Homecomings
Panache. That was the word. They each held panache and aplomb in the casual way they tossed their backpacks onto their shoulders and checked over the armaments. The loose-limbed way they wandered about, nodding to each other confirmations of readiness while the Stargate dialed up bespoke of professionalism and acceptance of the unknown.
Even if they were one member short of a full unit.
However, as General Hammond stood in the control room and regarded SG-1 prior to the completed dialing to P3A 24S, he noticed minute differences in their attitude. The gleam in Dr. Daniel Jackson's eyes held so much energy and excitement it was amazing the younger man could stand still much less pay strict attention to whatever it was Teal'c was saying to him. Teal'c rarely displayed any emotion, but the slight quirk on his mouth and eagerness in his step was unmistakable. But, it was Colonel O'Neill who showed the least reaction and yet the most.
Completely calm and casually joking as he prepared for this mission, there was nothing unusual in his mannerism or behavior while standing at the gate. That in and of itself was unusual. This was the same man that had feverishly nagged the General to continue the search for the missing Major Carter, who'd driven Carter's lab assistants nuts while trying to gain even one-eighth of an understanding of physics and who'd let a triumphant cheer when the MALP probe /finally/ sent back data that could tie in directly to Samantha Carter.
It had been a long eleven months. Too long, Hammond personally feared. Carter was a pragmatic woman. Had she been stranded on a planet and capable, she would have constructed a means to get home. Unless the technology was completely unavailable or she herself was unable.
Given the former situation, she would have made the mental adjustments and taken steps to integrate herself into whatever society she could find. Given the latter situation, Hammond feared her dead. He could only fervently hope that there was a third possibility, since telling Jacob Carter that his only daughter had been KIA would be unbearably painful.
"SG-1, are you prepared?" He called down to the Gate room when Sgt. Siler was prepared to begin dialing.
"Yes sir." O'Neill spun about and gave a cheeky salute with atypical sloppiness behind it. "We'll just go pick up our missing little lamb and be back in a flash."
The grin on Jackson's face matched O'Neill's perfectly. SG-1 spent way too much downtime together -- they were starting to resemble each other. In spite of that fact, they were a fantastic team having accomplished so much given their odd mix. A dedicated soldier, a soldier/scientist, an alien and an archeologist had combined together seamlessly to achieve the impossible multiple times. Despite the narrow margins of escape, the frequent visitations to the infirmary and the countless risks they took for Earth's security, SG-1 had survived four full years together.
Hammond only hoped that it would continue after today.
The accident separating them was still under speculation. For certain, Major Carter would have already solved the mystery and may have done so in her remote location. Be that as it may, when SG-1 had attempted to return through the gate on their last mission as a four-some, what O'Neill described as a freak storm had emerged just as the connection between Earth's gate and the alien world had formed.
Potentially, as SG-1 ran through the horizon, a bolt of lightening may have struck, for as Major Carter was entering, the doorway shifted. The best her colleagues could come up was that her atoms hadn't been scrambled across the universe, but were instead redirected elsewhere to another terminus.
An elsewhere without a DHD to send a signal back. An elsewhere they couldn't track.
"Chevron 1, locked." Siler intoned formally as the Stargate spun in dialup. The mechanical clank as the chevron took secured position drew all eyes to the gate itself. "Chevon 2..." Siler's voice trailed off, firming as the clank echoed again. "Locked."
Below, in the Gateroom, grins were exchanged between the three travelers. Their eagerness gave them a restless look. Hand's tightened on equipment, and Teal'c bent to pick up the remote DVD unit they would use for the return trip.
"Chevron 3, locked" Siler continued, the dialup running smoothly. Throughout the SGC, prayers were quietly muttered and hope raised.
"Chevron 4, locked." Hammond gravely stared at the gate, willing it to bring them luck and success. In his mind the picture the bright haired and blue-eyed major he regarded like a beloved niece danced with a multiple memories. Grey-faced and exhausted after building and testing the particle beam canon that had returned O'Neill to the SGC fold. Grieving after killing Martouf to save her President and the Chancellor. Her eyes dancing as she reinvented the rules of physics. 'Bring her home, boys.' He whispered softly to himself.
"Chevron 6... Locked." Siler's voice was the only sound other than the Stargate. All eyes fixed on the alien technology that fueled their careers and in it's own way threatened the planet. "Chevron 7..." All breath held. "Locked."
With a 'whosh' the gate formed, SG-1 barely out of range for the liquid-like bubble that blew out explosively and then swept in to form the liquid blue disk of a functional gate inside the metal ring of the Stargate. "Wormhole established."
Watching a gate open was a magical experience. Knowing what it was, scientific. Yet for the SG teams that traveled them frequently, neither attitude applied. It was an everyday occurrence and a reality in their lives.
"Well Campers." O'Neill had the floor now. "Let's go find Sammy and bring 'er home."
With a jaunty wave to all the onlookers, the Colonel turned back to the gate, and practically skipped up to the horizon, and stepped in leaving Earth behind, but a lot of hopeful onlookers waiting.
"I can't believe she did this." Daniel grinned gleefully happy at the first positive sign they'd had in over eleven months of Sam Carter's survival. The engraved metal sign that stood five feet to the right of the Stargate was a deliberate message exclusive for the SGC and in particular SG-1. Written in a plain script and definitely English, there wasn't specifics given to indicate the author's identity or direction, but the message was utterly clear.
Follow the un-yellow un-brick road, follow the un-yellow un-brick road
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the un-yellow-un-brick road
Follow the un-yellow un-brick, follow the un-yellow un-brick
Follow the un-yellow-un-brick road
You're off to see the Phyz-Wiz, the Wonderful Phyz-Wiz of Not Oz
You'll find she is a Whiz of a Wiz if ever a Wiz there was
If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was the Astro Phyz-Wiz of Not Oz is one because
Because, because, because, because, because
Because of the almost impossible things she does
You're off the see the Phyz-wiz, the Wonderful Astro Phyz-Wiz of Oz
-- Dorothy
"O'Neill?" Teal'c turned to the Colonel as he traced the word "Dorothy" with one finger. "Is this not something Major Carter would do to alert us to her presence on this world?" Ever a literary interpreter of statements, Daniel's remark had confused him.
