Hobbs finds out that his young teenage daughter has just been empowered to fight vampires, and he is NOT happy about the fact.

Chapter 6: Called

******Hobbs House in Los Angeles******

Luke Hobbs was tying his shoelaces when he got a panicked phone call from his daughter.

"Dad, something is totally wrong with me!" Samantha said.

"What? You're utterly perfect," he assured her.

"No, Dad. I mean it. My body isn't right. There's something wrong," she said.

Luke's stomach went into knots. Why wasn't her mother having these talks with her? "Well, honey, your body is changing because you're becoming a young woman," he said gently. "With guys, our voice changes, and then we get the body hair in strange places. You might want to talk to your mom about the monthly visitor women get. I can't really speak about that."

"Dad!" his daughter groaned. "I'm not talking about my period even though I did get that earlier this month. I'm talking about something else being wrong!"

Luke frowned. "What do you mean? Are you sick?" he asked.

"I must be, Dad, because I have had this insane amount of energy all week—like I'm juiced up or something," she said. "Not that I would know what that was like because I wouldn't."

"You're an athlete, Sam. It's normal to have extra energy," he said, relaxing.

"Is it normal to accidentally rip the door off the hinges?" she asked.

"You ripped the door off the hinges?" he asked.

"My bedroom door," she said.

"Well, I'm sure the door was already about to come off its hinge," he said.

"No, Dad, there's something wrong. I feel invincible," she said. "And I keep having these really freaky dreams."

"I'm glad you're feeling so strong. That's what every father wants to hear from his daughter," he said, feeling smug. She was exactly like her old dad.

"You're not getting it," she said, her frustration obvious. "I'm coming over after school, okay?"

"Don't you have track practice?" he asked.

"I'm not concerned about track right now," she said. "I can run to your house. Track is just a way to stay in shape after soccer season anyway."

"Of course, you can come see me. I'll be home around six," he said. "Do you have your key?"

"Yes," she said.

"Make sure your mother is okay with it. I can take you home or you can stay the night—whatever she says," he said.

"Okay," she said. There was a pause. Then she said in a small voice, "I just know I'm not the same, Daddy. I've been changed."

Hobbs didn't know what to think, but he knew that his daughter was upset. It was his job to make her feel better. "Don't worry, sweetie. We'll get to the bottom of this," he assured her. "Get your homework done after you get here. That'll give us more time to talk."

"Okay," she said, feeling better. Her dad was the strongest man in the world, and he would know what to do. "I love you."

"I love you more," he said. "I'll see you soon." His daughter was the best part of his life, and he'd make sure he could help her through whatever was going on. Should he call her mother? Would she feel betrayed? Maybe, she had already spoken to her mom. He'd wait and speak to her first.

*****Several Miles Away*****

Buffy finished up lunch, and then held a strategy class with a few older slayers. The house in Los Angeles held a dozen slayers of various ages since L. A. was a beacon for demon and vampires even if it wasn't a hellmouth. It had been decided that Buffy had earned a break from hellmouth sitting. She and Dawn spent a few years in Europe with Giles. After Dawn had finished high school abroad, she decided to come stateside for college. Buffy jumped on the chance to be back home, and the two of them came back home. Los Angeles was home long before Sunnydale.

Buffy had hoped Dawn would attend UCLA, but she chose Stanford. It had a better linguistic department, so Buffy resigned herself to have her baby sister being five hours away. It was still better than the distance her friends were from them. Willow was in Cleveland, heading up the biggest American slayer house while Xander was in New York City. Faith and Robin where in the UK with Giles.

Her phone rang, so she picked it up. It was Willow.

"Hey, Wills. What's up?" she asked.

"Hello, Buffy. We have a new slayer in your neck of the woods," Willow said.

"Really? We haven't lost any slayers, right?" Buffy asked.

"No," Willow said. "We have gotten a young girl who just hit puberty."

"Another one?" Buffy groaned. "When is this going to stop, Willow? Can you find a way to stop the spell or slow it down? These girls are too young to be dragged into our world. Not to mention, if they're American, they usually have parents who are equally upset."

Willow sighed. "I know, Buffy, but if I tamper with the spell, it could take away all the power except from you and Faith. Do we want to risk that?" she asked.

"No," Buffy said. "I just hate changing lives like this. Every time we lose a girl, Will, we are to blame. This happened because of us."

"We did it to save the world, so we can't really take it back," Willow pointed out.

"Yea," Buffy said in resignation. "It's just hard."

"I know," Willow said. "We have to focus on how far we've come. The training and protection all the slayers now get. It's so much better than what you and Faith went through."

