Road Trips

Summary: She just loved their road trips.

Season: Future

Pairings: S/J

Genre: AU, Future, Romance, Team

A/N: This is a fic I wrote a few years ago, but my fic posting binge has allowed me the opportunity to finally post it somewhere. My shippy side, as it usually does, won out this time.

Hannah loved riding in the car at night. She couldn't wait to see the stars in the sky while her daddy turned on old music and laughed with her mommy. Four-year-old Hannah didn't understand what they were saying, but she knew they were happy.

Next to Hannah slept her older sister, Grace. Though Grace was four years older than Hannah, she always fell asleep during Mommy and Daddy's road trips to the cabin. Not Hannah, though. She liked being the only one awake. She could hear her little brother, Jake, and her two-week-old sister, Caitlyn, as they slept, but she STILL didn't want to sleep.

"Are you still awake back there, Butterfly?" Daddy asked.

Hannah giggled.

"Yes, Daddy."

"You are just like your mother, young lady," Daddy said with a laugh. "Well, let me tell you this: You are NOT going to sleep in tomorrow. No way. You will be up at the crack of dawn with Grace and Lily, and you're going to catch more fish than even the most expert fisherman!"

"But you said you were an expert fisherman, Daddy, and you never catch any fish. Only Mommy does!"

Mommy giggled at that, but didn't say anything.

Daddy said something under his breath, but he was still grinning.

"I am surrounded by smart people. You know that, Butterfly? There are too many smart people on this planet!"

"Like those stinkin' scientists, Daddy?" Hannah asked innocently.

This made Mommy turn around in her seat.

"You know, Hannah… I'm a scientist. We're not all that bad."

Hannah was confused. "But Daddy said that Unca' Daniel is a stinkin' scientist, just like good, ol' Carter!"

Mommy frowned at this and shot Daddy a mean look.

Daddy cleared his throat and laughed a little. But he didn't look like he meant to laugh. This made Mommy look meaner.

"What's wrong Mommy? Who's good, ol' Carter?"

"She's the best second-in-command an old general could ask for, Butterfly." Daddy turned around then and smiled broadly. "And, if you're lucky, you'll grow up to be just like her."

"I don't wanna be like a stinkin' scientist, Daddy. I wanna be like Mommy."

"Oh, Sweetie," Mommy said with a smile. "That's very sweet, but you don't have to be like me. You can be just who you are, and that'll be great."

"But, if you can act like good ol' Carter AND your mom, you'll be perfect," Daddy said, only he said it to Mommy.

"You can stop trying to dig yourself out of the hole," Mommy whispered. "There's not a shovel on this planet that's big enough."

"This planet?" Daddy asked. "What about PZ - "

"This galaxy!" Mommy retorted loudly.

"I'll start looking in Atlantis then," Daddy said then. "I'm sure McKay's got a big enough shovel for himself, Beckett, and Sheppard, eh?"

"I just feel sorry for Elizabeth and Teyla, that's all I have to say." Mommy shook her head.

"Where's Atlantis?" Hannah asked.

"I don't know," Grace whispered in her sleep, "but I want to go there some day."

In the front seat, Mommy and Daddy looked at each other. Daddy looked scared, but Mommy was smiling.

Hannah thought that her mommy and daddy were funny, but she was OK with that. Uncle Teal'c had told her once that Mommy and Daddy were very special. She liked the stories Uncle Teal'c told her about when he was a kid, and she believed him. Uncle Teal'c was always right about these things.

And why wouldn't she believe Uncle Teal'c or Uncle Daniel, when they told her and her sisters that Mommy and Daddy were very, very special? They always went to a special cabin in Colorado, and Daddy made sure to drive at night sometimes, because he knew that she liked the stars in the sky. Daddy knew that she liked the old music that he played, even though Grace said it was for old people. Daddy knew that she liked to be the last one up – longer than Mommy – even though she always fell asleep during the last half hour.

And Mommy knew that Hannah liked to hear them laugh, because sometimes when they came home from work Mommy would cry. Sometimes Daddy would cry, too. Sometimes Mommy and Daddy didn't come home for days and days and days, and Aunt Cassie and Uncle Ry had to watch them. That's why Mommy made sure to laugh when they went to the cabin, and Daddy made sure to make her laugh. Because life was different at the cabin. Everyone was happier there. Uncle Teal'c and Uncle Daniel were coming to the cabin this time too, which meant that this trip was especially special. Mommy and Daddy knew this, too.

That's why Hannah believed her parents were very, very, very special. They always knew and understood everything, even when she didn't.

And she just loved their road trips…