"Yep." O'Neill answered. "That's Sammy alright, using plagiarism to ensure that even I can figure out where she's at."
"She'll kill you if you call her that, Jack." Daniel advised, one eyebrow arching over the rim of his glasses.
Jack just grinned back unrepentantly. Hefting his gear to a more comfortably placement against his back, he gave a nod to the well-worn dirt path. "So, shall we follow the un-yellow un-brick way?"
"O'Neill, there is only one clear pathway." Commented Teal'c.
"That's what I said." O'Neill replied, his voice droll. "It's the un - yellow and un-bricked way, just like Dorothy said." Fishing his sunglasses out of his pockets, he looked up and along the path to see the treeline and the high afternoon sun.
"He means Sam." Daniel filled in for Teal'c.
"I am aware of this Daniel Jackson." Teal'c replied, ever calm and unruffled by his teammates. "However, grammatically, that is not what..."
"Eh!" Jack spun around raising a hand and waving it impatiently. "There is no lessons or discussion of grammar. Soldier's have no business worrying about grammar. That's a science-y thing. A scholastic thing. Non-military. We, Teal'c are military. We don't do grammar."
"Especially in reports." Daniel muttered with a sly grin, glancing up to Teal'c with amusement. He knew where this was coming from, as did Jack. Cassie had taken it into her head to tutor Teal'c in some of the refinements of English, including Grammar.
Sam was going to get a few big surprises when she read a few of the reports Teal'c had since prepared. General Hammond certainly had been shocked.
"Precisely." Jack nodded, brown eyes bright. "Roll with the punches, Teal'c. Lighten up. This is a happy day! We're gonna go find Dorothy, throw her over our shoulder and whisk her back to Oz before dinner." His arms swung out theatrically, miming each action.
The eyebrow arched, but no comment was made, much to Jack's surprise. Even Daniel had to stare at him rather bemused by the silence. "Teal'c?" Jack prodded. "Don't you have anything to say?"
"Yes, O'Neill." The Jaffa nodded to a point behind Jack. "We are being watched." Jack took a step backwards and tried to spin around, but his body collided with something big and warm, and he would have fallen over if hands hadn't grabbed him. "Closely." Teal'c finished.
Jack scrambled away, casting Teal'c a glare before setting his attention on the group in front of him, two men and two women, all in pale fabrics with a noticeable weave to it and unarmed. However, just because they appeared harmless, didn't mean they were. Jack courteously didn't raise his gun openly, but secured it all the same. "Daniel?" He waved a free hand towards the archeologist. "Do your thingy."
"Thingy?" Daniel muttered indignantly, stepping forward. "Thingy? Nice description, Jack." Lifting a hand in a wave, he gave a nod and a smile to the four people, easily identifying their cloakpins and the wooden staffs carried by the two men. Pewter jewelry in the form of torcs and bracelets helped narrow down the culture iconography, but until he heard their verbal language...he couldn't be sure. "Uh, hi?"
"Good, Daniel. The universal language of greeting for all planets. Like I couldn't do that one." Jack grumbled, eyeing down the meet-n-greet committee now in front of him. It was stupid, walking backwards like that, blithely unaware of his environment. Stupid and cocky, and it sure made him look stupid walking right into them. 'I'm used to that, at least.' He rolled his eyes. 'Fortunately, Hammond didn't see that.'
The natives were... in a word... relatively archaic. They looked like peasants or something, but Jack wasn't quite sure what. The only thing he identified readily was the accent they used as soon as they spoke. The words were gibberish, but the accent howlingly Irish.
Daniel paused for a moment, his forehead furrowing in thought before he hesitantly spat out a few words. 'And so, it begins again.' Jack thought absently, exchanging a bemused look with Teal'c. Daniel persisted, the language connecting between the two people and flowing more and more, but leaving O'Neill and Teal'c out of the dialogue.
"Daniel?" He sing-songed sweetly. "Do we have anything to tell the nice Colonel in charge of this little recovery operation?"
Daniel started, jumping just a little bit. "Oh... sorry." He muttered sheepishly, a blush rising in his face for having gotten swept up in the communication, "Sam's here."
Jack brightened immediately. "Good. Let's go get her."
"There's a bit of a problem with that." Daniel interrupted.
Jack nodded, not too surprised by that turn of events. "Let me guess, she's violated some law and up for execution? She's been sold to the chieftain? She's been committed to the Priesthood? What?"
Daniel squirmed. "Uh. Sorta the last one. She's their Goddess."
Jack's eyes closed for just a moment while he counted to ten. Slowly. Backwards. In Greek that he barely remembered. "Their Goddess?" He asked, his tone very soft, controlled, while he willed panic back.
"Err. Yeah." Daniel nodded, giving a look back to the people. "She's okay, though."
Jack nodded again. "Well, that's always good." He glanced at the people, and then back to Daniel. "Define okay. Nice, pleasant, fun to deal with okay, or glowing-eyes two-tone voice rule with iron fist okay? Can you check on that?"
"Err. Yeah. Okay." Daniel turned back, skittering out a few more statements in some language that sounded rather rhythmical but still defiantly un-English to Jack. He paused after a few moments, turning back to his team with a crooked smile. "Nice okay – and her blue eyes don't glow, they sparkle." Now he flashed a full grin. "If we follow them, they'll take us to the Lady. Apparently, we've been expected. Sam said that we'd show up today."
Jack blinked. "She did?"
