Blast from the Past
TITLE: "Blast from the Past "
AUTHOR: Vicki
EMAIL: little_miss_likes_to_fight@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: alternate universe, drama, humour (I hope!)
SPOILERS: "Fire and Water," brief blink-and-you-miss-it references to "Upgrades" and "Solitudes" SEASON/SEQUEL: Set about Season 4 I guess. There's the potential for a sequel, if you think you can cope with it after reading it! RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNINGS:
PAIRING: Sam/Jack UST, Daniel/Janet
SUMMARY: Someone's demanding to see Sam
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Archive: Heliopolis yes. All others ask first DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. AUTHOR'S NOTES: Wow! I actually wrote a story with no overt Sam and Jack shippiness! However, I did involve a fandom character, in a slightly "Mary- Sue" story line. Maybe I should just stick to romance... and angst. Oh well, it's been an experience!
"I need to see Major Samantha Carter." The voice was authoritative, but the guard at the entrance to Cheyenne Mountain Complex wasn't easily intimidated.
"I'm sorry ma'am," he apologised. "But this is a classified area, and you don't have the clearance to enter."
"I don't care about entering," the woman replied insistently. "I just need to see Major Samantha Carter."
Sergeant Rogers sighed as he picked up the phone in the guard booth, and dialled to inside the mountain. "General Hammond please. Ah, General sir. I have a young woman insisting that she needs to see Major Carter. She's not taking no for an answer. I'm not sure sir, she won't say anything. Very well sir."
Replacing the phone back in the cradle, he turned to the visitor. "Major Carter will be up in a minute."
"Thank you Sergeant," she replied as she stood to wait for the officer.
She noticed two figures leaving the entrance to the mountain complex, and shielded her eyes as she studied them from a distance. One was a female with short blonde hair, and she had one arm strapped to her chest, while her companion was male with grey hair.
"Are you the woman who's been asking for me?" The blonde officer asked as they neared the sergeant and the young woman.
"If you're Major Samantha Carter, yes," the woman replied.
"I am. Do I know you?"
The younger woman hesitated. "Not as such. My name is Anna de Medici. I'm your sister."
Sam looked at the woman in disbelief. "I don't have a sister," she replied. "I have a brother..."
"Mark," Anna filled in. "I know. Look, is there somewhere we can go where we can talk about this? I'm telling you the truth, I swear."
Sam turned to look at her companion, her commanding officer Jack O'Neill, who just shrugged his shoulders in reply. "If she signs a disclaimer and we keep her to the upper levels, I don't see why she can't come with us. I know you're curious to hear what she has to say," he told her. "Hell, I am, and she's not announcing that she's my sister."
Sam nodded, and indicated to Anna that she was to follow them. It took them a good half-hour to make it down into the depths of Cheyenne Mountain, what with the security checks and the paperwork that Anna had to sign. Jack looked puzzled at Sam when the young woman wrote her initial as 'I.'
Knowing that there was nothing classified in his office, unlike Sam's lab, as he had sent off all his paperwork to General Hammond earlier that day, Jack led the two women there.
"Would you like anything to drink?" he offered them, but both refused politely. He turned to leave, but Sam caught hold of his arm.
"Stay," she asked him, and he pulled up a chair next to her, as they faced Anna.
"Thank you for agreeing to listen to me," Anna told Sam sincerely, pushing a stray lock of blonde hair back behind her ear. "I realise that this must seem pretty strange to you."
"Just a bit," Sam confessed. "You say you're my sister - why haven't I heard anything of you before? You're not American, are you?"
Anna shook her head. "No, my parents - my adopted parents - are British- Italian," she informed them. "But I was born in Seattle."
Sam's glance flickered towards Jack. "Dad was stationed just outside Seattle for a year or so. That was where my mom was killed." She gulped as the memories came flooding back, and Jack placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "When she was pregnant..." Her mouth dropped open, and she looked at Anna with wonder.
Anna nodded. "Emergency caesarean, at 1933 hours August 31st 1980. The baby, a girl, weighing in at 2lbs3, was born to Elizabeth Carter, who died at 1945 hours from fatal injuries from a road traffic accident."
