A/N: So a little warning ahead of time, I've just became a mother so updates may be intermittent. However I hope you enjoy this wee plot bunny.
A Father's Intuition
Sam smirked at her dad's cranky mood before asking, 'Have you not had your coffee this morning?'
'Selmak doesn't like coffee.'
'You gave up coffee for your symbiote?' She asked somewhat disbelieving, 'I didn't know that.'
'We never talk anymore, Sam.' he said with more emotion than she was used to hearing in his voice. It really seemed to bother him.
It bothered her too to be honest; so much of what they talked about this last year was business; all aliens, inter-stellar problems and space guns. Their relationship had never really been that of a normal father and daughter but there had been even less discussion of personal matters in the past few months with the rise of Anubis and the havoc his drones were wreaking on the galaxy.
She sighed deeply and bit her lip nervously as an uneasy silence spun out between them.
She'd been toying with the idea of telling her dad about Pete all morning. It was, after all, the discussion she had with her sub-conscience in the form of him that made it bearable to agree to the blind date that started the relationship.
'I err...' She had no idea why she felt so nervous about the prospect of discussing this with him, maybe it was because a small part of her wondered if her hallucination would ring true and the potential implications if it didn't.
He was looking at her expectantly, she could see some of his recently buried exasperation returning to the surface at her hesitance.
'I'm seeing someone.' she finally blurted out.
The piercing look in her fathers eyes chilled her somewhat. For a moment, she thought he looked angry but the look disappeared before she could contemplate it further. She watched as his shoulders slumped and he sighed loudly.
'Bound to happen sooner or later I suppose.' He murmured mostly to himself before addressing his daughter. 'So... George finally managed to cut you guys a break then?'
Sam's eyes widened in shock; 'What?'
Jacob knitted his eyebrows together and regarded her carefully.
'You're not dating Ja-'
Alarms rung out around the compound. The base was under attack from Anubis' super soldiers... looks like they were going to get a chance to test the weapon sooner rather than later.
They trudged up to the hills and into the woods, trying to get as far away from the Alpha site and potentially pursuing super soldiers as possible. Sam took a step forward, the loose scree slipped out from beneath her footing sending her towards the ground. Her descent was halted by her fathers arm looping under hers, as he set her on her feet once more with surprising ease she was reminded of the benefits of having a Tok'ra symbiote.
'So... you said you're dating someone?' he said following her carefully.
'Hardly the best time to have a conversation, dad,'
'True.' he agreed, 'But if you are dating someone while you're still in love with your CO that's something that needs to be talked through, even if we're being pursued by one of Anubis' drones.'
It shocked her how confident he was of her feelings and the cavalier way he discussed them with her. How could he know? What had they revealed in their interactions in front of him? Did Anise say something after the za'tarc testing?
She didn't dare look back at him for fear of what else she might reveal.
'I take it from your silence that I'm right.'
Hearing the grin in the tone of his words made her skin prickle. She rolled her eyes knowing there was no way she could escape this, but that didn't mean she was going to have this conversation with him.
'We're being chased down by a super solider.' She murmured, the ire in her voice clearly audible, 'I'm trying to be covert.' Internally, she wondered why it was so difficult to have this conversation given she'd already had it with herself. Then again it wasn't exactly going the same way as she remembered on the Prometheus and it was actually her father that was talking to her this time.
'You know, when I came to Washington and tried to get you to join NASA I was being an ass.'
She stopped short and turned to face her father. He never admitted he'd been wrong before, at least not without some prompting and an hour long argument. The softness of the way he looked at her only served to disarm her further.
'Any idiot should have been able to see you were happy with your work. Hell, you were getting an Air Medal! I mean sure, I knew the cover story was bogus, but I should have known that you would never sell yourself short. That you would never have settled for anything less than what you wanted, what you deserved.'
She felt like all the air had been knocked from her, her heart trapped in a time dilation field where outwardly it appeared frozen and yet some where, in some invisible pocket of time, it was beating madly against her chest.
'I guess I just figured that you wouldn't settle in your personal life either.' He said walking past her.
'I am not settling!' she growled defensively trailing after him.
'Sam, you only need to spend five minutes around you two to know there's a connection. As much as I've tried to ignore it over the past few years, it's become fairly clear to me that both of you care a great deal for each other and Selmak never fails to tell me how cute your kids would be whenever she notices you two making goo-goo eyes at each other.'
'God.' she groaned coming to a halt. 'I... is it... were we...'
Jacob turned, felt pity for the fear her could see in his daughters eye's and body language.
'Selmak is 2000 years old, Sam... she notices things; things she has no right to notice or bring to my attention but she does.'
Slowly the tension in her shoulders unfurled and her gaze met the sympathetic eyes of her father but as that gaze was drawn over her shoulder, fear coursed through her. Her feet were moving even before her father began to yell, 'Run!' bolts of energy surging past her as she tore through the trees.
'Jacob!' Jack called spotting the man trapped under a tree.
They made their way across quickly, Teal'c making light work of the gigantic log casting it aside.