"More or less, I guess so." Daniel shrugged, the backpack rising and falling with his shoulders. "Maybe she's had something like the Ancients happening to her brain and she really is demi-god status?"
"Maybe she is a Goa'uld system lord." Jack retored.
"With a message like that?" Daniel pointed back to the stargate and the plaque that glittered distantly under the sunlight. "And no iron fisting or whatnot of an agrarian culture?"
"A Goa'uld system lord who's mucking about in Sammy's brain... that really smart know-everything brain?" Jack added. "Biding it's time until we show up and give it access to Earth?"
Daniel blinked once, as a frown blossomed. "Oh. Good point."
Still, as the Colonel looked to the people turning about and leading them down the path, it wasn't like there was much choice. With a weary sigh, he resigned himself to yet another trip to the unknown and motioned for Teal'c and Daniel to follow. "The worst that can happen is we'll have to run back to the gate." He muttered.
"Maybe she's really fine, totally ungoa'uldish?" Daniel offered hopefully.
"Maybe." Jack wasn't so thrilled. Memories of Jonas Hansen danced in his head, the young soldier's firm belief that he was a God and the threats he had made as a result still a nightmare on occasion. If Sam had fallen down the same bend, well, it just didn't bear thinking.
He knew he'd gone more than a little nutsy when she'd failed to come through the Gate on that last mission – they all had. It was like the world had fallen out from beneath them, and despite the fact that Hammond had authorized an immediate return to see if she was still there -- there was nothing to find. "Be snake-free, Carter." He whispered softly, staring up into the tree shaded pathway and only seeing the backs of their tour guides.
There were so many people aching to see her again. No one at the SGC had realized just how much of an impact Major Samantha Carter had on all their lives until she wasn't there. She virtually led the scientific teams, all of the various members for that department endlessly consulting with her and setting up scheduling plans that she had authorized and approved. Even Hammond hadn't realized she had that unofficial leadership, but it explained why the science department rarely gave him any grief.
The IT department that had the burdensome responsibility of maintaining the Stargate's computer systems yearned for her soothing presence. Any dialup errors, any system glitches and any problems with a monitor sent the entire command center into a panic. If something went truly wrong with the gate, their expert in gate technology was missing.
The linguistic / archeology department was missing her something fierce too. Oh, not that she had too much one-on-one interaction with that area, but Daniel's easy-going nature had taken a dive over the past few months – and his crankiness was being felt by his staff something awful. The bookies of the SGC were convinced that Hammond was on the brink on resigning just to escape the madness created by the MIA status of one Doctor Major Samantha Carter.
She was a genius, but she was the kind of genius whose intelligence did not threaten others. Quiet, soft spoken but very intuitive and alert, Sam had a good touch with people. He was living proof, wasn't he? Crusty, cranky Col J. Anti-scientist O'Neill had fallen for her brilliant smile and charming wit just as she had originally predicted. "You know Colonel, you really will like me once you get to know me."
Then there were the people not affected by the SGC as much. Cassie Fraiser, and her mother, SGC CMO Dr. Janet Fraiser. Sam was Cassie's godmother and guardian angel. The poor kid had been almost as much of a pest as SG-1 had been to keep the dialup search going.
Hammond, though, was a soft touch for Carter. He'd wheedled, begged, pleaded and harassed the President until authorization was given.
The last thing O'Neill wanted to do was return to all those people empty-handed. Even worse, to tell Jake Carter that they'd lost his baby girl. If she was Goa'uld possessed, they just had to take her down and get the Asguard to hammer-her. If she was delusional, they could just tranq her and take her home to get therapy.
They just couldn't fail.
"O'Neill." Teal'c jerked Jack back to reality, one hand on his shoulder. "You are doing yourself harm."
Surprised, Jack looked down to his fisted hands, feeling the discomfort from squeezing too tightly. "Uh... sorry." He muttered. "Got caught up in my thoughts."
Daniel just snorted, walking ahead of the Colonel and partaking in a conversation with their tour-guides. The look he shot back, over his shoulder, though, with eyebrow raised skeptically made it clear he was very aware of what Jack's thoughts contained, but Daniel was willing to let it slide. He and Danny had a good relationship. They were good buds, knowing when to give space and when not too. This was an unsettled fear in Jack's stomach, not a crisis, per se. The 'what if' that could be making him too tense and ridiculously nervous when the situation might not warrant it.
Sam was a smart woman, if there was away around a problem, she'd find it. She was a survivor.
The trees gave way, after about twenty minutes to a small valley and a cluster of rough houses. 'Cluster?' Jack shook his head, looking at the buildings from above. It seemed like only a few houses at first glance for the way the structures blended smoothly into their environment.
A farming community, with interconnecting buildings and fields. Very structured in setup and surprisingly welcoming, almost friendly, in feel. There were three broad routes into the town, a northern route, a western route and the eastern path they were currently on that fed into three corresponding gates. To the south, a wide river banked the town, possibly providing the people with fresh fish.
'Nice, Sammy. A little bit hick, but not bad for a temporary setup.' It reminded Jack powerfully of Edora, just as this entire separation from Sam did. Only, where he was gone for a little over three months, Sam had been missing nearly a full year.
'No DHD, though, so that's no surprise. And based on what I'm seeing here, I bet she couldn't rig one up easily.' All these factors made him feel infinitely better. Sam was good, but if she had to make the wire, make the metal and make all the components for a functional DHD, it probably would have taken her a lot longer than a year.
It had taken her over ten weeks to build a particle beam generator with all the modern technology Earth had available offered up hand and foot for her use.
A woman, amongst the tour guides, with long black hair and blazing emerald eyes turned to look at Daniel, her arm outstretched to indicate the town below them. With the same musical tongue, she spoke a simple sentence and urged them onwards. "Daniel?" Jack called, head tilting to one side as he looked in askance to the archeologist.