"That's true," Buffy said. "If this girl is young and lives in Los Angeles, what's the plan?"

"Well, you'll have to speak to the girl's parents and see how receptive they are to her going away to Cleveland for a special school," Willow said. "If they're not, then you will have train her around her school schedule."

"Fine," Buffy said, resigned. "Do you have a name?"

"Samantha Hobbs," Willow said. "Her father works for the government, so he will either be very supportive or very upset."

"So it's a crapshoot, huh?"

"Yep," Willow said.

"Okay, well, I will go to his house," Buffy said. She looked at her watch. "I will wait until four or so in case he's still at work."

"Call me afterward," Willow said.

"I will," Buffy said. She hung up and spent some time googling Luke Hobbs. "Wow!" she exclaimed when she said his picture. "That is one large piece of man flesh. Total hottie."

Dahlia, the oldest slayer besides her in the house, came up behind her. "Who are you talking about?" she asked.

Buffy filled her in on the newly called slayer.

"If the man is with the DEA or used to be, he will not like knowing his little girl has been called to a life of demon slaying," Dahlia said.

"Who can blame the guy?" Buffy said warily. "But it's the situation. Even if she never fights, she has to know how to protect herself when they find her—because they will."

Later, Buffy approached the modest home where the Hobbs lived. Her research told her that Samantha's parents were divorced, and she lived between the two homes. In Buffy's experience, fathers were more reasonable about changes in their daughters. Mothers were protective and emotional, so she'd go to the dad first.

It was quite five when she rang the doorbell. A young teenager taller than Buffy answered. "Hi," Buffy said, giving her a friendly smile.

"Hi," the girl said, looking unsure. "My dad's not home yet."

"Are you Samantha?" Buffy asked.

The girl nodded. "Yea," she said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Buffy Summers, and I was hoping to talk to you," Buffy said. "Can I come in? If you're not comfortable with that, maybe we can go somewhere to grab a bite to eat."

Samantha frowned, considering. She knew that her dad wouldn't like her letting strangers in the home. Just because the woman was small in stature didn't mean that she wasn't a threat. "I don't know. My dad wouldn't want me having a stranger in our house or going anywhere with a stranger," she said.

"I can understand that. I can wait in my car for your dad to arrive," Buffy said. "I'm here because I know what's happening to you."

"What do you mean?" Samantha asked.

"Did you suddenly develop—almost overnight—more energy and strength?" Buffy asked.

Samantha nodded. "Yes! How do you know?" she asked.

"Because I'm like you," Buffy said. "Do you have dreams?"

Samantha looked closely at the woman and realized that she knew her. "You were in my dreams!" she exclaimed. "How is that possible?"

"Because I am sort of responsible for who you are now," Buffy said. "It's a long story, though, and I should probably wait until your dad arrives to tell you."

Samantha wanted to know what the woman could tell her, but she also knew her dad would kill her if she went off with the woman. "I'll text my dad—he shouldn't be long," Samantha said.

"Okay. I'll be waiting in my car across the street," Buffy said. She walked to her call to wait.

Samantha texted her dad. I need you to come home now. Someone is here who can help me.

Hobbs was at his desk finishing up a report when he got his daughter's text. Frowning, he saved the file he was working on. He needed to get home.

When he was walking up to his house a bit later, his daughter opened the door, obviously watching for him.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

"I'm okay," she said. She waved at someone across the street.

Hobbs turned and watched a woman he didn't recognize approach them. She was petite with long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. When his eyes met hers, he was struck silent. She was gorgeous, but her eyes were haunted.

"Hello, sir," Buffy said, looking way up at the very large man. She held out her hand. "I'm Buffy Summers, and I need to speak to you about your daughter."

"Okay," he said. "Please come in."

Buffy winced but followed them into the house.

"Would you like something to drink?" Samantha asked.

"Water if you have it," Buffy said.

"Sure," Samantha said.

"Have a seat," Hobbs gestured. He sat on the sofa while Buffy sat on the chair next to it. "I'm Luke Hobbs, by the way."

"Good to meet you," Buffy said. "I'm sorry for just dropping in like this. However, I'm here to help your daughter."

Hobbs frowned, but before she could say anything, Sam returned with two bottles of water. She handed one to Buffy and offered to him. "I'm good, sweetie," he said. "Have a seat."

"Has Samantha talked to you about the changes that have happened to her?" Buffy began.

Hobbs looked at his daughter. "She said she felt different. Stronger with a lot of energy," he said. "But that's not unusual for teens going through puberty. She takes after me." He smiled at her daughter.

