chapter 6

SG-1 sat at their campsite on PRX-234G. Xander looked nervously at the group, just finished with the version of events that he had given Jack. None of it an outright lie really, just great gaping holes in the story.

Sam, you could simply see the wheels spinning in her head. Daniel too actually. Teal’c. Well Teal’c was hard to figure out what he was thinking but he was definitely thinking.

"Do you think your alternate self--"

"Well one of us is dead or maybe never existed. Whether it’s Xander Giles or Xander Harris I don’t know."

"Harris?"

Shit! Xander thought. "That’s the strangest part. I--"

"Left that out before…" Jack frowned.

"Because it’s just that much weirder, that much harder to believe. I don’t know if I believe it half the time and it’s me stuck on this freak roller coaster ride" Xander shot back.

"So it’s not a parallel dimension?"

"More like--an altered parallel rather than just an alternate." Xander frowned at Sam. "Does that make sense?"

~*~

Daniel listened silently, carefully as Xander filled in the gaps in the differences in the lives of Xander Harris and Xander Giles. Starting with the fact that Xander Harris was the only child of Tony and Jessica Harris. Rupert Giles in this other dimension had been a Watcher, and more of a father to Xander than his own father in many ways. Joyce Giles had been Joyce Summers. Mother to Buffy and Dawn Summers. Buffy was a Slayer.

That had caught both Teal’c and Jack’s attention and a round of quizzing on "Supergirl" Willow Rosenburg had been Xander’s best friend from the age of four. William Giles equivalent was a 120 or better year old vampire known as William the Bloody or Spike.

"Spike?" Jack snorted.

"He liked to play with his food when he was a fledgling. His favorite way to do that was with a railroad spike"

"Food--"

"Vampires live on blood…"

Even Jack looked a little green at that.

"Spike liked putting marshmallows in the blood we got for him--red cross rejects… blood from the butcher shop. Said it reminded him of eyeballs floating in the blood."

"So what about other people--"

"See that’s just it…Faisal there’s no equal to him in Xander Harris’ life. Then there’s Jesse, Anya, Tara, Andrew in Xander Harris’ life was a reformed baddie wannabe that made a freeze ray gun--Mister Freeze style. Geek that got in with another geek and a head case. They caused some trouble. The one Warren, killed Tara, shot her. Willow went off the deep end, used her magic to skin Warren, literally flayed him alive with her magic and almost ended the world with the Rite of Prosperexia."

"Magic?"

"Willow--Willow Rosenburg in Xander Harris’ world--was one of the most powerful witches that had lived ever probably. The most powerful in a few centuries for sure."

Daniel listened to the comparisons of the two lives with little comment.

"Danny,"

Daniel simply got up and walked away.

Jack frowned.

"Uh, can I?" Xander said awkwardly.

Jack thought a moment then nodded.

~*~

"You’re Xander Harris aren’t you?" Daniel said when the younger man sat down beside him.

"I’m pretty sure yeah,"

"Why do you remember and your --Dawn and Andrew don’t?"

"Brother and sister. We were family in every way that counted. Giles--he wished us away somewhere safe. We were the last three. The group of us we’d lost so many over the years. We were his surviving children he wanted us safe from demons."

"Why do you remember…"

"I think I know why…someone had to remember something from that world."

"What? Why?"

"What you don’t know might kill you…but it won’t get anyone else killed either."

Daniel frowned.

"Glorificus..The Glory from the other dimension was a real goddess…a hell goddess. When she broke out of the hell dimension she was trapped in and got loose in that world she was looking for something in specific. Something that was given first to Buffy for safe keeping…she was the Slayer. I have the keeping of it now. IF this is the same Glory…or even the equivalent of that Glory and wants what the other Glory wanted…..She can’t ever get it…or Goa’uld destruction of earth would look like a vacation at Disneyland. Giles--both are --Harris’ Giles meant no harm. Wanted only to protect the kids he considered his…and that Giles would have loved to have known you. And your parents I think. Joyce too."

Daniel nodded. "I can’t imagine waking up in a new life like you did, remembering the old one, even as many times as I’ve died."

"You okay? Giles didn’t mean to monkey with your head. He sure as hell didn’t mean to land us in the middle of well this evil aliens, planet jumping."

Daniel nodded again.

Xander looked at him concerned.

"I’m fine"

Xander nodded slowly.

"Guys…"

Xander sighed inwardly. "We cool?"

Daniel nodded. "Yeah"

Jack watched Xander head back to the camp then asked Daniel, "Well, what do you think?"

"I think he’s Xander Harris. I also think he didn’t have a damn thing to do with how he got here and isn’t’ a threat, just the opposite, we got damned lucky to have him land here, or maybe we will be…"

Jack nodded. Once the slip was made, the mention of Xander Harris things all seemed to click, especially how Xander didn’t seem to quite realize how a shout of "Giles" was directed at him sometimes. There was still likely a lot more to the story. But he had enough, and he trusted his instinct with the kid.

"Just can’t quite put my finger on it…something from…when I was with Oma…" Daniel continued hesitantly. Jack really didn’t like reminders of his time Ascended.

Jack nodded again. This whole dimensional mojo-demony-thing was too…coincidental not to mean anything but bad news. Though Jack didn’t think that the kid, or his brother and sister, were the problem at all. They were just trying to survive. They hadn’t meant to land here, hadn’t done that, they’d been sent by psuedo-dad half out of his mind with grief trying to get them someplace safe. Jack could get that.

They sat in silence a long time. Finally, without a word they headed back to the camp.

Xander was getting grilled by Sam. Teal’c had the first watch.

"Bed time, kids. Long boring day of geekiness tomorrow."

Sam and Daniel both glared at Jack. The long boring day of geekiness the next day centered around study of some ruins and sample gathering. Daniel had been looking forward to an archaeological-focused assignment for ages and Sam was thrilled with the opportunity to try out some of the backwards engineered Tok’ra gadgets that she’d been working on as well as the sample gathering for the SGC labs.

"I’ll take second watch Teal’c" Xander offered.

"Carter can take third. I’ll take first and Danny second tomorrow night." Jack decided. They were here for four days after all. Time to sort out the Giles/Harris issues amongst themselves as well as get the mission completed.