point. <An elven PRINCE who works as a STRIPPER?!?>

"Does the name du Luc ring any bells for ye?" Liam asked, his accent slightly more pronounced.

"No, not off the top of my head," Ali answered slowly before thinking it through some more. She racked her brain to try and remember why it sounded slightly familiar. "Hang on, the Lady of the Lake? The woman who gave King Arthur Excalibur and raised Sir Lancelot?"

"Give the girl a prize," Robin answered.

"B-b-but does t-that mean t-that she is related to Sir Lancelot?" Ali stammered as the full implications bombarded her mind.

"Indirectly and by adoption, give or take a couple generations, but yeah," Robin agreed as Ali suddenly fainted.

"What did I say?" he asked innocently.

Amy chose that time to come out of the kitchen and looked at the figure at Robin’s feet, then raised her eyes to look at her boyfriend.

"What did you do to Ali?" Amy almost yelled.

"He did nothing, just told the wee lass that Adelaide was related to the Lady of the Lake," Liam stood up for his friend.

"As in Lancelot?" Amy asked looking at Shaw. After the slight nod as an answer Amy groaned. "She can’t handle nobility."

"I know how she must be feeling" Shaw wryly said, slightly worried about her friend. She knew how people (namely Faith and Xander) would start teasing her about that kind of thing.

"I remember Buffy telling me how Ali took everything in stride at one of Steve’s get togethers, but when she was introduced to King Arthur she fainted. Now you go and tell her that she is quite possibly indirectly related to Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad, his son... no wonder she fainted."

"But Shaw is part of the nobility..." Robin started.

"She does not know about that at the moment. Remember that she only knows a little about my past, she does not know about my family except the story that is in my records," Shaw admitted. "And as you know, I have had a hard enough time with people making jokes about it."

"If she is related to them, you may just have to admit the truth about that part of your family. She will need to know the formalities if she meets any of her ‘family’," Amy softly told Shaw.

"I am aware of that, but we can wait on that for the moment."

A moan from Ali signaled that it was time for them to change the topic and to also help the girl up off the floor.

"W-what happened?" a rather confused Ali asked. "Why am I on the floor?"

"Ye fainted lass," Liam answered her as she sat holding her head in her hands.

"I never faint... except that one time... but that involved Arthur," Ali started muttering. "Lancelot! I could be related to Lancelot... man my head hurts."

Shaw couldn’t resist. "From the fall or the relation?"

"Shut up, Shaw!"

*****

15 minutes later

Ali left Shaw’s feeling slightly more relaxed. Robin and Liam had promised to put out ‘feelers’ to see if they could get an answer from Adelaide about Ali and their connection, if there was one. They told her it may take time, but they would try to call in as many favors as it took to give her an answer.

The first step would be to call their friends at Elfhames in California and Georgia (although they hadn’t given her the names, which she could understand). They’d go from there and hoped to have more information for her as soon as possible.

She looked at her watch and realized that it was time for her to head to work, which made her smile. Ted was on duty today as well. Since admitting to him about what had happened all those years ago with Percy, the walls she had been holding up around her as a defensive shield seemed to have crumbled to the ground. It was a good feeling.

They were to be going out after work tonight and Ali couldn’t wait. The relationship felt as if it was back to the exciting and new phase to Ali, now that she knew he understood.

*****

Entering Romero’s, Ali noticed Ted was either still to arrive or already out on the job. She smiled wistfully as she walked into the kitchen, still thinking of the developments in their relationship.

"Hey Cesar," she said in greeting as she noticed her boss for the first time.

"Alison, can you take the front? Ted’s out delivering and I am busy making these pies."

"Certainly Cesar," Ali replied and started for the counter.

"Oh and Ali, one more thing..."

"Yes?" she asked as she stopped and turned round to look at him.

"Welcome back."

"Thanks."

*****

Unknown location
Paris, France
A week later

Whispers flittered through the ranks of elves as Adelaide made her way back from visiting the people she called family.

"Would someone mind telling me what all the noise is about?" she asked sweetly.

A female human approached her and she smiled at the nervous girl. <Since Marie, I do not really connect with many humans anymore, even the blessed children. Oh Marie, I miss you.> It hurt sometimes, that the Princess of Elfhame Joyeaux Garde, who at times was the fiercest of warriors, could be so unable fully to open her heart to a child.

