Saturday afternoon found Buffy in Willow's bedroom, begging Willow to hack into hospital records to possibly find out what had happened to Buffy and Lydia's birth mother. Lydia was spending the weekend with her foster family, so Buffy was free to pursue this line of inquiry. However, Willow was refusing to help, and Buffy was fast losing patience.
"C'mon Will," Buffy whined, "how'd you feel if you didn't know anything about your past? Please, just do this for me. It won't take long, I promise."
"Buffy, leave me alone," Willow said, never taking her eyes off the solitaire game she was busy playing on the computer.
"Wil-low, puh-lease? Pretty pretty please with sugar on top?"
"Buffy, what part of `no' don't you understand?"
"But Willow, you've hacked into things for me before, why won't you do it now?" Buffy intoned.
"That was...different," Willow defended. "That had to do with slaying. When I hacked into those files it was to get information that could possibly save your life."
"Well, this has to do with slaying too," Buffy said in a plaintive tone. "I'm the Slayer and I don't know anything about the woman who gave birth to me. That's a very big thing not to know about. Knowing about it could help save my life...maybe."
"Uh-huh," Willow said skeptically, crossing her arms and turning to Buffy. "How's that?"
"Well, uh, one day, I could...get into trouble...I could, I could...get leukemia! Or Lydia! And then, we'd need a bone marrow transplant but we'd have to have a perfect match and the best way to do that is to find a family member who could-"
"Buffy, you're stretching," Willow interrupted.
"Oh," Buffy muttered dejectedly, all out of ideas on how to persuade Willow to do her bidding.
"But, I see your point. All right, I'll do it." Willow added.
"You will?" Buffy asked, her eyes growing wide. Then she threw her arms around Willow in a gigantic hug. "Oh Will, you're the greatest, the best ever! If you ever need anything- clothes, a date, a kidney, don't hesitate to ask. I'm your girl."
Laughing, Willow gently disengaged Buffy's arms from around her and turned around in her chair so that she was once again facing the terminal. "Okay," she said, "what was her name and what hospital were you born in?"
"Trina Adalard Gardner," Buffy said, still a bit disbelieving that Willow had actually caved in. "And Lydia and I were born in Sacred Heart, in LA. You know our birthday, so that isn't a problem. Anything else?"
"I don't know yet." Willow stared at the screen, a look of concentration on her face, as her fingers flew over the keyboard.
Now that Willow was actually on the trail, Buffy was having doubts as to whether or not Willow would actually be able to hack into the hospital system. "Will, are you sure you can do this? I mean Lydia said she'd worked for months trying to break the code. What makes you so sure you can?"
"Buffy, Lydia was trying to hack into the adoption records. That's social services, which is government, which is basically a lot harder to do. But Lydia told me that she actually did find your birth name by hacking into the hospital's records, not social services. I have some vague memory of how she said she did it, but I can't actually remember right now. Probably once I get to a certain point, it'll hit me."
This was some new information which Buffy quietly mulled over as Willow continued to type. So, Lydia, had accessed the hospital's data base several months ago. Buffy had to wonder if Lydia honestly had no interest in their birth mother, as she so professed, and because of that she had not looked her up when she had been finding Buffy's birth records, or if Lydia did indeed know more about their mother than she was telling. But if she did know more, why would she keep it a secret, especially since Buffy was so keen on knowing?
"Ah-ha!" Willow declared triumphantly.
"Are you in?"
"I'm in."
"Well, what now?"
"Okay, Buffy," Willow said "I need you to spell your mother's name for me." As Buffy carefully did, Willow typed in the letters and then pressed `enter.' The computer searched as both girls waited anxiously, Buffy peering over Willow's shoulder.
After what seemed like hours, but was probably only a minute or two, the information popped up on the screen. Buffy was having trouble reading the small print and said as much, so Willow volunteered to read the information out loud, adding her own comments as she went along.
"Let's see. Blonde hair. I suppose you got that from her. Blue eyes. I guess you must have gotten your eye color from your father. It says she's 5'5, so maybe you could still grow some more. 140 pounds- I wonder if that was before or after the pregnancy? Born in Richmond Virginia, on August 4th, 1959. She was...oh."
"What, why'd you stop reading?" Buffy complained. She desperately wanted to know what had happened to the woman who gave birth to her.
Willow turned around and stared up at her friend. Buffy met her eyes hesitantly, sensing something was wrong.
"She's dead Buffy."
"Wha- what? I mean how...?"
"She died in childbirth," Willow gently explained.
Buffy sat down suddenly on Willow's bed, all the energy drained from her. "I thought, I always thought that she hadn't wanted us. This entire time, ever since I found out I was adopted, that's what I couldn't get out of my head. I guess I was thankful to her for giving me to my parents, but I just couldn't understand why she didn't want me...or Lydia. Now I know."