Buffy smiled. She always loved a doting father. "I'm sure she does, but in this case, there is something else going on," she said.

"She's been in these weird dreams I've been having," Samantha told her father.

"What kind of dreams?" he asked.

"A voice asked me if I'm ready to be strong, and then I see Buffy fighting monsters," she shared. "I-I think that some of them were vampires."

Hobbs laughed. "Honey, vampires aren't real," he said.

"They are real, and I'm a vampire slayer," Buffy said. "I have been since I was called at age fifteen."

Hobbs looked at her and saw she was serious. He frowned. "Okay, so obviously, you're a bit unhinged, and you need to leave now," he said, standing.

Buffy stood slowly. "Sir, your daughter hit puberty and became empowered to fight demons and vampires," she said. "My leaving won't change who she is."

"Dad, listen to her," Sam urged. "I am too strong." Without letting him say much, she moved and lifted her father off the ground. "See."

Hobbs put his hand on her shoulders and saw that he really was off the ground. "You can put me down now," he said. There was no way his daughter should be able to pick him up so easily. Something was definitely going on with her, so he couldn't just throw the crazy woman out of his house.

"If you want to arm wrestle, I can show you that I'm every bit as strong—stronger actually," Buffy said.

Hobbs didn't know what to think, but he sat back down, and the girls followed suit. "Start from the beginning," he said to her.

So Buffy did. She told him a bit about her life in Sunnydale and how the slayers came to be.

"You expect me to believe that your witch friend did a spell and turned all potential slayers into slayers?" he asked. Her tale was too incredible—she must be on drugs. She didn't look like a junkie, so it must be some new designer drug that made people have vivid hallucinations. It was clear that the woman actually believed everything she was saying.

"Dad, she's not on drugs," his daughter said, giving him a knowing look.

"That would explain a lot," he said firmly.

Buffy couldn't help but chuckle. "I wish my life was just a drug hallucination sometime," she said. "But it's not, and I can prove magic is real." She pulled out her phone and called Willow. "Willow, I need some proof of magic for the new slayer's father."

"Really?" Willow sighed. "Fine. I'll be right there."

Buffy hung up her phone. "Willow is a very powerful witch. She will arrive by magic, so don't shoot or anything," she said, eying his weapon that he'd yet to lock away.

"I won't," Hobbs said. He got up and went over to the lock box he kept on top of the refrigerator and locked up his gun. Then he turned back around, and a new woman was in his living room.

"Hello, Samantha," Willow said. "I'm Willow."

"That's so cool!" Samantha said. "Can I do that?"

"What the hell did you do? How did you get her?" Hobbs asked, going into the living room again.

"I told you she could use magic. She teleported here," Buffy explained. "Willow, this is Luke Hobbs, Samantha's father."

"I am glad to meet you, and I hope I didn't freak you out too much," Willow said.

"Not at all. I frequently get teleporting witches inside my house," he said dryly.

"Magic is real. So are demons, vampires, and vampire slayers," Willow added. "I'd stay longer and give you a light show. But this will have to do." She waved and then disappeared.

Hobbs stared at the spot she had been standing at. Finally, he nodded. "Okay. Magic is real," he said with resignation. He looked at Buffy. "Now prove to me vampires are real."

"How about some dinner?" Buffy said. "Let's go eat, and then I'll take you on a show and tell."

Hobbs agreed and took the girls out for pizza. The two girls ate more than he did. "I hope you have a metabolism to keep up with all that eating," he said. "I spend five days a week at the gym."

Buffy grinned. "It's a slayer perk—high metabolism," she said.

"Figures," he said. His daughter grinned, feeling happy to know she wasn't crazy.

Samantha asked Buffy many questions while they ate, and Buffy tried to answer as best she could without alarming the girl too much.

Finally, Buffy said, "I don't want to mislead you. Having superpowers is cool, but it comes with a price. Demons and other evil beings will sense your nature and be drawn to you. Your life is now changed for all time."

"That's kind of sucky," Samantha said. She gave her dad a scared look.

"It's a good thing that your dad can kick major ass, right?" Hobbs said. He reached over and patted Sam's hand in assurance.

"Your daughter has to learn how to kick ass without you," Buffy said. "You can't always be around her twenty-four seven."

"You can teach me, right?" Samantha asked.

"Of course," she said. "But there's a school for slayers like you in Cleveland. That's located on a hellmouth, so there's lots of things for you to learn how to fight."