"Milady, we just received a message from a member of Elfhame Sun-Descending in California. She has a request for information, from the Goodfellow," the young girl finally spoke up.

"And this message?" Adelaide asked with interest. <What would the Merry Wanderer want to ask me?>

"Yes ma’am, an elf by the name of Victoriana asked for the information to come directly to you. Do you know her?"

"Yes, is a member of this Elfhame but was sent to California to assist me in a few matters. What information has she given you?"

"A girl by the name of Alison Jarman is searching for you, or for information about you. Does that mean anything to you? Because it doesn’t to me Milady."

"Cecilia, pack our bags, we will be leaving in the morning," Adelaide ordered.

"We are?" her aide asked her, confused by her sudden shift in attitude. "Where to ma’am?"

"Sunnydale, California. Now if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to," Adelaide spoke firmly before she stood up and left the room again. She hastily made her way to the private mansion which sat next to her Elfhame.

Knocking politely on the door, she awaited for the people she needed to see to answer.

"Adelaide, me dear, did you forget something?" the tall, distinguished Englishman asked as he answered her knock.

"Please Peter, can you have Louis, Hans, and Jacques come to the kitchen? This is important for all of us," she asked him as she entered the room.

"Of course, it ‘ill be a matter of two shakes," he answered as he headed off to get his son and two long time best friends.

Adelaide walked into the kitchen and nervously awaited the arrival of her human friends and the man she considered her son-in-law, Jacques. It wasn’t long before the arrival of a pair of mis-matched friends entered the kitchen.

"Vous êtes aussi beau que toujours," Louis greeted her with a smile. The small Frenchman always had a charming word to say to her.

"Was verdanken wir die Ehre dieses Besuchs?" Hans asked.

"Why Hans, I missed seeing you when I was here a moment ago, can’t I say hello to my favorite German?" Adelaide answered his question with a smile before turning to Louis. "And you, my dear Louis is as charming as when I first met you."

"He’s feeling a bit under the weather Adele," Peter informed her as to the absence of his son. He was the only one besides Jacques who could get away with calling her that name. It brought back too many bad memories.

"I wish to spend a little time with him, after I inform all of you about some news I have just received," Adelaide told them.

"I’m sure it will brighten his gloomy day," Peter said in reply.

"Hans will you please inform Wilhelm of what I am about to tell you when you return to Heidelberg?"

"Jawohl Fräulein du Luc," Hans replied, automatically switching to his native tongue to answer the unspoken command the question had. It was a habit he had been trying hard to break, but after so many years of being a loyal solider, it hadn’t disappeared completely.

Adelaide paused for a moment, trying to find a way to break the news.

"I received word today that Alison Jarman is asking about me, wanting to find me."

"Alison Jarman?" Louis asked.

"Madelyn Salhany," Peter whispered.

"Your granddaughter, ja?" Hans asked him.

"My little Maddy..." Peter sighed. "So what are you going to do?"

"I am leaving first thing in the morning, to go to America to meet her," Adelaide admitted.

"I’ll go with you," Peter exclaimed quickly.

"No Peter, she does not know about any of us except for what Andrew has told her about me. I would like to bring her back to France, for her to meet her family. But I do not know when that will be," Adelaide admitted. "Hans, when you inform Wilhelm of this, invite him here as well. I want her to meet her ‘uncles’ as well as her father."

"Do you think it is wise to bring her back here so quickly?" Louis asked.

"She needs to know her true place in life, needs to know her true family," Adelaide whispered. "Then it will be up to her to decide which life she continues to lead."

*****

Chapter 3: Alison Jarman... this is your life

Time to finally answer all those pesky questions in life... why is the sky blue? Oops, not those kinds of questions...

Jarman household
The next day
Late morning

Ali was sleeping in for once after getting home late from her date with Ted. She was dreaming of Ted’s smiling face when she felt something shift next to her. Whatever it was next to her it seemed as if it thought it was on a trampoline. Her eyelids fluttered open and she saw Kaitlyn bouncing up and down next to her.

"Kait, can you stop?" Ali groaned sleepily.

