Mother's Intuition
Danni arrived at the football field her school used quickly. It was only a few miles from her house, and she didn't exactly go the speed limit. Of course she blamed it on parental influence. Sam always did manage to go at least ten over, and even Jack couldn't help but not notice the marked speeds. They always responded to Danni's excuse with their own, "We're used to going at least the speed of light young lady, you're not."
Several other cars and trucks were pulling into the small lot as well. Danni rummaged through her bag and pulled out a water bottle, bringing only it and her keys with her as she jogged into the open air stadium. Two other girls were already there, waiting on a bench near the track that encircled the newly mowed field.
"Hey Danni!" They both hollered. Trisha and Tori were the oddball twins. Fraternal twins, they were night in day in comparison. But as kooky and different as they were, they were also her favorite members of the team. Sure Danni commanded respect from each girl on the team…for the most part…but their oddities made them more likeable. Plus, most of the other girls on the team didn't have the same interests in life as Danni did, and they often hung out in different social circles. None the less, Danni's skills had gotten her elected Captain by all but two votes. And she knew exactly whose they were.
"Hey guys, how was your summer?"
"Good."
"Abysmal."
Danni grew a confused look as her eyes went from sister to sister. "Mixed reviews I see." Danni shrugged. "Well, hopefully we can start a good senior year off now!"
"You can, we're still juniors. Remember?"
Danni snapped her fingers in the air. "Dang. Forgot about that."
The other girls just laughed at her sarcasm.
Soon several other girls were making their way across the field to join the group. There were twenty girls total on the team and this made them all slightly nervous. For some reason no guys had made the varsity team that year, and the five that had been on the team, graduated the year before. It was all on them now.
Danni clapped her hands to get the bubbly group's attention. "OK campers!" She shouted. "Let's get a little cardio warm up in before we work on some stretches and lifts. Five laps!"
"Five? Five laps? Are you out of your mind?"
Danni didn't move her gaze. She slowly sucked on her top teeth before turning to the girl with fiery red hair. "Is there a problem Kyle?"
"Uh, yeah, that's like three miles!"
Danni's eyebrows pinched over widened eyes. "It's less than two, genius."
"Whatever." Kyle snorted. "This is the first day of practice though."
Danni put her hands on her hips. "And by the last it'll be ten laps so get used to it." The redhead had no retort this time and walked over to the track with the rest of the girls, a crony following close behind.
"Wait up girls!" A gruff male voice called. All heads turned like a flock of birds to see what was going on. Coach Putnam was making his way over to their position with the football team in tow. "Sorry girls, but the boys need to run."
"Sir?" Danni questioned.
"Why don't you girls run laps outside of the stadium?" He suggested.
"Coach, no disrespect intended, but we got here early so we could use the track first…your team is here half an hour early."
"That may be, but the football team gets first dibs on the track."
"Excuse me?" Danni stated, respect beginning to slip from her tone. Several girls could be heard whispering behind her now as she stepped forward and meagerly tried to size the man in front of her up. Somehow she was five seven and holding her own against the over six foot, barrel of a man before her.
The football team was now growing behind the coach as well, and Danni didn't even notice the familiar set of blue eyes that were now twinkling with delight at what was sure to come. "Look O'Neill, you girls are just going to have to wait your turn or go somewhere else. The football team needs to go first."
"I agree that your team needs more practice than we do." Danni paused as several players looked taken aback by her statement, but others bit their fists with laughter at her boldness. "However, I think there is a much better way to decide who goes first."
Always amused by the piece of work before him the coach had to know more. "And how is that?"
"We compete for it of course. Our best runner against yours."
"How about Captain versus Captain!?" A guttural voice bellowed from the football players. Danni merely smirked that it was fine with her.
"OK." Coach Putnam gave in. He was under the mistaken impression that the little race around the track would give his team a morale boost for the day as well as the first go at the track. He was sadly mistaken.