"The town is Ayrs, Sam's apparently here." Daniel smiled. "I gather today's a big celebration day, some big event or anniversary like a solstice or equinox. I think they're pagan, but until I talk to Sam, I can't be sure."
"Pagan?" Jack's eyebrow arched. "Well, doesn't that narrow the Goa'uld field." He added dryly, a subtle reminder to all the Goa'uld system lords using ancient mythological names of Gods, Kings and mythical heroes.
Daniel didn't take the bait, or ignored the verbal poke. "Celtic Pagan, an earth-born religion that cherishes the Lord and Lady, a paternal and maternal Goddess, although the society will be primarily matrilineal."
"Sweet." Jack drawled, eyes rolling upwards in a quest for patience. "A chick-town. For the record – I am not playing dressup."
The rough path gave way to a cobble-stone road in due course, and before they knew it, they were entering the town borders. Daniel was immediately lost to them, the very first rock in the perimeter wall had virtually screamed out to the geek in him and left the captivated archeologist whimpering for time to study the construction. And when they had finally moved past that, it was the roads and the housing construction techniques, the village layout and design, the window patterns and the wards set on top of doors, or the central open area with several firepits set in a meticulous circle.
He was in geek-land heaven, his digital camera practically overheating as he took pictures of everything and anything. "Daniel," Jack reminded him again, before the symbolic meaning of the tri-floral shape could be described, "Sam. We're here for Sam. You can come back and research another day." He urged.
"Sam." Daniel blinked, casting one last longing look at a fountain in the centre of a square. "Right. I'll get right on that." The camera came up to take one last picture.
Jack smirked at Teal'c, even as a new rock caught Daniel's endless sense of wonder.
The town was built on a circular pattern, the houses and streets all lined to follow that concentric pattern with spokes that divided it into eight segments. Following one of those spokes down, a primary avenue, Jack supposed, since it game from one of the town's gates, they were taken to a building at the heart of the town, facing opposite to the circular meeting area. "I'm guessing city hall?" Jack shot out.
"No." Daniel argued, forehead furrowed as he pursued a conversation with the two women that now led them. "Sam's in here, but she's... laboring with something and can't join us right now."
"Laboring?" Jack's eyebrow went up. "Like Hercules and the ten labors?"
Daniel's jaw dropped. "I thought you didn't know any myths! You said you didn't know any ancient myths, Jack. Any meaning all."
One shoulder up, and one shoulder down. Half a shrug. Jack's lips twisted in a small smile. "Danny, I liked fairy tales when I was a kid too. Especially the hack'n'slash beat-them-up types. And I saw the movie."
"The movie?"
"Black and white. Old. The movie." Jack clarified. "Now, find out about Sam. How long do we have to wait?"
For a simple operation, nothing was going quick. If it were simply a case of busting in, picking up their wayward Goddess and sweeping back through the town with dire threats until they made it to the Stargate, well then, he was ready to lock and load.
However, if Sam were willing to hustle, pack her shit together and move, life would be infinitely simpler. "Can they tell Sam precisely who's here to see her? She might hustle then."
Daniel's forehead was turning into a series of carved etchings again. "I -- don't think so." He muttered, still translating whatever it was their hosts were saying. "They don't know how long it'll take...this doesn't make any sense. She's doing something that is part of the celebration or it is the celebration..."
"Where is she?" Jack demanded.
"In there." Airily, Daniel waved a hand to a large building with multiple floors. It wasn't much to look at on the outside, but Jack suspected that there were quite a few rooms in there. The local palace of a sort. Just where you'd expect to find your Divine Leader.
"Right." Tossing his bag to the side, but shouldering an assault riffle, he blithely pushed past the two women and stepped up to the building, absently hearing their shrill cries and frantic tugs on his arms that clearly represented that most hated word 'no'.
But, just like he had as a boy when his Mom had said no, he ignored 'em. Strangely, they didn't follow.
The wooden door wasn't fancy. It was rude by comparison to the door on his cottage, but it served a purpose as a barrier and an insulator. It wasn't, however much in the way of security. Unlatched and unlocked, it swung easily when he put a hand on it, and Jack strode inside easily.
Candles lit the stone hallway, creating a shadowed dark atmosphere. 'Nice, Sam. Really. If you're into that whole gothic thing.' Tilting his head, he raised a hand to silence Daniel as the archeologist scrambled in behind him, probably to lecture him off this path of action. There was a muffled series of sounds to the east of the building. "Don't try, Daniel. Hammond gave us orders, simple orders. Go in, get Sam, get out. There was no 'visit' or 'make new friends' in those instructions." He turned about and went east, hearing Daniel follow. "And I know I'll piss people off, but Teal'c is outside to look imposing, I'm walking around with a nasty gun, and I frankly I don't give a damn if I get the friendly-award."
"Sam's gonna..."
"Swoon with joy to see us and ask what took so long." Jack added, picking up steam as he walked. The heavy black boots on his feet stomped loudly along stone flooring. "If they've got her scrubbing floors as a Goddess, I'd hate to see what they do to a peasant orphan."
"The translation wasn't precise. Celtic isn't a dead language, but this variation is..."
"Daniel, we don't care right now." Jack cut him off, pausing to listen again. There was general noise, but nothing defining. "SAM?!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs.
They paused, standing perfectly still while the echoes bounced off the walls. "Huh." Jack grunted, when no reply came back. "Wrong turn?" He looked backwards, to the other end of the hall.
"Maybe she's not here." Daniel wondered, following Jack's gaze.
"Oh... Jeezus...SHEEEEE-IT!"
"She's here." They both stated in perfect harmony, exchanging a knowing look as Sam's voice hit a shrill upper octave. Picking up the pace, they practically ran down the hall. Skidding around a corner, Jack bounced off one of the two massive men guarding a door while Daniel slammed into his back.