"Not until you get up. Someone’s downstairs to see you, and by the way Uncle Andrew is reacting to her, I say she may be this mysterious Adelaide..."

That comment had Ali sitting upright in her bed. She turned to her cousin.

"What makes you say that?"

"When I came downstairs I found Uncle Andrew staring out the open front door, barely moving. There was a small woman standing in the doorway with hair like yours used to be, long, dark and wavy. Andrew wasn’t saying anything at all and this woman spoke to him softly with a French accent. I spoke up and finally Andrew started moving again, the woman came inside and asked Andrew something. Andrew shook his head and said my name. He then asked me to get you," Kait informed her. "So that’s what I am doing!"

"Help me find a nice outfit to wear, quickly!" Ali said as she agreed with Kait’s theory as to the identity of the woman.

"I’ve got a nice top you can borrow if you want..." Kait offered.

"Let me have a look at it."

Kait ran out of her cousin’s bedroom and into her own, while Ali kept searching for something to wear. Kait came back moments later with a short-sleeved denim blue shirt with light pink pin stripes.

"Match it with your jeans," Kait advised when Ali looked at it. Nodding in response, Ali turned around and began to change. Kait saw what she was doing and told her that she would inform Andrew that she would be down in a moment.

After dressing, Ali quickly swept her hair up into a short ponytail and pulled on a pair of boots. She gave herself a once over before heading out the door. She headed downstairs with butterflies in her stomach at the thought of meeting her real mother.

*****

Adelaide was talking to Andrew softly, as she tried to catch up with him. <He is no longer with Jessica? That gives me a chance... I wonder if he has admitted to himself that elves are real and no longer a fairytale.>

He was in the middle of telling her about his niece moving in when Adelaide’s sharp ears heard movement coming from the stairs. Looking past Andrew, she drew a breath as a perfect replica of her deceased daughter walked down the stairs.

"Adelaide? Are you alright?" Andrew interrupted her. "You look like you have seen a ghost."

She stood up and saw that the girl had stopped and was staring at her. Andrew turned around to see what had caught Adelaide’s attention and found his daughter.

"Adelaide du Luc, I would like to introduce Alison Madelyn Jarman. Ali, this is Adelaide du Luc, your mother."

Adelaide turned sharply and stared at him. <Oh no, I forgot I had told him that I had given birth to her. I better straighten this out.>

"Andrew, Alison..." she started trying to find the right way to break the news. "Andrew, I lied to you when I approached you with Alison."

"Lied?" Andrew asked.

"I’m sorry Andrew but I needed to. You see, Alison is really the daughter of one of my human companions."

"She’s not my daughter?" Andrew asked. "Why the hell did you tell me that then?"

Ali’s eyes flicked between her Dad and who she had thought had been her mother. Kaitlyn walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist to help support her.

"Andrew, I’m... I’m sorry for lying to you."

"You’re sorry? You lied to me over something as important as to who my daughter really is? Get out!" Andrew fumed. "I never want to see your face again."

"Dad stop!" Ali screamed, gaining the attention of the two adults. "I want to know the truth. Who am I? No more lies, no more half truths. Tell me the truth as to who the hell I am." Ali let her eyes close halfway, letting this elf who’d pissed off her Dad see that she wasn’t going to put up with it. <Besides, if she does something else wrong, well… my best friend’s a Slayer who can kick her ass.>

"All right, that is what I came here to do. If you all would not mind to take a seat?" Adelaide motioned. "This is a long story so you should make yourself comfortable."

She waited for everyone to sit before her and noticed how protective Ali’s ‘cousin’ was. Kait had positioned herself in between Ali and Andrew to stop Ali from doing something she might regret.

"All right, we’re waiting..." Kait spoke up after everyone was seated and nothing had been said.

"Okay, I will start this from after the day Andrew told me to leave and I returned to France. I had taken in a young girl who I had met through some of my closest human friends. From time to time, we elves of the Seelie Court will take in children who need a good home; orphans, abused children, what have you. Marie was dating the son of one of them and had no place to live. We found out about a month after my return that she was pregnant. Marie, the young girl, had started becoming unwell midway through her pregnancy. She..." Adelaide took a deep breath. Although almost twenty years had passed since Marie’s death, it still shook her.