Sam's face was pale, and she was shaking. Despite their surroundings, Jack placed his arms around her, trying to infuse her with some of his strength. "Dad never said," she whispered.
"According to the hospital, your dad visited me the first few days, but I was so pre-mature that I wasn't expected to survive."
"Then dad got transferred to the Pentagon," Sam remembered.
Anna nodded. "He signed papers stating that if I lived, I was to be given up for adoption. Obviously I did, and here I am. I've got my birth certificate and adoption papers if you want to see them."
Sam shook her head, stunned. "You're my sister," she repeated weakly. Anna nodded.
"I only found out from my parents that I was adopted last year," she explained. "I'd always suspected it, based on the fact that the rest of my family are Italian, and I have blonde hair and blue eyes! But they only sat down with me, and explained everything last summer, on my twentieth birthday. I was able to trace the records from the hospital in Seattle, and saved enough money to come out here and find you."
"Why me though?" Sam wanted to know. "Why not Mark?"
"I just thought that you'd be easier to talk to you," Anna confessed. "I guess I thought it would be more comfortable talking with my sister instead."
"So you were obviously adopted young then," Sam rationalised. "By an Italian-British family?"
Her sister nodded. "Yeah, they were on holiday in the States, and they met me in the hospital after their younger son broke his arm. Apparently I was being moved, and they fussed over me for a couple of minutes, and the fact that I was to be given up for adoption came up, and they applied to adopt me," she explained. "They'd already adopted two children before, so they knew what they were getting into with me."
"So you weren't an only child then?" Sam queried, curious as to the life her sister had lived.
Anna laughed. "Oh no! I'm the youngest of five. I've got two brothers, Roberto and Orlando and two sisters, Serena and Carina. Orlando and Carina were both adopted as well."
Jack spoke up, one of his arms still holding Sam close to him, relishing the contact before she pulled away. "If you don't mind me asking, if your name is Anna, then why did you write your initial as 'I'?"
Anna blushed. "My Christian name is Isabella," she confessed. Noticing Jack open his mouth obviously to ask why she called herself Anna, she continued. "My full name is Isabella Katerina Anna Maria de Medici. Anna is my mother's name as well, so I've only used Anna since I've been at university. But Isabella's too much of a mouthful for everyday use, and I don't like shortening to Bella."
Jack just raised his eyebrows at the full length of her name. "That's certainly a mouthful," he commented.
Anna grinned, and he noticed the similarities between the two sisters. "It's certainly better than what I was known as at the hospital - Jill," she replied. "I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name?"
"I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill," he introduced himself. "I'm Sam's commanding officer."
"Nice to meet you," Anna replied politely. "Is there anything else you want to know?"
"What are you doing here now?" Sam asked. "You said that you found out that you were adopted over a year ago. Why did it take you so long to come out here to find me?"
"I've been at university this past year," Anna replied. "I've just finished my bachelors in natural sciences and I needed to save up some money for the flights and accommodation. I've been virtually starving this past year just to get out here. It's a long way from England to Colorado, and I'm just a poor student, and I'm going to be even poorer once I've finished my masters, and if I do decide to take a PhD."
Jack just groaned. "You can tell she's your sister Carter, what with all these degrees she's picking up."
Anna looked amused. "What's your subject?" she asked her sister.
"Theoretical astrophysics."
Anna looked impressed, although she mimed a hand going straight over her head. "I'm not a physics person," she confessed. "Never was, never will be. I can just about cope with the order of the planets!"
"Hey, me too," Jack replied with a new found admiration, even though she was still a scientist, and Sam just shot him a look, knowing that he was more knowledgeable about space than he would care to admit. Anna smiled at the interaction between the two - she had become quite astute in observing people.
"Natural sciences, what is that?" Sam questioned. "Is it like plants and things?"
Anna laughed. "Hell no! I've got a joint degree in biology and anthropology, with two years of archaeology in as well. It was a modular course," she explained.
"It's a mini-Daniel," Jack exclaimed, and Anna glared at him with the word 'mini.' Obviously she was rather sensitive about her height, which was nearer Janet's than Sam's. Jack knew that he should have realised by now that it wasn't a good idea to make comments like that about short people, although at least Anna didn't have lots of nice long needles for her to jab him with. Unlike one particular doctor he could name.