Stepping sideways, Jack reached for Daniel's shoulders, pulling him into the front. "Daniel? It's your turn again." Patting the shoulder, as he eyed the two men, he took another judicious step backwards out of their reach leaving Daniel right below their chins. "Tell the nice man we're here to pick up our friend, the Goddess, and get him to move."
"Unghhhhh!" The cry was pained, almost as if under tremendous strain. It was also undeniably Sam's voice and it was from behind that door. "Fuuuuuuu---" The rest of the started epithet trailed off with a painful moan.
"Sam?" Jack called out, glaring in frustration at the back of Daniel's head and then the two impassive guards. "What's going on in there."
There was no answer for a long pause, just the keening drone of a fading moan and then silence before Sam gasped and gave a tremendous sigh, loud enough for them to hear it. "It figures you'd all wait and bloody show up NOW. Your timing sucks." Her voice was in breathy pants.
"That's it... Daniel. I'm going in." Jack intoned gravely, shifting his gun. "Start talking."
Daniel's jaw gaped then snapped shut before opening to spit out the gibberish these people called language. The words came fast, practically flying out of his mouth in a low tone with as much urgency and passion as he was capable of. The two mammoth guards didn't seem impressed or particularly interested.
Sam cried out again. This time, the epithet was profoundly more suitable for a sailor than a Major in the USAF. Jack's fidgeting took on new proportions as his expression darkened, brown eyes nearly black under his own personal thundercloud. Shouldering Daniel aside, he raised a foot and slammed it against the doorway, in the space between the two guards before they could react.
It splintered nicely.
"Jack..." Daniel called warningly as a guard reached to apprehend them, speaking in that same musical language. "They said..."
"Not caring, Danny." Jack retorted, lifting the put of his gun and slamming it into one helmed head. "But you could help me."
Sam made another moan, the sound breaking their composure. Jack spun around, raising a leg to kick the other guard backwards and then slamming the end of the weapon again to club him out. "Good security." He muttered, shouldering open the door.
"I don't think this problem happens a lot." Daniel muttered abstracted, still warily watching the unconscious Guards as if they could spring up any second. "They're ceremonial. Show and tell, not actual..." His voice trailed off as Jack airily swept past him, cheerfully patting the one guard on the top of the helm from where he rested against the side of a wall and pushing his way into the chamber.
As reunions go, what they got wasn't what they were expecting. Sprawled in a soft bed, with candles burning all around the room, and two women attending, the Samantha Carter that greeted them was not the woman they'd known eleven months before.
THAT Samantha Carter had been firmly in control of her emotions and feelings, assuredly military and incredibly composed. She was a beautiful bright-eyed genius with a slender body, flawless skin, brilliant smile and chin-length blond hair. She was a Major in the United States Army, an astrophysicist and an expert in Stargate technology.
This Samantha Carter was a Goddess who was panting like a dog on a hot summer day, her blond hair long and slicked back to show a damp forehead and pale face. Naked on her back beneath a thick blanket, her knees were raised up and her swollen abdomen clearly pronounced.
"Oh. My. God." The red creeping up Daniel's neck and face looked life-threatening.
"What the hell is going on?" Jack openly gawked, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.
"What does it look like." Sam growled, her blue eyes glazed with pain and jaw locked in defiance. Closing her eyes and scrunching her face as another contraction hit, her back arched painfully, sliding the blankets that covered her chest a little lower. "Oh Jeezus..." Her teeth grit together as the pain swept over her.
It was all the incentive Jack and Daniel needed to get their acts in gear. "Daniel..."
The archeologist was gone before Jack could formulate the rest of the sentence, racing out of the room and down the hall to retrieve both Teal'c and Jack's bag that contained a basic med kit.
"You've been busy." Jack noted, eyes wide and the shock just starting to set in as he walked around the bed until he was by her side. Her features were pale, thin even, in sharp contrast to the fullness of her abdomen. "Very busy." The women attending her fluttered their hands to wave him off while they blathered in their funky language. Ever sophisticated and refined, Jack just ignored them, sweeping past. "Who's the lucky daddy?"
"Damned if I know." Sam bit out, chest heaving beneath the blanket. Primly, she adjusted her blanket to restore more modesty. "Oh...god..." Another contraction hit her. "Just...shoot...me..." She panted.
Jack's mind had taken a small left turn, though, and operating a gun was well outside of his mental ability. "You don't know?" He shot out incredulously. At least when he'd been stranded on Edora, he'd known full well who he was sleeping with... didn't the same rules apply to women?
"I was drugged... or drunk. I don't know!" She howled. "No one else seems to either, and this bloody HURTS." The women abandoned their mild protestations at Jack, returning to their Goddess' side with a small basin of water and a cloth, mopping her brow and ineffectually patting her wrist soothingly.
Jack squirmed at the side, his mind already picturing this report for the president's viewing. SG-1 never ever had it simple. A pregnant Carter. Pregnant. In labor. Naked except for a blanket. Vaguely, he wondered if this fell under the fraternization clauses of the regulations. Was it fraternizing to be in the same room as your naked pregnant 2IC?
Sam groaned low, eyes closing and teeth biting into her lip.
"Uhh..." Jack searched his mind for anything that could help. There was no epidural, no medication and no doctor around to help. Just two young women who didn't even speak English and were not doing all that much from where he was standing. If this was moral support, it sure wasn't impressing Sam.
Sam mustn't have thought so either, because as soon as the contraction was past, she ordered them from the room, using their own language. It was cute watching them glance at each other, play twenty questions and then nervously look at him before running like all hell.
Frankly, given Sam's mood, Jack didn't blame them for that last bit.
"So." Licking his lips nervously, Jack could only accept the situation and move forward. Dropping his gun and SGC logoed cap to the floor, he scooted up on the bed to take a position behind her. Carefully sliding his hands against her back, he lifted her body until he could move in, setting her back rested against his torso. "How long have you been... ah..."