'Anubis' drones.' the prone man breathed.
'We know.'
'Take this.' Jacob said handing over the modified TER. 'It's not a hundred percent, but it's all we've got. It only has a few more shots. Sam has a fully charged power unit.'
'Where is she?'
'I don't know. I don't even know if she's still alive.'
He watched Jack carefully, even with his dark sunglasses concealing his eyes it was easy to see how his last statement had affected the man.
'We were running from the drone when there was a blast behind us, she was right by my side.' he frowned trying to remember anything after the tree had pinned him down but there was nothing. 'You have to find her, Jack.'
He felt Jack's had squeeze lightly at his shoulder, he figured it was to ease Jack's own fears as much as his.
'We will.'
Dropping heavily on to embankment Sam felt utterly drained and empty. It felt like she'd been running for a week.
She knew she should check her wound. She knew she should get back the gate, get home, get help but she just couldn't bring herself to stand, she could barely keep her eyes open.
The embankment shifted on her left, dread filled her body, as the soldier emerged shaking off what must have been a tonne weight of dirt and rock. She knew she should run, but there was nothing left. Nothing left to fight with, no adrenaline in her body to insight that fight or flight response. As he raised his arm and took aim two things occurred to her.
Relief – no more running.
Regret – Jack.
As blasts shook the crater she was surprised by the fact that she was still alive, then again when she noticed the drone had turned from her and was pursuing someone else.
Help had come to her.
She dashed to the small barricade she'd built before, she knew it was poor cover but at least it was something and maybe, just maybe the soldier might chase after this new target rather than coming back for her.
The Colonel dropped beside her and she felt relief once again. He was here. And with the modified TER in his hand. She got the new power chip out ready as he fired a couple of shots to no effect.
'Carter, I need the-'
She held out the power insert to him.
'Thanks.'
Two shots later and the drone falls to the ground, armour clattering against the rocks. With aching slow movements she peeked over the barricade at the prone warrior.
'Cover him.' the Colonel ordered Teal'c as he tossed him the weapon.
She took a purposeful breath and murmured, 'Is it...?'
'Yeah, he's dead.' A beat passed in which a feeling of doubt rose up. 'Right Teal'c, he's dead?'
They both watched as Teal'c kicked the drone and nodded in their direction. Even so he kept the TER trained on the fallen enemy.
'Yeah, he's dead.' Jack confirmed.
She nodded and shifted around to sit somewhat comfortably on the ground.
'You wanna get up?' she heard Jack ask, his voice seeming more distant than before.
She shook her head gently, her body fighting the slightest movement.
'I just need to rest for a minute.' she lied knowing full well that it would be almost impossible for her to get up let alone make it back to the gate under her own power.
She barely registered Jack dropping to the ground beside her but the softly murmured invitation to rest her head on his shoulder rung clear.
'C'mere.'
She didn't realise how cold and tired she was until she was surrounded by his warmth. She shifted further into his embrace, felt safe for the first time in days and promptly drifted to sleep.
She vaguely remembered being assessed for a concussion as the medical team arrived, her body still curled against that of her CO. There was also a recollection of that warmth disappearing from her side, however by this time it had been somewhat overshadowed by the chemical pleasure of morphine flowing through her veins drawing her into an even deeper state of unconsciousness.
Sam woke slowly, aware of a dip on the bed at her left side. It surprised her that she hoped it was Jack, but reason already dashed that hope; he would never risk sitting this close. Opening her eyes they fell on her father.
'Heya kid. You were asleep for a long time. You gave me quite a scare.'
'I'm sorry.' she rasped.
'Jack told me what happened. I'm proud of you.'
Sam smiled, the child in her jumping for joy at her father's approval. But as the look on her father's face became more serious her elation was tempered.
'Look Sam, I may not be able to come around as much for the next little while.'
'What do you mean?'
'Things kind of got screwed up while you were out there. The alliance is in trouble.'
'I don't understand.'
'You don't need to know the details right now. Let's just say we're going our separate ways for a while. If I stay with the Tok'ra, I can at least try to mend some fences.'
'You sure?' She asked, feeling like she was loosing her father all over again.
'I'm not ready to give up on this just yet.'
He was a strategist, a fighter. They were both soldiers and knew the benefit of the alliance if it could be maintained.
Sensing her worry, Jacob leaned in to kiss her cheek and reassure her.
'Don't worry, I'll be back eventually.'
'I'll miss you.'
'I'll miss you too.' He watched her carefully for a moment. 'Do you remember what we were discussing before we got separated?'
Her already pale features became a whiter shade of grey as she looked up at him with pleading eyes; not here.
He smiled softly. 'You're one of the smartest people in the galaxy, Sam. I know that nothing can stand in the way of what you want when you put your mind to it. That is if you really want it.'
Jacob watched as emotion welled up in his daughters eyes, he leaned in a kissed her once more.
'Thanks, Dad.' her voice whispered.
'Bye.' he said standing and leaving the infirmary, leaving his daughter to contemplate her emotions and her future.