"What about Daniel?" The question came from the man himself as he entered the room, with his nose buried in some text.
"For crying out loud Daniel, don't you ever knock?" Jack exclaimed. "For all you know, Sam and I could be having hot and wild sex on my desk!"
Daniel's head shot up and gaped at Jack, while both Anna and Sam giggled. "Guess the giggle's heredity," Jack commented, looking at Sam pointedly, who just giggled even more.
"Uh, Jack," Daniel began. "Who is this?"
"Daniel, meet Anna. Sam's sister," Jack introduced the younger woman, as the two sisters were laughing too much to speak. "She's an anthropologist too."
Daniel's brows knitted together. "Sam doesn't have a sister," he announced.
"Yeah, that what's she thought," Anna replied, and Daniel just looked at her strangely. "We met today. Hi. I'm Isabella Katerina Anna Maria de Medici. Please just call me Anna."
He still looked at her confused. "That's an Italian name, but you have a British accent," he observed.
Anna nodded. "I know. My parents are British-Italian. I do speak fluent Italian though."
Daniel grinned as he fired off a string of foreign words at her, which was promptly replied, along with another fit of giggles.
"Danny, care to share the joke?" Jack asked, thinking he heard his own name mentioned along the way. Daniel turned back round to face the colonel.
"Ah, it's nothing," he told the two non-Italian speakers in the room, before throwing another couple of sentences in Italian at Anna, who just nodded. "Anna was just curious about me. I must say it is nice to have someone else who actually enjoys anthropology around."
"I'm not going to be around for long I'm afraid Daniel," Anna apologised. "I've got a flight back to England leaving Denver next Saturday. Hopefully they'll be a message at home for me from Professor Mitchell concerning the Italy dig."
"Italy dig?" Daniel questioned.
She nodded. "The university's been offered a chance for a small team of students to work on the excavation of Herculaneum," she explained. "For six weeks, leaving the Tuesday after I fly back. I'm hoping that I'm one of the ones getting to go - I've never been to Herculaneum, and I've got the added advantage of being fluent in Italian anyway."
"I've never been to that part of Italy either," Daniel replied wistfully. "I specialise in Egyptology, so just about all of my digs were in Egypt."
"Again, with my Italian background, I was guided towards the classical era," Anna justified. "I was eight, maybe nine when I first climbed Mount Vesuvius. I've been to Pompeii, and the archaeological museum in Napoli, just not Herculaneum."
Jack interrupted before the two got into a whole discussion on old things and rocks. "Daniel - you wanted to see me?" he questioned.
"Uh, yeah, but it's not important," Daniel replied, trying to nod his head towards Anna. She however, saw it, and stood up.
"Look, I should probably be leaving anyway," she announced. "I've just come and interrupted your whole work day, and I understand that it's all classified down here, so I should probably just leave you to it."
"No, it's alright," Daniel protested, wanting to get to know this young woman. Her wasn't interested in her romantically for several reasons - her youth, she was the sister of the woman he thought as a sister, and he was perfectly happy with Janet - not that anyone (with the exception of Cassie) knew that.
"No, it's not," Anna replied firmly. "I've got some things to do anyway - call home, go to confession... better make it the other way round."
"Confession?" Sam queried, discovering another piece of the puzzle that was her new sister.
"I'm Catholic, I haven't confessed for the past week or so, what with finishing Uni. and flying out here, and my mother requires a phone call every day to check that I'm okay," she explained. "I'm still her baby even though I'm going to be twenty-one at the end of August."
"Uh, how about dinner tonight?" Sam suggested, rising to prevent Anna from leaving. "Us four, and a couple of my other friends. Daniel - Janet's free tonight, isn't she?" She grinned wickedly at her friend, who just flushed a deep crimson. Although Daniel and Janet had tried very hard to hide their relationship, there had been several clues that Sam had picked up on, and Daniel's current flaming cheeks just confirmed it. It was much more fun to embarrass the anthropologist than the doctor who had an extensive repertoire of large needles at her disposal.