"Pregnant? Nine months -- give or take a few weeks. How long have I been in labor?" She panted, head rolling back to rest on his shoulder. "Hours. Days. Weeks... I don't know. I've lost track. My watch died."
Well, watch or no watch, her contractions weren't all that far apart, Jack guessed hazily. He only had a vague memory of Charlie's birth. The Doctor's had taken care of the details. "Oh." He muttered, ignoring the fact that Sam was naked beneath that blanket, her bare back against his chest. Fortunately, she didn't seem to really care.
Another contraction hit, her hands reaching out to clasp his forearms, pinching his flesh tightly. "Breathe, Sam. Small pants. Ride it." He urged, valiantly trying to recall those birthing classes Sara had made him attend.
"You. Breathe." She gasped. It seemed to take forever, but the contraction passed, and she slumped against him again, her blonde hair sticking to her sweat-gleaming skin. "I just knew it. The day I realized I was pregnant, I just knew you'd show up now. Not before, not after... now. You couldn't have worse timing if you tried, could you, Sir?"
Chuckling ruefully, Jack gently stroked damp hair off her forehead, amazed at the length of it. Lacking layers, after eleven months of growth it now fell straight below her shoulder with that beautiful gold gleam. Divinity was obviously a clean thing, her hair smelled like flowers and felt clean to the touch, if damp. "Sorry, we lacked our resident genius to find you faster."
Her small chuckle held understanding, right up until it shifted into a pained groan as another wave hit her. "How long does this take?" She howled, not anticipating an answer, the question was theoretical.
"Not much longer, your contractions are really close together. Focus on breathing, Sam. In and out in little pants." He urged her, shifting his body to lift her up more. Her knees were bent reflexively, spine supine. During a contraction, he felt her entire body go rigid to fight the feeling, whereas after, she slumped limply against him. There was a tremble to her body, and he knew she was tired.
"Got the med kit!" Daniel breathed, skidding back into the room. Teal'c swept in calmly behind, one eyebrow arching up as he encompassed the entire picture before him.
It had to be an interesting image, Jack conceded. "Good, Daniel. What I really want is the blankets and towels in my bag." Jack smiled slightly. "Sam doesn't seem to have any receiving blankets lying around here, and I think SG-1 can expect a new team member pretty darn soon."
Daniel's face paled terribly. "A baby?"
"That's usually what human women give birth to, yes." Jack replied sardonically, his face going grave as Sam's body hit another contraction. "You've done this before, Daniel... what happens now?"
"Well." Daniel licked his lips nervously, looking at Teal'c for help. "Uh... Sam can't push until... well..."
"Until I'm dilated." She gasped. "Hullo Teal'c."
"Major Carter. You are well?"
"Peachy. You?" Her eyes closed, body gasping for air and recovery time. "Daniel, you'll have to look and see how dilated I am. I need about 10 cm."
"Me?" The Archeologist squeaked. "But... what about Teal'c... he..."
"Doesn't know what 10cm are... Daniel... do it." She gritted out, hitting another contraction again. "You've done this before with Sha're, so what's the problem? Or do you want me to die like this?"
Shuffling nervously closer to the bed, apprehensive to say the least, Daniel lifted the edge of the blanket and scooted down to have a quick look. It was quick all right. "Daniel, you can't measure if you don't look." Jack argued, giving Teal'c an expectant look.
Teal'c took the edge of the blanket from Daniel's hands and folded it primly upwards until it tented over Sam's raised knees. Calm as ever, the Jaffa set down a towel from Jack's pack, placing it in the receiving area for the child. "Measure, Daniel Jackson." He firmly told the archeologist, planting one hand on Daniel's head and pushing him down.
"Daniel... I don't care what looks up there." Sam breathed. "Modesty be damned, I wouldn't care if it was Seth, Apothis, General Hammond or a goddamn janitor who had a look... I just want this over. So look, dammit."
Apparently, that was his issue, because he shook off his apprehension and took another longer look, reaching in to assess the situation with a frown. "I think you're almost there, Sam." He looked up, meeting Jack's eyes and then Sam's, discretely wiping his hand on the towel.
"Almost?" She nearly sobbed. "Oh, please... Teal'c, use your Zat. Hit me."
"Belay that." Jack ordered before she could confuse the Jaffa. "Come on Sam, be a good girl and suck this up. You're a Major in the United States Air Force, a survivor and a fighter...all you have to do is have one little baby, we'll clean up the mess and take you home so Janet can make sure you're both okay."
The contraction that hit didn't even give her time to even respond. Small crescents from her fingernails were being carved into Jack's arms, but rather than flinch, he just leaned forward and supported her arching back. "Don't push." He cautioned.
"You. Don't. Push." She panted, eyes wild. "I'm passing a bloody bowling ball through an opening too small for a grapefruit... and you think this is easy? This is not part of basic training!"
Daniel alternated between watching Sam's face, and monitoring her progress. Still uncomfortable with the job given to him, but committed to doing it all the same. It took several more contractions, quite a few mops with the damn cloth and water until Daniel assessed the situation as: "Almost there, Sam."
'Almost' still wasn't what she wanted to hear and they all knew that, but there wasn't much that could be done. The Stargate was at least an hour away, and with the short break between contractions, there was no way to get her up there before she delivered. Not with her experiencing this kind of pain.
The contraction passed, and she went limp again, lungs heaving in an attempt to regain equilibrium. "Okay, Sam." Daniel licked his lips nervously, eyes darting to Teal'c before turning to Sam and Jack. "On the next contraction, you can push."
"Oh, joy." She muttered, feeling Jack grin against the back of her head, his arms shifted to brace against either side of her swollen abdomen, thumbs stroking in soothing circles. "You'll need a sample bag, Daniel. Placenta." Ever intelligent and rational, even in the throes of childbirth, there was a twisted enjoyment in seeing Daniel's expression at that instruction.
