Disclaimer: Unfortunately nothing of Stargate: SG-1 belongs to me; despite asking for the rights for my birthday.
A/N: There may be minor spoilers to episodes along the way and they will be added as each comes up. The story is set toward the end of season four after "Entity".
Mind Game
I
The mission had started out so well for SG-1. They had arrived on P8X 429 during the planets nightfall and despite the hour, the area surrounding the Stargate was crowded. Lanterns hung around it in a wide circle and the cobbled path that led to the town was alight on either side with fiery torches. The natives danced and cheered; a few sang an unfamiliar tune in an off key note. The whole affair brought visions of some Chinese New Year celebration, minus the dragon. The people wore painted masks, only wide smiles visible beneath.
They had jumped back and scattered as SG-1 emerged from the 'gate and masks were discarded to show expressions of surprise and wonder at their unexpected appearance. Fortunately no one took their arrival as some bad omen, and they weren't captured then thrown into the nearest cell. That came later.
They were welcomed with open arms and tankards of the native hooch were thrust into their hands. The team politely declined – from the inebriated looks of some of the inhabitants, the stuff was quite potent.
Naturally things had to go down hill from there; not even Daniel's diplomatic skills had been able to help them. Instead they had been thrown into damp and disgustingly smelly cells until their imminent escape. Time had been running out and it prompted the team to become creative. By the stroke of luck that always seemed to save SG-1 eventually, they had made it to the Stargate and eventually home after a long and arduous chase.
But the sounds of screaming, and faces whitened with absolute terror still woke them at night, jolting each member from a fitful sleep…
Blue eyes snapped open and immediately took in the dim surroundings. The bed that Major Carter was lying on was soft and comfortable; blankets covered the lower half of her body and – more surprisingly – an arm was that was not hers, was draped across her waist. The screams resonating inside her head gave way to squeals of delight from somewhere nearby. The USAF major frowned and confusion took up residence on her face. From her horizontal position she took in the ceiling: The light was on its lowest setting and cast the room in an amber glow, luminous stars had been stuck haphazardly to it. If she craned her neck to the left just a little, she could just about make out someone's attempt at recreating Orion.
But the décor of the room really wasn't what had her interest at the moment. Carter wanted to know who was invading her bed. Well not her bed, exactly. She had no clue whose home she was currently in. At the very least, the owner of the arm was invading her personal space. She gingerly reached across to push aside the blanket in order to, theoretically, slip out of the bed without waking her mysterious companion. No such luck. Carter managed to edge a few centimetres to the edge before the arm shifted position; the man pulled her closer and tighter before muttering something incoherent.
Now, under normal circumstances Carter would have acted a lot faster – perhaps jumped out of the bed and confronted the man before demanding, in no uncertain terms, that it was in his best interests to leave. But these were not normal circumstances. She was not drunk, or at least she didn't recall getting drunk the night before. She couldn't detect the smell of alcohol so that was a start. Even if she had been inebriated, Carter wouldn't have jumped into bed with just anyone. Unable to turn around and identify the man's face without waking him, she studied the arm instead.
Strangely enough this was actually rather… comfortable. Her gaze switched to the watch that the man wore. She knew that watch. Ignoring the fact that he would undoubtedly wake at such an abrupt action, Carter quickly twisted around in the bed.
Brown eyes met hers and a sleepy smiled stretched Jack O'Neill's mouth. If he noticed her shock he made no mention of it. And instead of having the same gob smacked reaction as his 2IC – namely what the heck is going on? He greeted her with a, "Mornin' sleepyhead."
Her mouth dropped open in a perfect 'o' and likely did a wonderful impression of a fish. Words, however, completely escaped her. And for Sam Carter, things were about to become a lot more confusing. The squeals she had detected earlier were joined by the sound of stampeding feet and then the slamming of the bedroom door as it was pushed open. Eventually Carter got a word out; and it wasn't particularly articulate. "Huh?"
This dumbfounded expression merely caused her CO to flash a crooked grin which, admittedly, was really rather adorable. Evidently he guessed her lack of ability to form a coherent sentence was due to tiredness. "We promised the kids we'd take them to the park today."
And though it was physiologically impossible, her heart made a valiant attempt at jumping into her mouth. Carter's eyes widened; her utter confusion only grew as two small figures leapt onto the bed and started to bounce up and down.
"Wake up!" a young girls voice urged. Brown hair flew every which way and two inquisitive blue eyes regarded the couple with expectation.
Jack mistook Carter's expression completely. "You forgot, didn't you?" He feigned a stern look and moved his arm from across her waist to waggle his finger, "Your head is still at the SGC."
The little girl flopped to her knees, a little out of breath at becoming so exuberant so early in the morning. "Please…" she insisted, drawing out the word. Jack pushed himself into a sitting position and gently grabbed the seven-year-old around the waist to pull her into a hug, the action elicited another squeal.
The second child stopped using the bed as a trampoline and quickly took up the warm spot his father had vacated. The four-year-old lifted Sam's arm and snuggled underneath it. Cheeky brown eyes studied her and an eager grin that reminded her so much of the colonel, lit up his little face. "Can we go to the park now?" he whispered.
This was a lot to take in at 07h15 in the morning. Heck – it was a lot to take in at any time. Her heart seemed to return to its rightful place, but was now beating so hard and fast it was painful. Despite her confusion at this curious familial display, Carter was loath to move. A headache was starting to form in the side of her head and she closed her eyes against it. It was then that memories flooded her mind: She and Jack taking their daughter to her first day of school; Cassandra playing with their youngest child, both bent over a jigsaw puzzle of the star system. And Jack holding her hand as she was wheeled into the theatre after an accident a short time ago.
The latter memory was less pleasing, and it did nothing to deter her heart from pounding.
She did become less confused though. Jack and the little girl had stopped their playing and were now watching her with matching expressions of concern. "Another headache?" Jack queried and reached out to massage her temple. "Doc Frasier said the tablets'll take time to work. Did you remember anything else?"
Carter developed the peculiar feeling that he had asked this question before, and in a way the conversation was familiar. She found herself nodding in response. "Yeah…ah…" she wracked her brain to come up with a name but nothing came to her immediately. "We were taking you," Sam smiled almost proudly as she indicated the little girl – her little girl, "To school." That thought brought on a case of the fuzzies. "It was your first day." This brought a gap toothed smile from the child, and it couldn't help but make Sam adore her.
Jack was less convinced. "If you really want to go to the park – you'll have to get dressed," He instructed. The siblings quickly jumped off the big bed and charged down the hall to their rooms. His turned his gaze to Sam and smiled reassuringly, but the expression was tinged with sadness. "We're not going to stop trying until you remember everything." He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, "I promise."
Reviews are always welcome. Feed me.
And before I forget again, care for a little audience participation? I need two names for the little ones, send them in!