Hands on her knees Danni was catching her breath when the well toned football captain finally made it around the track. "She cheated Coach!"
A boy with blue eyes came forward beside Putnam. "Give it a break Carl, she beat you fair and square." Danni just smiled at him knowingly. Nicky always was a peacekeeper.
"Fair my ass!" The boy replied. "Coach!?"
"Sorry son, she was in before you even really got started."
Danni turned as her team came up clapping and laughing at the guys. "That's five laps ladies!" She quickly ordered as they took off with their opportunity.
As she turned to join them the coach called her back. "O'Neill!" She rolled her eyes before turning back. "I'm not sure I've ever seen any student run that fast. There's an opening on the track team this year if you're interested." Offering the position was awkward for the coach, he had after all just lost a wager, but speed like that was unheard of and a sure win for the team. "But if you use that mouth of yours on MY team, it'll be a whole 'nother story." He warned with an air of caution.
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As predicted, Danni's team was complaining within the first three hours, but she didn't let them go until four. This gave her a chance to get cleaned up in the locker room before heading off to lunch with her mother in Cheyenne Mountain.
With her pass in hand, she made her way deep into the mountain and found herself searching the research corridors for a grey streaked blonde with stars on her shirt. Now, for most people, seeing a sixteen year old who could pass for fifteen walking through the halls of a highly secret and at times dangerous military facility would be unheard of, but the further into the mountain Danni got, the less resistance she faced. She had even been off world by this point in her life. She didn't remember the experience, something that had to do with the Tok'Ra when she was a toddler, but nonetheless she had gone.
A voice softened from distance flowed out into the hall. "I know what it's supposed to do Hailey; I just don't see you getting it to work." Definitely her mother's voice.
Danni crept towards the door and walked silently in so as not to disturb the conversation at hand.
"General, if I can just figure out an equation that would allow for the displacement to be maximized within the field, then it should work."
"Understood Colonel, but you're team is due in the field in two days. I'm not going to grant an extension on your research if you haven't made progress." Carter warned the younger woman before turning her head to see her daughter waiting patiently.
"Hey Sweetie, you hungry?"
"Starved!"
"Hey Danni!" Lieutenant Colonel Hailey greeted.
"Hiya Hailey, whatcha working on?" Danni walked over, determining that the business part of her mother's discussion was over.
"Space math." Hailey replied looking down at the papers strewn before her. "Evil, damned space math."
"Can I look?"
"Why not?" Hailey shook her head and dropped the pages in her hands.
Danni glanced over the papers while her brow continued to furrow deeper and deeper. Suddenly her face relaxed and she bit her lip as she reached for the nearest pencil and scribbled something down on one of the pages. Hailey grabbed up the sheet when Danni pulled away and greedily eyed the scribble before gaping with astonishment from the paper to the girl. She shook her head. "Like mother like daughter." She mumbled somewhat incoherently under her breath.
"What was that Hailey?"
"Nothing Ma'am. But will this be a sufficient request for an extension?" She held the page out to Carter who took it while keeping a narrowed eye on Danni.
Sam handed the paper back over and replied. "I'll see what I can do." Then she turned and took Danni by her arm and led her out of the room while the eager Lieutenant Colonel got back to work.
"What?" Danni asked with complete innocence dripping from her smile.
Sam couldn't hold back a laugh. "Why are you still in high school?"
Danni's eyes widened as she gulped with an expression all too like her father's. "I thought you said it was OK?"
"I just want you to be sure this is what you want. Danni, Lieutenant Hailey is one of the best we have and you figured out an equation that was eluding her."
"So I'm good at math. What's the big deal Mom? I already skipped two grades. I'll still be sixteen when I graduate. It's not like I'm a slacker."
Sam let out an exasperated breath. "Danni, how many languages do you speak?"
"Five…?" She pouted when she saw her mother's face. "OK, fine seven. But that's your fault for letting me hang out with Uncle Daniel."
"Danni you picked those up with no trouble at all."