"Sure," Anna agreed easily. "I don't really know this area. I passed a nice looking place though yesterday - O'Malley's I think it..."
"Let's try somewhere else," Sam suggested, hurriedly interrupting the younger woman, looking back at her commanding officer. "There's a good Thai place around the corner from there, or maybe Italian..." She paused for a minute, considering what she had said. "Okay, so you probably won't want Italian."
Anna grinned. "If you guys want Italian, that's fine with me," she replied. "I'm not a fussy eater, and after three years as a student - this last year especially, I think I'll eat just about anything." She paused, as Sam had done. "Except sushi."
Jack grinned at Daniel, thinking back to their first year as a team, and how they had all gone out for sushi after Daniel had returned from the 'dead' for the first, or maybe it was the second, time.
"Okay then," Sam thought for a minute. "We'll decide what we eat, and pick you up at 1930 hours. That okay?"
"That's seven thirty," Daniel clarified, grinning at the two officers in the room.
"Yeah, that's fine," Anna agreed. "I'm staying at the Comfort Inn - do you know where that is?"
"Of course," Jack replied, even as Sam looked up at the ceiling, not wanting to confess to not really knowing the city of Colorado Springs that well, despite having lived there for four and a half years or so.
"Great. My room number is 2134 if you need me, or ask for Isabella de Medici at the desk," Anna replied. She gestured towards the door. "I'm guessing one of you guys is gonna have to escort me out of here."
"I will," Sam told her. "See you in a minute Colonel, Daniel."
"I'm sorry for all of this," Anna apologised as they stood in the elevator together.
Sam looked genuinely surprised. "For what?"
"Me, just turning up out of the blue. I would have tried to ring, but for some reason Cheyenne Mountain isn't listed in the phone book," Anna explained. "I mean, you probably came to work this morning, expecting it to be just another ordinary day, and then your long-lost sister - who you never knew existed, just turns up on your doorstep. I mean, you can't get too many surprises working down in a mountain."
Sam hid a smile. "Oh you'd be surprised," she replied. "And I'm glad you turned up, and we've got a chance to get to know each other." She reached out, and gave Anna an one-armed hug, mindful of her injured arm. "At least you haven't turned up here announcing that you're pregnant, or on the run from the police or anything, and you need somewhere to hide for the next week or so!"
"Now that you mention it," Anna joked. "Nah, I'm perfectly normal, unless you listen to my brothers, which no one should do."
"Forget what your brothers say," Sam announced, giving her first piece of sisterly advice. "They know nothing."
"Preaching to the converted," Anna laughed as they passed the last checkpoint. Both stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say.
"Uh, hey," Sam started, checking her pockets and pulling out a pen. "I can give you my number here, and my home number and address if you need to contact me, if you've got some paper on your or anything."
Anna reached into the bag she had on her shoulder, and pulled out a small pad of paper. "Be prepared," she grinned. "Always a Scout, never a Girl Guide."
Sam grinned as she handed back the paper. "There you go - I hope it's legible. I'm afraid there's not much I can do with my right arm like this."
"No problems," Anna declared. "If I can read my former history teacher's handwriting, I can read anything. I'll see you tonight then."
"Sure," Sam replied, waving with her good arm as she watched her sister unlock the door to a nearby car and drive away. Turning she headed back to the mountain, pondering the twist her life had taken that day. She had a sister. Suddenly, she stopped. "I gotta tell dad!"
* * *
The end!
I don't think I'm planning on writing any more stories with Anna in, because she's a bit to close to a Mary-Sue for my liking. (Even though she failed... or is it passed?... the "Mary-Sue Test" I've found). I have written a successful fandom character before, but she was in my Voyager stories, and not showing so many Mary Sue characteristics (like being the long-lost sibling of one of the reoccurring characters). Yes, she does bear more than a passing resemblance to me (but I have the same colouring as Sam, so it makes sense that her sister does as well.) I'm hoping to take the degree course that Anna did, but as it's the only one I've done any research about, it's something I actually know.
Anyway, any and all feedback to little_miss_likes_to_fight@hotmail.com (Anna's available for funerals, weddings and Bar Mitzvahs!)
