The Tegan Chronicles Sanctuary Style 2:

Flights of Fancy 1:

Changes in Altitude

After the staff meeting Helen watched Tegan gathering her notes. She stood quietly and walked over to the winged back chair Tegan was occupying.

Tegan closed her portfolio and looked up as Helen's legs came into view. She hated the way her eyes wanted to linger on them. She wasn't sure if Helen had spoken or not. "Sorry?"

"For?"

"Oh." Tegan exhaled the word feeling like a fool. "I thought you said something."

"Not yet." Helen smiled one of her patient and amused smiles, but it quickly faded away. "Are you alright?"

Tegan knew the question was coming. She wasn't sure if the warning had been in the smile or it's exit. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

The question caught Helen off guard. Over the past few months Tegan stuck with the shortest possible answers when it came to how she was, either physically or emotionally. She also had shown a penchant for dancing around questions. For her to actually open the door that wide for Helen to walk through was nice, even if a little out of character. "You seem distracted today."

Tegan let out a quick sigh. She sometimes forgot how observant Helen and Will were. Though she'd gotten better at hiding even the strongest emotions from Will. Helen on the other hand seemed to have a homing device set on it. She opened her mouth and took a deep breath, her brow furrowed slightly and she closed it, pursing her lips together.

"You can talk to me." Helen's voice was soft and inviting.

She shook her head and licked her lips. "It's nothing."

"Well if it's nothing it won't hurt to share it." Helen flashed her 'I've got all day' smile.

Tegan glanced at the fireplace suddenly finding the kindling box fascinating. "I've been here ninety days as of today."

Helen did the math quickly in her head. Some days it felt like Tegan was an old friend, and other days she was this completely mysterious being.

"I'm missing in action, but today I'll be presumed dead and all search efforts will come to a halt. The mirror will go back to area 51, and they'll probably hold some kind of stupid ceremony in my memory." She knew SG1 would have fought to extend the search from thirty to ninety days.

"Isn't that better for them? They need to mourn and move on."

"If I could have told them the day Nikola destroyed the mirror that I would never be able to see them again, I would have. I would have given anything to save them the last three months of searching and holding onto false hope."

"If you want that for them, then why can't you do that for yourself? It's been three months, it's time."

"I know." Tegan looked up at Helen. She knew she was right. She'd already accepted the fact that her people weren't here, just their body doubles were. But she hadn't allowed herself to move on and three months was a long time to grieve.

"It's just not that simple is it?" Helen's eyes held so much compassion and understanding in them. She stepped back.

"No." Tegan stood up. "It's not."

Helen surprised her by hugging her. "Keep your afternoon open."

Tegan stepped out of the embrace when Helen released her. "Are we going wabbit hunting?"

Helen smiled lightly at the levity. "You'll see."

Tegan sat next to Helen in the passenger seat and looked inquisitively at the marine who waved them through the guard shack with barely a glance inside the car. Tegan looked on curiously as they drove through a thick grove of evergreens and furs. By the time they reached the airfield Tegan had almost forgotten the marine in battle fatigues.

"You've got your own airport?" Tegan asked as they stopped.

"Not exactly." Helen put the car in park as Tegan looked out at the two fighter Jets coming out of a hangar. This is my personal airstrip and hangar, I rent the rest out to the military."

"That explains why the Marine at the gate didn't even give you a second glance."

Helen nodded with a mischievous grin pulling at her lips. "You'll find a flight suit and gear in your size in the trunk. You need to get changed into it."

It was rare Helen actually told her what to do, and even rarer still that Tegan would do what she told her to do without some resistance. She never had a problem when Helen would ask, but in this case Helen most definitely did not ask. Still Tegan didn't pause as her hand reached for the door handle. "You don't have to tell me twice."

There was something in the smile Helen flashed her, like a light bulb had just turned on, but Tegan was already out of the car and didn't pick up on it.

"Very smart looking." Helen took in the army green flight suit and combat boots, though she thought it was Tegan's confident smile that really made the outfit. "We'll need to get you a call sign, but for today it'll be Phoenix because even though it doesn't feel like it, you are rising from the ashes."

Tegan rolled her eyes. "And if I had to give you a call sign it would be 'cheesy'."

"Cheeky monkey." She mirrored the grin Tegan was giving her. "I already have a call sign, it's 'BossLady'."

The leather bomber jacket Helen was wearing made Tegan wonder if it wasn't her bedroom call sign as well.

Helen pointed to the F/A-18F Super Hornet sitting on the runway idling. "Shall we?"

"You aren't going to spew when I do an inverted loop at Mach 1.8 are you?"

"Of course not."

"That's quite enough." Helen said after the fourth maneuver. She would never admit it, but she was feeling a bit queasy.

"I thought you said you could handle it." Tegan grinned as she called back over her shoulder.

"I can, I just don't think we'll be needing to dogfight in our line of work."

"Anything could happen."

Helen knew she had a point. One of these days the UN was going to either pull it's backing or make a power play for the Sanctuary. "I've got another plane waiting for you to take up solo."

"Another plane?"

"A F-22 Raptor, it's a…"

"Single seat." Tegan knew it well. She'd even crashed one. Not that it was her fault; a mechanic who was ticked off at a General had sabotaged it. It was still her favorite plane to fly and she couldn't wipe the smile off her face with a Brillo pad if she had too. "Are you ready to land?"

"When ever you are, Phoenix." Helen didn't want to sound too enthusiastic and she hoped Tegan didn't always fly like she was following the world's scariest roller coaster track.

Helen met her on the runway as she climbed out of the cockpit after landing the Raptor. "What do you think?"

"She handle's like a charm." Tegan pulled her helmet off and shook her hair free.

"She's yours, they both are." Helen watched her give her a strange look. "Well, technically they're mine, I bought them. But right now you're the only person in the Sanctuary network who can pilot them."

Tegan nodded wondering just what she would be flying them for.

As if reading her mind, Helen pulled her wind whipped hair together in her hand and tossed it over her shoulder. "You'll mainly be doing reconnaissance in the Raptor, and maybe drop supplies via the release tanks. I've had some cargo pods fabricated to fit it. Occasionally you'll use the Super Hornet for transportation. I don't currently plan on having you bomb anything."

"That's good to know."

"Has your day improved?"

"Tenfold." She smiled from ear to ear.