"She was diagnosed with cancer and given a few options for treatment. The problem there was that the treatment could risk the baby she was carrying. Discussing it with her boyfriend, Jacques, she told him that no matter what happened, the baby’s life was more important than her own."

Adelaide paused for a few moments, trying to regain her composure. She glanced at Ali and saw a few unshed tears in the girl’s eyes, because the girl understood. She took another breath and continued.

"She refused all treatment that could have been given to her to save her life. Marie... Marie knew it was extremely likely that she would die not long after giving birth, but it did not bother her. She always claimed that holding her baby just once would be enough for her; she would die happy from knowing her baby was safe. Then she admitted the real reason she and Jacques had the discussion. She needed to know if he would be able to care for their baby once she had passed on. Jacques admitted that it would probably be too hard from him to manage after she died, and agreed to give their baby up for adoption."

Adelaide stopped again, needing something to wet her throat. She looked at Kaitlyn and focused slightly on the girl.

//Can you get me a glass of water? // she asked. The young girl reacted only slightly, as if she had almost expected to hear someone talking in her mind. A few moments later, Adelaide drank deeply. //Thank you, Kaitlyn. //

"Marie asked me if I knew of any humans who I could trust with her baby. She knew the importance of the baby growing up as a normal human. I remembered Andrew fondly, even though he had thrown me out of his house when I told him the truth about me. I knew that if I approached him in the right way, that he would take the baby in without question. I told Marie about Andrew and she agreed with my choice. A month later Alison was born. I cried at how happy Marie was holding her daughter, knowing that the time was short that she could spend with her. Two months later, Peter, Jacques’ father approached me and informed me of Marie’s passing. Jacques had slipped into a deep melancholy and not even seeing his daughter could snap him out of his depression. Peter knew of Marie and Jacques’ decision to have their daughter adopted, and he assisted me in bringing you to America."

She paused again, noticing the tears now silently flowing down Alison’s cheeks. She sighed before taking another drink.

"Before we arrived in America, I worked out the way I would approach Andrew about the baby I was holding in my arms. Peter did not like the idea of lying to you, Andrew, but agreed that it would help explain why I wanted you to adopt her. Unplanned I bumped into your new wife and she seemed delighted in playing with Alison, so when I came to your house and saw Jessica there, I knew that the two of you together could give Alison everything that, as a noble elf, I could not. And that is the full truth."

*****

Ali sat in complete shock as she took in all the information, her mother was human and her father was not Andrew but someone named Jacques. Her mother had died, but Jacques sounded like he was still alive. She had a grandfather called Peter who was friends with Adelaide who seemed to be her grandmother. <Now my head REALLY hurts.>

//Alison, I am your grandmother. When elves take in orphaned humans, they become our children. To me, your mother was so much a part of my life that she was more my daughter than if I had given birth to her. //

Ali stared at the elf in front of her who had invaded her mind. <Can you give me some time to take this all in?>

//Of course, I understand that this is difficult to accept. If you would like, I will tell you later some more about your mother? If… if you can forgive me for the deceit. //

Ali smiled in response and then stood up.

"Dad, Adelaide, I’m going to head out for a while to try and sort myself out. Dad, please do not kick Adelaide out of the house. I want you on your best behavior and I hope I won’t be too long," she told them and then turned to Kait. "Feel up to a walk?"

"Sure."

Together the two cousins walked out of the house, leaving the two adults sitting in silence.

*****

Without even realizing it, they had walked to Shaw’s house. Standing out the front, Ali couldn’t decide on if she wanted to speak to her friend about everything or not. The choice was made for her when Shaw opened the door.

"Alison? Kaitlyn? Are you two okay?"

"Adelaide is at our place," Kait offered when Ali didn’t speak up.

"Alison’s mother?" she asked to make sure.

"Turns out she’s actually her granny."

Shaw motioned for them to follow her back inside and the two walked in after her. Ali was still silent while Shaw began asking questions, so Kait answered them as best she could.

*****

"Alison... Alison?" Shaw tried to get her friend’s attention, but nothing seemed to be working. Exchanging a look with Kait, she headed to the phone and called a familiar number. As soon as she heard the male’s voice she interrupted his greeting.

"Ted, ask Cesar if you can have an extended break. Alison is at my house and needs you."