Copyright Vicki Pryke May 2002
TITLE: "Blast from the Past "
AUTHOR: Vicki
EMAIL: little_miss_likes_to_fight@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: alternate universe, drama, humour (I hope!)
SPOILERS: "Fire and Water," brief blink-and-you-miss-it references to "Upgrades" and "Solitudes" SEASON/SEQUEL: Set about Season 4 I guess. There's the potential for a sequel, if you think you can cope with it after reading it! RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNINGS:
PAIRING: Sam/Jack UST, Daniel/Janet
SUMMARY: Someone's demanding to see Sam
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Archive: Heliopolis yes. All others ask first DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. AUTHOR'S NOTES: Wow! I actually wrote a story with no overt Sam and Jack shippiness! However, I did involve a fandom character, in a slightly "Mary- Sue" story line. Maybe I should just stick to romance... and angst. Oh well, it's been an experience!
"I need to see Major Samantha Carter." The voice was authoritative, but the guard at the entrance to Cheyenne Mountain Complex wasn't easily intimidated.
"I'm sorry ma'am," he apologised. "But this is a classified area, and you don't have the clearance to enter."
"I don't care about entering," the woman replied insistently. "I just need to see Major Samantha Carter."
Sergeant Rogers sighed as he picked up the phone in the guard booth, and dialled to inside the mountain. "General Hammond please. Ah, General sir. I have a young woman insisting that she needs to see Major Carter. She's not taking no for an answer. I'm not sure sir, she won't say anything. Very well sir."
Replacing the phone back in the cradle, he turned to the visitor. "Major Carter will be up in a minute."
"Thank you Sergeant," she replied as she stood to wait for the officer.
She noticed two figures leaving the entrance to the mountain complex, and shielded her eyes as she studied them from a distance. One was a female with short blonde hair, and she had one arm strapped to her chest, while her companion was male with grey hair.
"Are you the woman who's been asking for me?" The blonde officer asked as they neared the sergeant and the young woman.
"If you're Major Samantha Carter, yes," the woman replied.
"I am. Do I know you?"
The younger woman hesitated. "Not as such. My name is Anna de Medici. I'm your sister."
Sam looked at the woman in disbelief. "I don't have a sister," she replied. "I have a brother..."
"Mark," Anna filled in. "I know. Look, is there somewhere we can go where we can talk about this? I'm telling you the truth, I swear."
Sam turned to look at her companion, her commanding officer Jack O'Neill, who just shrugged his shoulders in reply. "If she signs a disclaimer and we keep her to the upper levels, I don't see why she can't come with us. I know you're curious to hear what she has to say," he told her. "Hell, I am, and she's not announcing that she's my sister."
Sam nodded, and indicated to Anna that she was to follow them. It took them a good half-hour to make it down into the depths of Cheyenne Mountain, what with the security checks and the paperwork that Anna had to sign. Jack looked puzzled at Sam when the young woman wrote her initial as 'I.'
Knowing that there was nothing classified in his office, unlike Sam's lab, as he had sent off all his paperwork to General Hammond earlier that day, Jack led the two women there.
"Would you like anything to drink?" he offered them, but both refused politely. He turned to leave, but Sam caught hold of his arm.
"Stay," she asked him, and he pulled up a chair next to her, as they faced Anna.
"Thank you for agreeing to listen to me," Anna told Sam sincerely, pushing a stray lock of blonde hair back behind her ear. "I realise that this must seem pretty strange to you."
"Just a bit," Sam confessed. "You say you're my sister - why haven't I heard anything of you before? You're not American, are you?"
Anna shook her head. "No, my parents - my adopted parents - are British- Italian," she informed them. "But I was born in Seattle."
Sam's glance flickered towards Jack. "Dad was stationed just outside Seattle for a year or so. That was where my mom was killed." She gulped as the memories came flooding back, and Jack placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "When she was pregnant..." Her mouth dropped open, and she looked at Anna with wonder.
Anna nodded. "Emergency caesarean, at 1933 hours August 31st 1980. The baby, a girl, weighing in at 2lbs3, was born to Elizabeth Carter, who died at 1945 hours from fatal injuries from a road traffic accident."
