Author's Note: Hello again here is my next story for you all to enjoy. Okay a few things when Charlie thinks about the Sam and Jack from his Universe they are O'Neill and Carter so that you can tell the difference. I know that he would not think that way but believe me it is much less confusing that way. At first glance the universe that Charlie came from is the Universe of Falling For You, but it is not. The story that became Falling For You did start out as the back ground for this story but it soon became it's own and it stand totally separate from this one.
I need to thank Suse, Judyhild and ShadowChaser for helping with this story and for making it the great story you see. Also I must add that you would have this chapter if it wasn't for ALIMOO1971's suggestion that I start a little earlier to give you all more background.
Also I don't own anything to so with Stargate but the ten seasons and The Ark of Truth on DVD.
The explosion could be seen through the mirror and then there was nothing as the image disappeared. Charlie tried to make his way back to the mirror, but a set of strong arms grabbed him, "Charlie, don't, he wanted you to be safe."
Charlie struggled for another few heartbeats and then went limp as he said, "You can let me go. I won't try to go back again. I know this is what dad wanted." His eyes turned back to the mirror, he could no longer see his Universe. O'Neill had probably destroyed his mirror. There was no way back for them now, or maybe ever.
Kawalsky let him go and Charlie crossed over to Morgan who sat on the floor, a little dazed, with her thumb in her mouth. "You okay Pumpkin?" he forced her to look at him.
It wasn't immediate, but her eyes focused on Charlie and she pulled out her thumb, "The snake man hurt mommy, we need to go back and help her and Daddy. I want Mommy, you have to take me back. She needs us." her voice got louder as she spoke until she was shouting, as she fought Charlie's loose hold on her with kicks and punches.
Charlie looked over at Dr. Carter who stood beside Kawalsky, she hadn't moved since he and Morgan had come tumbling through the mirror.
Charlie wondered what was wrong with her and then he remembered that she had lost her husband to the Goa'uld as well. She would have seen O'Neill alive and well but now was most likely dead.
Charlie knew that he could not dwell on her emotional state, he had Morgan to worry about. Dr. Carter had people to worry about her. "No Morgan, we can't go back that way. We have to meet up with Mom and Dad somewhere else. Dr. Carter will show us the way." He tightened his hold on the little girl. She continued to fight him for a few more minutes and then she relaxed in his arms and she lay her head on his shoulder.
Hearing her name seemed to snap her out of it and Dr Carter looked over at the two children who had been thrust upon her in the last five minutes. She looked at Kawalsky who nodded, "Yes, let's find you somewhere else." Using a device in her hand, she began to change the scenes until she found the one she wanted.
She motioned to the two children who still sat on the floor, "This is the one. Follow me. Grab your pack and we will get this over with." She lifted her free hand and was about to touch the mirror when she stopped and crossed back to the workbench in the middle of her lab where the mirror in this Universe was stored.
Choosing another device from the bench, she showed it to Charlie. "If you ever need to find me again, use this. I will set it to your Universe, mine, and the one I will take you to." She pointed the two devices at each other and transferred the information to the second device which she then passed to Charlie. "I will explain how to use it before I leave you." then she turned to Kawalsky, "I shouldn't be too long. I just need to get them on their way, I can't stay there too long. Wait here for me."
Kawalsky nodded, "Are you sure about this? Maybe I should go," he offered.
"No, I need to do this for-" she stopped and took a deep breath, "For me."
Nodding his head, Kawalsky stepped back, "I'll be here." his voice was soft and he reached out and squeezed her hand.
Charlie looked from Dr. Carter to Charlie Kawalsky and back again. A smile crossed his face and the boy was happy for the two of them.
Dr. Carter pulled away from Kawalsky and headed back to the mirror. A large room, filled with strange objects, could been seen through the mirror. He looked at Morgan, who hadn't moved since she put her head down. She seemed to be asleep but he knew better. "Are you sure this is the best place for us? I mean there are so many choices, why this one?" Charlie asked, unsure about going somewhere else now that they were safe, "Why can't we stay here with you. Morgan knows you."
Shaking her head, Dr. Carter said, "This is not the place where you can stay and be safe. I have no Jack for you and your sister. Your father wanted a place where she would feel at home and this place is not it. My Universe is too different, too many changes." she stopped as she realized that she was sounding harsh, "Please, reach out and touch the mirror on three. One, two, three." Dr. Carter and the two of them touched the mirror only to reappear on the other side.
She took one last look at Kawalsky before she shut off the mirror. They didn't move right away as they waited to see if men with guns would appear, but no one came. Looking around, Charlie noticed that this place was neat, but no one seemed to be around.
When no one appeared, Dr. Carter motioned with her hand, "Follow me. We need to get out of here before we are found. I don't think that this is the SGC or Area 51. It would be very bad, this is an NID warehouse. We found it after we took the world back from the Goa'uld. If I am right, I know exactly where we are."
Holding Morgan's hand, Charlie followed her through the maze of shelves, amazed that Dr. Carter seemed to know where she was going. The shelves themselves contained wonderful things. He'd been around Carter (his mother) long enough and he would have enjoyed seeing the joy on her face at the variety of devices there.
The smile slowly fell from his face as he remembered that Carter and O'Neill were most likely dead. Fighting the tears that filled his eyes, Charlie swiped at them with one hand and held tightly to Morgan with the other.
They managed to avoid all the guards, slipping out a door and into the blinding sun. Dr. Carter shielded her eyes from the glare as she tried to get her bearings. "We need to get away from here quickly. There didn't seem to be any alarms but we can't take the chance that the NID won't find us if we stay here too long."