"Shaw is that you?" Ted asked.

"Yes. Please can you come over?"

"What’s wrong with Ali?"

"I am not fully sure. I need your help."

"I’ll be there in a few minutes."

Hanging up the phone, Shaw hoped that Ted could get his girlfriend to open up with her emotions.

*****

Inside Ali’s head, thoughts and ideas were whirring through her overly active brain. She was having trouble processing the idea that her real mother was dead and that in reality; she was related to the Lady of the Lake, in some weird elf adoption way. Everything was too confusing. Concepts and ideas that used to seem so complex now seemed to Ali easy compared to her own personal history.

Plus there was the problem of how Kaitlyn looked a lot like her, but they weren’t even related through blood. It was something that she would have to ask her grandmother when she got home. Her grandmother? That would take some time for her to get used to saying.

She instinctively knew when Ted had arrived but even the idea that her boyfriend was there, couldn’t ease her out of her thoughts. She could hear Kaitlyn telling Ted what had happened and felt his arms go round her to comfort her, but until she sorted out the mess in her mind, she didn’t feel like talking to anyone not even him.

*****

Twenty minutes later

"My mother’s dead," Ali suddenly sobbed, causing the people in the room to jump. She started crying forcefully and Ted did all her could to sooth her. He stroked her hair and her back, spoke softly to her, and whispered in her ear as he held her.

After a few moments Ali stopped crying and turned, red eyed, to the others in the room. Flushing embarrassedly that they had witnessed her outburst, she lowered her head.

"Sorry," she whispered barely making a noise. "I should... I should go home again."

"Alison, you know you are welcome to stay here for a little while longer," Shaw offered. "And having someone to talk to is part of why we are friends. You listened to me when we were taken by the Initiative, please don’t shut us out."

"I know but… I want to talk to A-Adel... to my grandmother," Ali replied.

"I’ll drive you two home, if you like?" Ted offered.

"Thanks Ted," Kait answered for them.

"Shaw..." Ali started before grabbing her friend into a hug. "Thanks for being there for me."

Shaw returned the hug, "Anytime, you know that."

The two cousins and Ted left Shaw’s place and headed in silence to the Jarman household.

*****

When they arrived, Ted politely declined the offer to come inside.

"Ali, its family time for you and your grandmother. I’ll come over tonight after work alright?"

"O-okay," Ali replied. She watched him leave and then turned to her cousin. "Into the fray we go..."

Together they walked back inside and stopped suddenly. There in her father’s embrace was Adelaide. The two were kissing and were oblivious to the entry of the two teens.

"Eww gross! Old people kissing," Kait said with a cheeky grin.

Her comment broke apart the two adults and Ali watched as Adelaide’s cheeks turned slightly blue, the same way Shaw’s did when she blushed.

"Ali, I didn’t expect you home for a while yet," Andrew said to his ‘daughter’.

"I bet you didn’t," she replied dryly. "So I take it that you have forgiven her for lying to you?"

"I understand her reasons, yes."

"Good," she was going to say more but the phone interrupted her. "Hang on, I’ll get the phone."

The phone turned out to be for Kait and so once her cousin left the room to take the call she turned back to the adults.

"So... what are your intentions with my father?" Ali said straight faced, knowing that she sounded like her Dad did with any males that ever came near her and Kait.

"Alison Madelyn Jarman..." her Dad started.

"I was joking Dad, geez, lighten up!"

They sat down in the kitchen and an uneasy silence filled the room. Ali sighed, hoping that it wasn’t always going to be like this.

"Alison, I would like for you to visit my home and that of your father Jacques..." Adelaide spoke up to break the silence.

"Y-you want me to go to France?"

"If Andrew agrees, yes. Jacques is still alive, but barely. And although you may not remember your mother, I will not deny you the memory of your real father."

"Can I have some time to think about it?"

"Of course, there is no rush. Now can you tell me how you managed to get word around that you were looking for me?"

"Through my friends and their boyfriends. The two boys seemed to know who you were and where to look."

"Can you tell me their names?" Adelaide asked curiously, trying to work out how the two boys knew her.

"Robin Goodfellow and Liam Danahure," Ali replied watching her grandmother’s face.

"Oh no, do n