Sam's face was pale, and she was shaking. Despite their surroundings, Jack placed his arms around her, trying to infuse her with some of his strength. "Dad never said," she whispered.
"According to the hospital, your dad visited me the first few days, but I was so pre-mature that I wasn't expected to survive."
"Then dad got transferred to the Pentagon," Sam remembered.
Anna nodded. "He signed papers stating that if I lived, I was to be given up for adoption. Obviously I did, and here I am. I've got my birth certificate and adoption papers if you want to see them."
Sam shook her head, stunned. "You're my sister," she repeated weakly. Anna nodded.
"I only found out from my parents that I was adopted last year," she explained. "I'd always suspected it, based on the fact that the rest of my family are Italian, and I have blonde hair and blue eyes! But they only sat down with me, and explained everything last summer, on my twentieth birthday. I was able to trace the records from the hospital in Seattle, and saved enough money to come out here and find you."
"Why me though?" Sam wanted to know. "Why not Mark?"
"I just thought that you'd be easier to talk to you," Anna confessed. "I guess I thought it would be more comfortable talking with my sister instead."
"So you were obviously adopted young then," Sam rationalised. "By an Italian-British family?"
Her sister nodded. "Yeah, they were on holiday in the States, and they met me in the hospital after their younger son broke his arm. Apparently I was being moved, and they fussed over me for a couple of minutes, and the fact that I was to be given up for adoption came up, and they applied to adopt me," she explained. "They'd already adopted two children before, so they knew what they were getting into with me."
"So you weren't an only child then?" Sam queried, curious as to the life her sister had lived.
Anna laughed. "Oh no! I'm the youngest of five. I've got two brothers, Roberto and Orlando and two sisters, Serena and Carina. Orlando and Carina were both adopted as well."
Jack spoke up, one of his arms still holding Sam close to him, relishing the contact before she pulled away. "If you don't mind me asking, if your name is Anna, then why did you write your initial as 'I'?"
Anna blushed. "My Christian name is Isabella," she confessed. Noticing Jack open his mouth obviously to ask why she called herself Anna, she continued. "My full name is Isabella Katerina Anna Maria de Medici. Anna is my mother's name as well, so I've only used Anna since I've been at university. But Isabella's too much of a mouthful for everyday use, and I don't like shortening to Bella."
Jack just raised his eyebrows at the full length of her name. "That's certainly a mouthful," he commented.
Anna grinned, and he noticed the similarities between the two sisters. "It's certainly better than what I was known as at the hospital - Jill," she replied. "I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name?"
"I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill," he introduced himself. "I'm Sam's commanding officer."
"Nice to meet you," Anna replied politely. "Is there anything else you want to know?"
"What are you doing here now?" Sam asked. "You said that you found out that you were adopted over a year ago. Why did it take you so long to come out here to find me?"
"I've been at university this past year," Anna replied. "I've just finished my bachelors in natural sciences and I needed to save up some money for the flights and accommodation. I've been virtually starving this past year just to get out here. It's a long way from England to Colorado, and I'm just a poor student, and I'm going to be even poorer once I've finished my masters, and if I do decide to take a PhD."
Jack just groaned. "You can tell she's your sister Carter, what with all these degrees she's picking up."
Anna looked amused. "What's your subject?" she asked her sister.
"Theoretical astrophysics."
Anna looked impressed, although she mimed a hand going straight over her head. "I'm not a physics person," she confessed. "Never was, never will be. I can just about cope with the order of the planets!"
"Hey, me too," Jack replied with a new found admiration, even though she was still a scientist, and Sam just shot him a look, knowing that he was more knowledgeable about space than he would care to admit. Anna smiled at the interaction between the two - she had become quite astute in observing people.
"Natural sciences, what is that?" Sam questioned. "Is it like plants and things?"
Anna laughed. "Hell no! I've got a joint degree in biology and anthropology, with two years of archaeology in as well. It was a modular course," she explained.
"It's a mini-Daniel," Jack exclaimed, and Anna glared at him with the word 'mini.' Obviously she was rather sensitive about her height, which was nearer Janet's than Sam's. Jack knew that he should have realised by now that it wasn't a good idea to make comments like that about short people, although at least Anna didn't have lots of nice long needles for her to jab him with. Unlike one particular doctor he could name.