"Placenta?" He squeaked. "Why on earth do we need the placenta? And why me?"
"Janet will need to analyze it." Sam breathed, feeling the twinges before the contraction. Her teeth bit heavily into her lower lip, but dutifully, she strained and pushed with everything she had as this contraction rolled out. "And you are the only one I trust with sample collection other than myself."
"Doing good... doing good." Daniel urged. "I've got the head. One more push, Sam. Just one more good push and it's over... I think." Slipping into position, Daniel bent down with Teal'c overhead and supervising. He cupped one hand to gently cradle the baby's head while his other braced to receive the body.
"You think?" She squawked, another contraction sweeping almost immediately. Weary beyond exhaustion, she rose to the occasion and gave it her all barely hearing Jack's encouragement as he spoke softly to her. The tiny shoulders swept through and into Daniel's waiting arms.
"Now what?" The archeologist muttered, swiftly transferring the baby to a blanket Teal'c held out and drying the blood and liquid off the baby. "My PH.D doesn't really apply here."
"Rub the cheek firmly." Sam sighed. Head once again supported by Jack's chest, but eyes watching Daniel intently. "Downwards, by the mouth. He'll start to breathe on his own then and we have to make sure there's no fluids in his mouth. Oh, and then cut the cord with a sterile knife from the med kit and tie it." Her body trembled against Jack's, a few light contractions rippling through her abdomen as the placenta was evicted in a goopy mess onto the towels Teal'c had wisely deposited.
Daniel's finger openly trembled, and his blue eyes shot wide as the baby's mouth opened with a tiny gasp as lungs started to function. "Oh... wow." He breathed in awe, while Teal'c fetched the surgical knife. It was the Jaffa who calmly cut the umbilical cord, tying it while Daniel supported the baby in his arms.
"Indeed, Daniel Jackson. It is a boy, Major Carter. Congratulations." Gently, Teal'c claimed the infant from Daniel and set him on Sam's still gently swollen belly, resting a towel on top of the baby to keep any chill away. Sam's hand reached instantly to touch her newborn son.
"Good work, Major." Jack praised from behind, his chin resting at the top of her head, eyes fixed on the tiny child. "Not quite what we had in mind for a reunion, but damn impressive all the same."
"Mmm." Sam agreed, voice soft. "He's okay, isn't he?" She asked anxiously, looking up to a fussing Daniel.
"Fine. Ten fingers, and ten toes, heartbeat and breathing. He's perfect." Daniel reported, wincing as Teal'c passed a specimen bag to him. "Why do I always get the icky jobs?" He whined plaintively, mostly to himself.
"'Cause Sam's a little busy." Jack retorted with a smile. "Just bag it, wrap it in a clean something, and stick it in my bag, Danny."
Sam giggled softly as Daniel hastily cleaned up the placenta, whisking away the sodden toweling and then lowering the blankets to restore the prudish modesty he needed. "Can I hold him, now?" She asked, after order was restored, her finger still in the grasp of her newborn son's hand.
The little boy made small whimpers, but no cries, even as Teal'c gently lifted him up, surprising all of them with the tenderness and care in his giant touch. Carefully turning the child over, he wrapped the baby into the last available towel, before passing him to Sam. "Have you chosen a name, Major Carter?" He asked formally, while Sam peeled the blanket away from her son's face.
"Name?" Blue eyes bounced up. "Uh..." Again the head tilted down to study the beautiful blue eyes and rosebud mouth looking up at her. Tenderly stroking a cheek, she pursed her lips in thought. "Kieran Jonathan Carter." She announced.
"KJ." Jack abbreviated immediately, eyes bright and a flush on his cheeks to hear his own name applied to the little boy. "That works."
Daniel snorted, his eyes smiling as he took a seat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to capture one of the baby's little hands. "Must you abbreviate everything?"
Jack nodded solemnly. "It is my duty as Colonel for our group to assign simplistic names and terms to discoveries. Says so in the manual"
"Kieran isn't a discovery." Daniel argued, head bouncing up as the door to the room opened again, Sam's handmaidens sweeping in warily eyeing the people cluttered around their Goddess.
Sighing softly, and snuggling further back into O'Neill's arms, Sam smiled at the worried expressions around the room. "Relax, guys." She urged, before speaking quietly to one of the braver women who approached the bed directly. A few exchanged sentences, and the room was restored to the Tau'ri contingent.
Jack shifted restlessly behind her. "So, your Goddessness... now that the floorshow is over, why don't you tell us about your little misadventures?" With her body against him so firmly, and the baby cradled in her arms, he wasn't in a position to move much.
"Yeah." Daniel added. "Who's Kieran's father? Where is he? And why do they think you're the Goddess? Oh, and what about..."
"Daniel." Sam pinned him with a wry look. "One at a time!" Shifting Kieran gently into the crook of her right arm, she sighed once and took a deep breath. "I don't know who Kieran's father is."
Daniel's jaw dropped. "You don't know?"
"I already asked." Jack commented smugly. "Sammy got snookered."
Her left elbow swung backwards, hard into his ribs. "Don't call me that. And I didn't get snookered. It was... just after Yuletide, maybe late February, and they were having a religious celebration. They thought I was the Goddess because I came through the 'stone circle' during the Yule celebration. It was timing."
Daniel nodded fervently. "So they treat the Stargate like a Stonehenge, right?"
Sam's head tilted, first down to the infant that was drifting asleep, and then back to Daniel. "More or less. They only go to the Stargate for their BIG rites. Yule, Samhain, Beltaine and Mabon. All other festivals are celebrated in the town."
"Spring Equinox?" Daniel asked, fingers up and counting down. "You got pregnant around the Spring Equinox?"
Sam laughed, a soft sound. "No, Daniel. Not around. I definitely got pregnant during the Spring Equinox. I wasn't intending to have any intimate relations, you know. I was focused on building a DHD."