Lifting Morgan into her arms, Dr. Carter began walking. They had gone a few blocks when she stopped. There was relief in her voice, "I was right, we are in Los Angeles. Let's flag down a cab and get you two to the bus station. I wish you could fly, but we don't have the documents or people we need to pull it off. If I knew that Jack or Sam were able to pick you up, I would, but I don't have the time to track them down. The longer I stay here, the better the chance I have of entropic Cascade failure. I have a little bit of cash that I can give you and I hope it's close enough to the money here that you won't have a problem."
Charlie nodded as he waved at a taxi that passed them. It continued on its way and they kept walking. Finally, five blocks later they finally found a taxi. The driver rolled down the window, "Where do you folks need to go?"
Dr. Carter was the one who spoke, "The closest bus station please and quickly."
The man nodded and they climbed into the back seat,. Charlie on one side, Morgan in the middle, and Dr. Carter at the other door. Morgan began to rub her eyes, "Charlie, I'm tired, when can I sleep?"
He looked over at Dr. Carter, who tucked the girl's blond braids behind her ear, "Soon Morgan soon."
The girl nodded and leaned into Charlie and stuck her thumb back into her mouth and the rest of the ride was quiet. When they pulled up in front of the bus station, they all got out and went inside after Dr. Carter paid the driver and asked him to wait for ten minutes. The driver took her money and nodded.
Inside, they walked over to one of the wickets and Dr. Carter bought the two children their tickets to Colorado Springs using her debit card. Thankfully, it seemed that the Sam of this world and she had the same bank account.
Next, they asked for directions to the right bus. Dr. Carter sat them down and told them to wait the half an hour until their bus left. Then she turned and walked away, only to turn and look back once more before she continued on her way.
0o0o0
The bus ride was long and boring, luckily Morgan slept though enough of it that Charlie didn't go insane. He kept her busy with a book he had bought her at one of their stops as well as some crayons and a coloring book, but it was still almost twenty-four hours later before the bus pulled into Colorado Springs early in the morning.
As soon as it stopped, Charlie gathered their belongings and tugged Morgan along until they got off the bus. Using one of the phones provided in the lobby, Charlie called for a taxi.
While they waited outside, Charlie debated on which house he should try first, Jack or Sam's. Finally, he decided to go to Jack's. It would be somewhere familiar to Morgan, at least he hoped that Jack lived in the same place in this world. Charlie decided that he shouldn't wait to find out. Still holding Morgan's hand, he went back to the pay phone and began to search the phone book.
His fingers scanned the column and stopped at J. O'Neill. A smile crossed his features, the address and phone number were the same as in his Universe.
The taxi pulled up and honked. The two of them climbed into the taxi and Charlie told him the address, relieved that their journey was almost over.
Five minutes later, the taxi pulled to a stop and the driver held out his hand for the money, "Are you sure this is the right place? It doesn't look like anyone is home."
Charlie studied the house and silently had to agree, "It's the right one. My dad is probably not home from work yet. We'll just go and wait for him. Come on Morgan." he handed the man his money and pulled the little girl out of the car.
The two of them headed up the stairs to the front door. Charlie could feel the driver watching them as he reached the door. He fingered his own house keys in his pocket and he wondered if they would open the front door, or if he should see if the spare key was under the Homer with a welcome sign, as it was his Universe. Even though he had not been home to his house in nearly three months, he still carried them around hoping to use them again one day and it seems that day was today. Choosing to try his key first, Charlie reached out and stuck it into the lock.
It turned and Charlie was able to open the door, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as he gently pushed Morgan through the door, not waiting to see if the taxi was still there.
Standing in the entryway, Charlie scanned the house to see if he could tell what was different about this house. He walked slowly through the house, it was his home, but not. It was also very empty, Jack was not here. Charlie wandered into Jack's bedroom and found that his dress uniform was gone and he wondered where Jack had gone.
Morgan had wandered into the kitchen looking for food and called, "Charlie there's nothing here. The fridge is empty except for-" she stopped, "Guinness. What is that?"
Laughing, Charlie headed to find Morgan before she let her curiosity get the best of her and she tried it out. "Just wait Morgan. I will find you something. There is probably some Kraft Dinner in there somewhere. Dad lived on the stuff for days before Sam." he said, as he opened the cupboards, searching for the food.
He finally found one hidden in the back. He had no idea how old it was, but he dumped the noodles into a pot and cooked them.
When it was ready, the two of them sat down and ate. Charlie looked for some ketchup and dumped it all over the macaroni to make it bearable. It was the only other thing in the fridge.
Then he sent Morgan out into the backyard to play. Charlie watched her out the kitchen window as he picked up the phone and dialed the SGC. When someone answered, he asked to speak to Colonel Jack O'Neill.
Charlie was transferred and a voice came on, "I'm sorry, but Colonel O'Neill is not available right now. He is in DC, can we get him a message?"
Hesitating, Charlie looked over at Morgan, who was playing with her "My Little Ponys" on the grass. "No, can you just tell me when he will return?"
"A few days. He is scheduled to return to duty in three days." the voice said.
"Thank you, I'll talk to him then. Goodbye." he said as he hung up the phone. They would wait two days and then find out their future.
There is chapter one. Let me know if you liked it or loved it. The next chapter will be posted Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday. The more reviews I get the more likely you will get a chapter next weekend too. ~Kelleth~