"What about Daniel?" The question came from the man himself as he entered the room, with his nose buried in some text.
"For crying out loud Daniel, don't you ever knock?" Jack exclaimed. "For all you know, Sam and I could be having hot and wild sex on my desk!"
Daniel's head shot up and gaped at Jack, while both Anna and Sam giggled. "Guess the giggle's heredity," Jack commented, looking at Sam pointedly, who just giggled even more.
"Uh, Jack," Daniel began. "Who is this?"
"Daniel, meet Anna. Sam's sister," Jack introduced the younger woman, as the two sisters were laughing too much to speak. "She's an anthropologist too."
Daniel's brows knitted together. "Sam doesn't have a sister," he announced.
"Yeah, that what's she thought," Anna replied, and Daniel just looked at her strangely. "We met today. Hi. I'm Isabella Katerina Anna Maria de Medici. Please just call me Anna."
He still looked at her confused. "That's an Italian name, but you have a British accent," he observed.
Anna nodded. "I know. My parents are British-Italian. I do speak fluent Italian though."
Daniel grinned as he fired off a string of foreign words at her, which was promptly replied, along with another fit of giggles.
"Danny, care to share the joke?" Jack asked, thinking he heard his own name mentioned along the way. Daniel turned back round to face the colonel.
"Ah, it's nothing," he told the two non-Italian speakers in the room, before throwing another couple of sentences in Italian at Anna, who just nodded. "Anna was just curious about me. I must say it is nice to have someone else who actually enjoys anthropology around."
"I'm not going to be around for long I'm afraid Daniel," Anna apologised. "I've got a flight back to England leaving Denver next Saturday. Hopefully they'll be a message at home for me from Professor Mitchell concerning the Italy dig."
"Italy dig?" Daniel questioned.
She nodded. "The university's been offered a chance for a small team of students to work on the excavation of Herculaneum," she explained. "For six weeks, leaving the Tuesday after I fly back. I'm hoping that I'm one of the ones getting to go - I've never been to Herculaneum, and I've got the added advantage of being fluent in Italian anyway."
"I've never been to that part of Italy either," Daniel replied wistfully. "I specialise in Egyptology, so just about all of my digs were in Egypt."
"Again, with my Italian background, I was guided towards the classical era," Anna justified. "I was eight, maybe nine when I first climbed Mount Vesuvius. I've been to Pompeii, and the archaeological museum in Napoli, just not Herculaneum."
Jack interrupted before the two got into a whole discussion on old things and rocks. "Daniel - you wanted to see me?" he questioned.
"Uh, yeah, but it's not important," Daniel replied, trying to nod his head towards Anna. She however, saw it, and stood up.
"Look, I should probably be leaving anyway," she announced. "I've just come and interrupted your whole work day, and I understand that it's all classified down here, so I should probably just leave you to it."
"No, it's alright," Daniel protested, wanting to get to know this young woman. Her wasn't interested in her romantically for several reasons - her youth, she was the sister of the woman he thought as a sister, and he was perfectly happy with Janet - not that anyone (with the exception of Cassie) knew that.
"No, it's not," Anna replied firmly. "I've got some things to do anyway - call home, go to confession... better make it the other way round."
"Confession?" Sam queried, discovering another piece of the puzzle that was her new sister.
"I'm Catholic, I haven't confessed for the past week or so, what with finishing Uni. and flying out here, and my mother requires a phone call every day to check that I'm okay," she explained. "I'm still her baby even though I'm going to be twenty-one at the end of August."
"Uh, how about dinner tonight?" Sam suggested, rising to prevent Anna from leaving. "Us four, and a couple of my other friends. Daniel - Janet's free tonight, isn't she?" She grinned wickedly at her friend, who just flushed a deep crimson. Although Daniel and Janet had tried very hard to hide their relationship, there had been several clues that Sam had picked up on, and Daniel's current flaming cheeks just confirmed it. It was much more fun to embarrass the anthropologist than the doctor who had an extensive repertoire of large needles at her disposal.