"The celebration is for the coming of spring, and the Goddess lying with the God for the first time." Her blush was clear. "I remember sitting down for dinner, hearing the toasts -- and my understanding of the language wasn't good yet, and they gave a special chalice around that everyone sipped from." She shrugged, "I don't remember much after that except for waking up ah..."
"Naked and feeling 'it'." Jack offered blandly.
She squirmed, cheeks reddening. "Yeah. A few weeks later, and I realized I was pregnant."
"So, are they going to fuss when you take off on them?" Jack asked, lifting a pillow and sliding it between himself and Sam before scooting further back so he could extricate himself from her. It wasn't a rejection, but the need to assist in packing up, finding her clothes and getting ready to move.
There was no way Sam could walk all the way to the gate. Not after the workout she had done today.
One hand gripping the blankets, and her other arm cradling her son, she wiggled her body backwards. "I don't think so." She yawned. "I've made no secret that I want to go home. They think I'm from the realm of the Gods."
"And the baby?" Deftly, Jack swept in and lifted Kieran while his mother eased herself down into the bed, her eyes growing more and more heavy. "They won't ask you to leave him behind?"
The half-closed eyes shot wide with panic. "They better not." She vowed, face paling at the thought. "You can't let them, Colonel. I won't let them keep my child."
"It won't happen, Sam." Daniel promised, reaching to capture one of her hands and giving it a soft squeeze. "We won't let it."
"Indeed." Pledged Teal'c. "I will guarantee your child's safe return to Earth, Major Carter."
"Sleep, Sam. We'll be here when you wake up." Jack urged, smiling softly as she fought to stay with them. "I'm old hand at this, Kieran will be fine. Relax. The sooner you're rested, the sooner we can all go home."
Her lips twitched in a smile, the kind of bemusement that only women could derive from looking at men who were so uncomfortable with a situation that they visibly squirmed. Even with one of the towels that had originally been bundled around Kieran used now to shield their view, just the knowledge that she was feeding her son was enough to make both Daniel and Jack want to run.
The prudes.
Still, they wouldn't wander away from her. Standing loosely in a circle, Teal'c at her back and Jack and Daniel on either side with the quiet Stargate in front of them, they watched her like a hawk. Their fear she'd vanish on them again was palpable, and having gone through a similar set of feelings herself, completely understandable.
She was going home. Finally going home. Part of her just wanted to cry in relief -- the hormonal part that pregnancy had really dragged kicking and screaming to the fore. However, she was a Carter and by damn there would be no tears. General Carter had raised his children to be good soldiers, not wusses.
"You done yet?" She cooed gently to her nursing child, watching Jack fidget out of the corner of her eye. Of all the prices to pay for the past eleven months, this was the one she had no regrets for. Well, almost none. She'd always expected a husband as part and parcel of any family. Not that a husband was a likelihood in her line of work. It just didn't seem to go hand in hand with a military career -- her military career in particular.
Kieran's suckling relaxed and stopped, and Sam sighed with relief. No matter what anyone had ever told her, she'd never imagined breast-feeding could be so uncomfortable. Awkwardly, she pulled her jacket straight, covering her breast, before removing the towel and then fumbling with the buttons with on her jacket with one hand. It wasn't going well.
"Let me." Daniel sighed, dropping into a crouch in front of her.
Sam relaxed her grip on Kieran, and gave Daniel a grateful smile. He grinned back and like a good Uncle scooped the baby up into his arms. "Do you burp babies that are nursing?" He asked rhetorically to Jack.
"Like I remember?"
"You should."
"Daniel – I was overseas when Charlie was born… I missed a lot of things."
"You're no help." Daniel retorted, tucking a corner of the blanket a little tighter about Kieran before returning him to his now buttoned-up mother.
"Are we ready to go? Sam? Jack?" He gave a last touch to the baby's cheek, before straightening, his blue gaze eager to get the show on the road.
"Umm... yeah." Sam's smile was a little crooked, aware of how the shit would hit the fan on the other side of the Stargate. "Is the DHD set up properly?" She cradled Kieran close to her chest with her left arm while she used her free hand for some leverage to lift up her aching body.
It seemed all the exercise and careful self-monitoring throughout her pregnancy was paying off. By no means was her abdomen flat, but it wasn't huge. Nor were her thighs or arms... in fact, other than the gentle roundness at her belly, something similar to her original waistline, she felt pretty good about her appearance.
"You sure you can walk?" Jack persisted, watching as Daniel slipped an arm around her waist as she stood wavering slightly, and keeping it there supportively. "Teal'c could still..."
"Absolutely not." Sam bit her lip, tentatively taking a step and finding it wasn't as bad as she thought it was. "I had a baby, I wasn't sick and I'm not going home as some sort of invalid." It wasn't that she didn't trust Teal'c. She trusted him just fine -- enough to let him carry her from the village to this point while Daniel had carried her son.
But, she wanted to be the one to walk through the Stargate on her own steam, come home on her own feet and show the world that she was fine. A few pounds heavier, but fine and very much alive.
Jack snorted, but let her have her way. "Fine. The DHD is good to go, so that means we're homeward bound. Danny, dial us home." With Daniel leading Sam carefully to the temporary DHD they had brought with themselves, Teal'c collected the remaining bags and equipment that they had brought with them. "I can't wait to see George's face." Jack muttered lowly. "And here I am without a Polaroid."
Daniel gave a small snicker, leaving Sam for a moment to attend to the dial-up and sent in the IDC. "But what a souvenir, huh?"
Sam giggled softly, fingers touching the bundle in her arms. "You think General Hammond's expression will be good, wait until you see my Dad's."
The Stargate burst to life, Daniel still bent over the remote DHD. "Signal sent, Jack."
"Okay kids," O'Neill looked up and around at his reunited merry troop. "Let's go home."
End