Willow came over and hugged Buffy. Although Buffy held on tight, she didn't cry. She didn't feel sad exactly, just...empty. The emptiness she had hoped to fill by finding news of her past was still there. She felt that this new information should have brought a sense of closure, but Buffy was only left with more questions.
"Will," Buffy said suddenly, pulling back out of the embrace, "I need you to do something else for me."
Although Willow looked wary, she didn't hesitate to say "All right."
"I want to find out everything I can about my birth mother. Maybe she still has family out there somewhere. Why was she in LA if she was born in Virginia? I want you to do another search and get me anything you can."
"Buffy...." Willow said, worry for her friend evident in her tone.
"I know, I know, this obsession isn't healthy," Buffy quickly put in. "But I *have* to know. Maybe some people wouldn't, but *I* do. Please, just do this one last thing for me and I won't ask for anything else."
Looking into Buffy's pleading eyes, Willow sighed heavily and returned to the computer and began to search.
* * *
Two hours later, having exhausted every possible resource, Willow had found nothing. Absolutely zip. Yet Buffy was disbelieving, and kept pestering Willow as to whether or not she had really done everything she could.
"How can this be? Are you sure you checked *everything* Willow? Maybe you missed something-"
"Buffy," Willow tiredly rubbed her eyes, "I didn't even find a birth certificate for anyone with that name born on that date. Do you know what that technically means? It means that your mother didn't exist."
"Of course she existed!" By now, Buffy's pacing had probably worn a path in the bedroom floor, Willow thought to herself as she watched the frustrated Slayer walk back and forth across the room.
"I know that, and you know that, but as far as the government would be concerned, your mother was just a figment of our imaginations."
"But, but," Buffy stammered, suddenly at a loss for words.
"Listen, Buff, there are still several explanations as to why there was no birth certificate." When Buffy looked expectantly at Willow, Willow struggled to come up with one. "Well, uh, for one thing, she could have...she could have lied about her age!" Willow said, grateful she had thought of something.
"Why would she do that?" Buffy asked skeptically.
"Because...well, because, she uh, didn't want...I know! What if she was under age and didn't want her parents notified? She could have made herself a couple of years older so that she wouldn't be bothered about her youth, and no one would have been the wiser."
Buffy was still unconvinced. "I don't know Will. That seems a bit too out there."
Willow had to admit it was stretching, but she refused to rule out the possibility. And then, suddenly, another thought occurred to her and she actually jumped out of the chair because she was so excited.
"Buffy, what if she didn't lie about her *age*, but about her *name*?"
"Omigod Will, you're a genius!" Buffy declared, jumping up from her own perch on the bed and once again fiercely hugging Willow. Then, she had her own thought, and the excitement slowly faded away. Plopping back on the bed, Buffy said "But if that's the case, how are we ever going to find her?"
Willow had to admit she was stumped at this one. She too sat back down, and the room was silent for several minutes as both girls contemplated a solution to their dilemma.
Finally Willow broke the silence with "Well, what if Trina was a nickname, you know, like Xander goes by that instead of Alexander. What if Trina was short for Trinette or Katrina...?"
Silence once again followed. When Willow could think of nothing else, she glanced over at Buffy. She had only been staring at her for a few seconds when she saw a light dawn in Buffy's eyes and a stunned expression spread itself across her face.
Meeting Willow's eyes, Buffy said, "I know the name you need to type in."
* * *
This time, barely 45 minutes later, Buffy held the proof of her suspicions in the printout Willow had given her. She was very surprised at the information, although not as much as she felt she should have been. Was it possible she'd known this all along as well?
Willow, who had still not received an explanation as to how Buffy had known that that was the right name, was dying of curiosity. "Buffy," she asked, "how did you know?"
Willow watched as Buffy shook her head as if to clear it of some fog, and then met Buffy's eyes as she raised her head from the paper she held in her hand. A long moment of silence passed between the two, then Buffy suddenly jumped up and said "I've got to talk to Giles."
"But Buffy...." Willow entreated. But it was too late. Buffy was already gone.
* * *
The pounding on his door was quickly followed by "Giles, open up, it's me! I've got to talk to you!"
Hurrying to open the door before Buffy broke it down, Giles found the Slayer in an agitated state on his doorstep. As Buffy brushed past him and walked into his house, he said "Buffy, what's the-"
Before he could finish his question, Buffy had stopped and turned and said in a chilling voice, "It's my mother."
Rushing over to her, Giles asked quickly "What's happened? Is she all right?"
Buffy, suddenly realizing how much she had just scared her poor Watcher and how little sense she was making, let out a laugh. This threw Giles completely off-guard, and he stepped back from his position right in front of her to look down into her face.
"Maybe the question I should be asking is `Are *you* all right?'" Giles said tentatively.
"I- yeah. I'm just kind of in shock."