"Sure," Anna agreed easily. "I don't really know this area. I passed a nice looking place though yesterday - O'Malley's I think it..."
"Let's try somewhere else," Sam suggested, hurriedly interrupting the younger woman, looking back at her commanding officer. "There's a good Thai place around the corner from there, or maybe Italian..." She paused for a minute, considering what she had said. "Okay, so you probably won't want Italian."
Anna grinned. "If you guys want Italian, that's fine with me," she replied. "I'm not a fussy eater, and after three years as a student - this last year especially, I think I'll eat just about anything." She paused, as Sam had done. "Except sushi."
Jack grinned at Daniel, thinking back to their first year as a team, and how they had all gone out for sushi after Daniel had returned from the 'dead' for the first, or maybe it was the second, time.
"Okay then," Sam thought for a minute. "We'll decide what we eat, and pick you up at 1930 hours. That okay?"
"That's seven thirty," Daniel clarified, grinning at the two officers in the room.
"Yeah, that's fine," Anna agreed. "I'm staying at the Comfort Inn - do you know where that is?"
"Of course," Jack replied, even as Sam looked up at the ceiling, not wanting to confess to not really knowing the city of Colorado Springs that well, despite having lived there for four and a half years or so.
"Great. My room number is 2134 if you need me, or ask for Isabella de Medici at the desk," Anna replied. She gestured towards the door. "I'm guessing one of you guys is gonna have to escort me out of here."
"I will," Sam told her. "See you in a minute Colonel, Daniel."
"I'm sorry for all of this," Anna apologised as they stood in the elevator together.
Sam looked genuinely surprised. "For what?"
"Me, just turning up out of the blue. I would have tried to ring, but for some reason Cheyenne Mountain isn't listed in the phone book," Anna explained. "I mean, you probably came to work this morning, expecting it to be just another ordinary day, and then your long-lost sister - who you never knew existed, just turns up on your doorstep. I mean, you can't get too many surprises working down in a mountain."
Sam hid a smile. "Oh you'd be surprised," she replied. "And I'm glad you turned up, and we've got a chance to get to know each other." She reached out, and gave Anna an one-armed hug, mindful of her injured arm. "At least you haven't turned up here announcing that you're pregnant, or on the run from the police or anything, and you need somewhere to hide for the next week or so!"
"Now that you mention it," Anna joked. "Nah, I'm perfectly normal, unless you listen to my brothers, which no one should do."
"Forget what your brothers say," Sam announced, giving her first piece of sisterly advice. "They know nothing."
"Preaching to the converted," Anna laughed as they passed the last checkpoint. Both stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say.
"Uh, hey," Sam started, checking her pockets and pulling out a pen. "I can give you my number here, and my home number and address if you need to contact me, if you've got some paper on your or anything."
Anna reached into the bag she had on her shoulder, and pulled out a small pad of paper. "Be prepared," she grinned. "Always a Scout, never a Girl Guide."
Sam grinned as she handed back the paper. "There you go - I hope it's legible. I'm afraid there's not much I can do with my right arm like this."
"No problems," Anna declared. "If I can read my former history teacher's handwriting, I can read anything. I'll see you tonight then."
"Sure," Sam replied, waving with her good arm as she watched her sister unlock the door to a nearby car and drive away. Turning she headed back to the mountain, pondering the twist her life had taken that day. She had a sister. Suddenly, she stopped. "I gotta tell dad!"
* * *
The end!
I don't think I'm planning on writing any more stories with Anna in, because she's a bit to close to a Mary-Sue for my liking. (Even though she failed... or is it passed?... the "Mary-Sue Test" I've found). I have written a successful fandom character before, but she was in my Voyager stories, and not showing so many Mary Sue characteristics (like being the long-lost sibling of one of the reoccurring characters). Yes, she does bear more than a passing resemblance to me (but I have the same colouring as Sam, so it makes sense that her sister does as well.) I'm hoping to take the degree course that Anna did, but as it's the only one I've done any research about, it's something I actually know.
Anyway, any and all feedback to little_miss_likes_to_fight@hotmail.com (Anna's available for funerals, weddings and Bar Mitzvahs!)
Copyright Vicki Pryke May 2002