"No way in hell," Hobbs said in a loud whisper. "My daughter is not going to boarding school, and she is definitely not moving to a hellmouth."

"Cleveland has snow, Dad," Samantha said. "I've always wanted to see snow."

"Not happening," Hobbs said. "And you aren't fighting anything without me there."

Buffy realized that Luke was going to be one of those overprotective, interfering parents. She didn't mind, though, because too many of the girls had parents that didn't care at all. Or they didn't really want to know everything. For many, it was out of sight, out of mind. He was a welcome change.

"I will be happy to train her here in town, and you are welcome to come with," Buffy said. The sun had set, so she took them to a nearby graveyard.

After she slayed a vampire in front of them, Luke looked at her and said, "Okay. Vampires are real. Show me one of those demons you mentioned."

Buffy laughed, appreciating his easy acceptance.

They stopped at her house, and she introduced Samantha to several of her slayers. The girls offered to show her some moves while Buffy took Hobbs to a nearby demon bar.

When Hobbs looked around at all the various demons, he worked hard to contain his expression of horror. His little girl was supposed to fight those things? She couldn't possibly! He took a deep breath and looked at Buffy.

"Okay, demons are real," he said. He turned and left the bar, leaving Buffy to trail after him.

"So you understand now?" Buffy asked, catching up with him.

Hobbs turned and faced her. "I understand that you are f***ing insane if think I'm going to allow my daughter to be anywhere near such things. I understand that you basically inflicted a life of violence and death on countless young girls without giving them any say so," he said grimly. "I get that your back was against the wall, and you were trying to save the girls you had with you at the time. But the consequences you unleashed could get my little girl killed. That is not happening. No way. Now how."

He continued walking to his car.

How was he supposed to allow his daughter to enter into such a world?

Buffy didn't speak until the car stopped back at her place. When he moved to get out, she put her hand on his arm. "Luke, wait," she said.

Hobbs paused and looked at her expectantly.

"I get how you feel. I have a younger sister who was fifteen when our mother died, and it was my job to keep her safe," Buffy said. "My calling has had her kidnapped more than once. Someone or something always thinks the blood of a slayer's sibling is worth something. A psycho hell god tried to use her blood to open a portal, and she was terrorized, nearly killed. I lived with the fear of losing her for a long time—I still worry. But I knew that if she was going to be in my life, she would be exposed to things that I couldn't protect her from, and she didn't want me to. Instead, she wanted me to teach her to be strong, so that's what I did. That's what I can do for Samantha. Regardless of how unfair it is, she is a slayer. Nothing you say or do can change that—she can't change that. However, we can make sure that she's ready to face anything that comes her way. I hope you'll help me do that because she'll need your support more than anyone's."

Hobbs stared at the woman for a long moment. He knew she was sincere and that she genuinely wanted to help. Finally, he nodded. "Okay. You can train her," he said.

Buffy gave him a beaming smile. "Let's go see what she can do," she said.

They got out of the car and went into her very large house. Buffy led him to the backroom that they used for training.

Hobbs watched in surprise as his daughter sparred with another girl, who seemed to be around eighteen or so. Somehow, Samantha was trading blows and kicks. "How does she know how to do that? I've taught her a few things, but she's doing things I haven't showed her," he said.

"Fighting is instinctive for slayers. We pick up styles with very little training," she said. "It's the same with weapons."

Hobbs stood there feeling so many things as he watched his little girl—his sweet baby doll—holding her own with a clearly trained fighter. Then another girl tossed them wooden staffs. The older slayer began slowly, showing Sam how it worked. Then they sped up, and he watched amazed as his daughter seemed able to match her. When the older slayer finally disarmed her, Samantha turned her smiling face to her and grinned.

"Did you see that, Daddy? I'm like Wonder Woman! I bet I could kick Wonder Woman's ass!" she said proudly.

Hobbs opened up his arms, and she ran into his arms.

Buffy and the other slayers smiled at the large man as hugged his daughter. They rarely got to see these kinds of moments. It was a nice change.

Hobbs was very afraid for his daughter, but he didn't show it. Instead, he smiled down at her.

"You are incredible, sweetie," he said. "I bet you could kick my ass now."

Samantha smiled up at him, excited. Her dad was larger than life, and he always made her feel safe. Now that she knew vampires and monsters were real, she'd get to keep him safe.

"I'm a vampire slayer, Daddy," she said.

"I know you are, Sam," Hobbs said in resignation. He pulled her in for another hug, his eyes meeting Buffy's across the room.

Things were never going to be the same again.

*****The End*****

I hope to write more at some point. Reviews are very encouraging.