Catch You in the Drift - Chapter 2
A/N: I'm finally getting this story going! :)
An hour later, Sam gets awoken by the sound of the all too familiar alarm, signaling dinnertime for the Shatterdome crew. Feeling fuzzy and a bit groggy, she slips into her dark regulation uniform and heads outside, weaving her way through the rust stained concrete hallways of her new home. It doesn't take her that long to find the cafeteria; it's right near the barracks where she's staying, just like in Los Angeles.
It doesn't take too long to go through queue to get food, despite the length of people in line. Sam glances down, watching her tray as food gets piled on it. She's pleasantly surprised at today's meal, a colorful spectrum of authentic Chinese food: salt and pepper pork chops, shrimp fried rice, gai lan, a small bowl of wonton soup, and a few pieces of shumai dim sum leftover from lunch. It's quite different from the usual American meal consisting of meatloaf and salad and corn.
Once she grabs food, she stands off to the side, scanning over the sea of unfamiliar faces. She feels a bit awkward; everyone is so familiar with each other and every table is filled up with crew members. She knows that wherever she sits, she'll feel the least bit welcome.
She catches a glimpse of General O'Neill and Doctor Jackson sitting in the far corner of a table. For a moment, she glances out in their direction and considers heading over there and sitting with them because they're literally the only two people she recognizes. However, O'Neill lifts his head and finds himself glancing straight back at her. She expects-well, more like wishes-that the General would make a sign to ensure her that she's welcome to sit with them. Maybe a smile or a head tilt. But he glances back down at the meal and continues eating.
Sam sighs, feeling a little dejected. It feels a little too much like middle school, very new-girl-in-the-cafeteria-esque. She thinks about sneaking the food back in her room and eating alone until taps on her shoulder.
"Hi!"
Sam jumps at the sound of a woman's voice, a little bit of the wonton soup spilling onto the tray. She turns around and sees a short, petite woman glancing at her with a big smile on her face.
"Um," Sam replies. "Hi."
"Need a place to sit?"
"I guess."
"C'mon, let's go."
Sam follows the woman into the tables, heading towards the far corner where O'Neill and Jackson are seated.
"I'm Dr. Janet Fraiser," the woman says. "The CMO of the Shatterdome. You're Samantha Carter, right?"
"Uh, yeah. How did you know?"
"Staring off into the distance looking for a place to sit? That screams 'new girl.' And I heard a Colonel Samantha Carter got transferred here. Might as well make you feel welcome."
"Make me feel welcome?" Sam asks with a smirk. "Or just buttering me up for a physical?"
"You got me," Fraiser says with a laugh.
They end up siting at the table right next to O'Neill and Jackson. Sam tries not to ignore the fact that the General's eyes are following her as she passes them and she makes a note to sit in such a way that her back is turned to him.
"So," Janet asks, digging into the food. "What brings you here?"
"I don't know yet," Sam replies, taking a bite into the pork chops. "It's a bit exhilarating. Suddenly I'm waking up to go to work in California and now I'm here. In China."
"Well, they had to have brought you up here for a reason. The Los Angeles Shatterdome is great, but they're second in line. This place is the front lines. The best of the best get transferred here, so I'm sure they have plans for you."
Sam frowns at Dr. Fraiser. She shakes her head and doesn't press for information.
"Mom!"
A sound of a teenage girl running towards their table catches both women's attentions.
"What now, Cassie?" Fraiser asks in a stern mother voice.
"Can I go out to the city?" she asks
"Alone?"
"Uh, no. I'm going with T. There's a small music festival that I wanna go check out."
Fraiser frowns.
"Fine," she mutters. "Be careful, okay? Charge your cell phone and keep it with you at all times."
"Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much, Mom! I love you!"
"Oh, Cassandra," Fraiser adds. "This is Colonel Carter. She just got transferred here from California."
"Nice to meet you, Colonel," Cassie shakes hands with Sam. "You can call me Cassie."
"And you can call me Sam," she replies. "Nice to meet you, too."
Cassie bodes Fraiser a goodbye kiss and runs off.
"Daughter?" Sam asks.
"Yeah," Fraiser replies. "But she's adopted. We found her during the search and rescue in Vancouver when the Kaiju hit the Pacific Northwest. She was just standing in the center of destruction, all alone. God, it still breaks my heart, y'know?"
"Who's 'we'?"
"Oh, the General and Daniel and Murray."
Fraiser tilts her head towards the table behind Sam.
"They're all pretty much her fathers," she continues. "We love and care for her so much."
"General O'Neill?"
"Yeah. You've met him, I assume?"
Sam shrugs.
"Sorta. I mean we've met, but I don't think he likes me."
Fraiser rolls her eyes.
"That's General O'Neill for you. He'll give a stinkeye to anyone he's just met. You know, military bravado and all that."
Sam nods and cranes her head back once again to look at the General, who is currently in a conversation with Daniel. His features are softened as he talks to the archaeologist, a contrast with the tense and almost irritated expressions he's given her.
"Are you done eating?" Fraiser asks. "We can get to the infirmary early and I can get you your physical."
"Sounds great," Sam replies. "Thanks… uh, Doctor?"
"Just call me Janet. C'mon. Let's go."
After Sam gets cleared for duty, she heads back to the barracks since curfew in an hour and there's really nothing she could do but hang out in her room. However, as she's digging for her keys in her pockets, she sees a small picture on the ground, right in front of her door and decides to pick it up just in case someone's looking for it. She knows how valuable photographs are during these tough times, especially with the Shatterdome crew members as many no longer have families or are away from them because of military assignment.
When she looks closer at the picture, she's surprised to find out that General O'Neill is in the picture, even more when she sees the young child next to him. In the picture, O'Neill looks happier and relaxed, unlike the brooding General she met a few hours earlier. He also looks younger, with brown hair on his head instead of the greying hair. The young child looks like O'Neill, with the same brown eyes and smile. He's probably O'Neill's son. She turns the photo around and sees something scribbled in the back.
My dearest Charlie
Sam feels a pang of sorrow for O'Neill, assuming that his son probably perished in a Kaiju attack. She buries the photo in her pockets, making a mental note to give the photo back to O'Neill when she crosses paths with him.
Well, if she ever crosses paths with him.