"Well, sit down then," Giles took Buffy's arm and led her over to his old sofa. Lowering her gently into it, he said "Can I get you anything? I was just about to make myself some tea-
"I'm fine Giles, really. It's just, well, I found out about my mother."
Giles was completely confused by now. "Found out what?"
"I mean about my birth mother."
"Oh," Giles said, a look of comprehension finally dawning on his face. "And...?"
"And she's not who any of us thought she would be."
Giles, somehow knowing that Buffy was having trouble saying whatever it was she was trying to, kept silent. He knew she would say it in her own good time, and until such time, he would just have to be patient.
But Buffy blurted it out with her next few words. "It's Kathryn Phelps, the lost Slayer."
"What?" Giles sat down quickly on the sofa arm.
"It all makes sense," Buffy began, talking to herself. "Willow and I looked up the name on the birth certificate, Trina Gardner, but it didn't exist. So Willow said that maybe Trina was short for something, like Katrina. And then it hit me. Katrina. Kathryn. They're the same name. And I just knew."
"Buffy, how could you possibly have remembered that name? I tossed it out randomly before you even knew you were adopted. And you never remember anything I tell you. Why that?"
"I don't know," Buffy said dazedly. Her eyes seemed to be fixed on some unknown point behind Giles head. Giles, realizing he needed to snap her back to reality, quickly clapped his hands in front of her eyes. She jumped, but once again focused her gaze on him.
"I really don't know Giles. It didn't come to me immediately. But once I realized that Trina had to be a nickname for Kathryn, the last name just kind of slid into place. My mind must have known all the pieces of the puzzle all along, it just took it awhile to put them together."
"That's amazing Buffy. I'm a bit shocked myself."
"I found out though, I found out that she died."
"Oh Buffy, I'm sorry." Giles said.
"Giving birth to me and Lydia. There was hemorrhaging...I- I'm okay with it though."
"Buffy, I know this won't really help any, but sometimes things like that just happen."
"Giles, do you think that could account for the fact that both Lydia and I are Slayers? Because our mother was one and because," Buffy gulped, "because she died giving birth to us?"
"Well, I suppose it could be one of the reasons, but you know, this is not the first case of one Slayer begetting another."
"It's not?" Buffy asked, quite surprised.
"No, certainly not. There have been many documented cases of both mother and daughter, and in some instances even mother, daughter and granddaughter all being Slayers. And now that I think about it, I seem to recall two sisters, about five years apart, who were both Slayers as well. The elder one died in her duty, but the younger one who succeeded her lived long and had many children."
"Were any of them Slayers?" Buffy asked curiously.
"Not that I can remember," Giles said pensively. "Oh, but I seem to recall that one of that Slayer's grandchildren was a Watcher."
"What?! Slayers can have Watchers too?"
"Oh certainly. And Watchers can have Slayers. It's often all connected, although individual Slayers and Watchers can still be born without any family ties to another Slayer or Watcher."
"Whoa, this is a lot to absorb," Buffy said, shaking her head in wonder.
"Indeed," Giles said. Then a thought occurred to him, and he stood up and began to pace. "Buffy, from what I remember, Kathryn Phelps had two younger sisters. I suppose they're your biological aunts."
"I know, I have the printout with all the information on it right here." Buffy said, taking a carefully folded piece of paper out of her pocket and starting to read from it. "Elisabeth Sophie Phelps was born three years after Kathryn and Olivia Marie Phelps was born two years after Elisabeth. I guess that's where Lydia and I got our middle names from. Kathryn's father was Daniel Gardner Phelps and her mother was Claire Olivia Adalard Phelps. I mean, Kathryn recycled all these names, maybe to leave some sort of trail when she disappeared. The clues were there, it just took a little work to put them together. I can't find mention of a Hannah though, so maybe that's just something she picked up along the way."
Buffy had been so busy chattering that she had not even noticed that Giles had suddenly stopped pacing and was staring at her with an expression of horror on his face. "What did you say?" he croaked out.
Buffy, who was a bit confused, repeated herself slowly. "I was just wondering why my mother chose to name me Hannah. I mean, she obviously chose Claire as Lydia's name because it was her own mother's, but I can't figure out why-"
Giles cut Buffy off with a rather abrupt "No, before that. Did you...did you say `Adalard'?"
Buffy, who was glad to finally have that cleared up said, "Oh that. Yeah. Actually, that was the clincher that helped me realize that my birth mother and the Slayer were one and the same person. On my birth certificate it says Trina Adalard Gardner and the Slayer's full name was Kathryn Adalard Phelps. I guess she got that from her mother's maiden name...."
Buffy trailed off when she saw Giles go as white as a sheet. She shot to her feet because she was afraid he was going to pass out, but he was already making his way over to the table across the room. "Giles, what's wrong?" she asked, truly frightened.
"I think," Giles said in a stunned voice, sitting down heavily in a chair, "I think, Buffy, that I'm your father."
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