"I don't see what this has to do with me still being in high school. I can still learn a whole lot of other things. Like social skills!" She added with a smile and a nod. Those really did need refining. Somehow Danni still hadn't learned when to back down from anyone other than her family.
"OK. I promised I wouldn't push anything on you. I just don't want to see you waste any opportunities to excel."
Danni huffed. "Excel at what? That's half the reason I wanted to stay in high school."
Shock covered Sam's face as she stopped walking. "What are you talking about?"
"Do'h." Danny growled to herself. "Nothing."
"Grace…"
"Mom…I don't want to disappoint you guys, that's all."
"How would you disappoint us?"
"Because I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life? Because some days I wish I was just a normal average sophomore wishing I was a senior instead of a semi-normal senior wishing I was a sophomore who didn't have to decide what she was going to be within the next six or so months."
Sam just pressed her lips into a thin smile and pulled her daughter over towards her. She hugged her and ruffled her curls that were now down. "Don't worry honey. I have ever confidence that you will figure out exactly where you want to be when the time is right."
The two started again on their way to the commissary.
"Mom? Why do you and Daddy always think everything is going to turn out OK, even though you worry about everything at all times?"
"Because…that's what parents do."
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Half an hour later Sam and her daughter had finished lunch. The meal was average for the mess so there was no need to linger over the flavor, or the lack there of. Both women got up and retrieved some jello for dessert and sat back down. Danni noticed the occasional glance in her direction that she was used to after so many years. There were even times in town when people who obviously worked on the base would notice her. She couldn't help but wander why she was such a big deal. Her parents were the heroes in the family. Danni was just…Danni.
"Anyways, I think the team will do well at competition this year, so no worries there."
"Good to hear." Sam nodded. "You do well with leadership. Now if only you could learn to respect it a little more."
"Yeah, about that." Danni took a breath. "Coach Putnam and I had a little talk today."
"A 'talk'?" Sam asked with great hesitation.
"More like a debate." Danni cocked her head.
"I'm listening."
"He wants me to join the track team."
Sam grew an expression born of both shock and confusion. "What led him to make that request?"
"I…well…see the football team was trying to take our track time for laps…and long story short I raced the captain for running rights…and I won…by a lot."
For some reason Danni couldn't understand why Sam looked like she was upset, perhaps even disappointed. "That's great." She forced a smile. "So are you thinking about joining?"
"I haven't actually given it any thought yet." Danni replied slowly as she continued to study her mother's expression. "What would you do?"
Sam was all to quick to answer. "I wouldn't."
"Ma'am?!" Was Sam Carter really telling her not to take a challenge? This was too strange.
"I just think that with it being your last year, and with all your APs, and cheerleading responsibilities, and everything else…it may be too much."
"An hour ago you were telling me I wasn't doing enough, and now suddenly the track team is going to be my downfall." Danni leaned forward on the table. "What's that about?"
Sam grew wide and innocent eyes. "Nothing. I just, what if it was a fluke?"
Danni was hurt. "You don't think I can do it? I knew I could beat him. I'm fast, really fast, and strong too!" She tried to hold the emotion out of her retort but it was hard.
"I know you are." Sam quickly responded as she reached out and put her hand on Danni's. I just…I don't want you to get into something on a whim." She placated her with a smile.
Danni just shook her head and smiled back. Her parents were so weird, and that was part of the reason she loved them so much. "I don't think I could put up with Putnam's power mongering anyway." She shook her head with another grin.
They finished the last bites of their jello as Sam tried to work up the courage to ask Danni about something Jack had called about earlier that very morning. "There is one more thing I'd like to talk to you about before you head home Danni."
"What's that Mom?"
Carter looked to her empty dish and then back up. "I've noticed you've been acting a little funny lately. Is anything bothering you?"
A baffled look crossed the girl. "Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know. You haven't been having any nightmares again have you?"
"Huh?!" The utterance slipped out before Danni could stop herself.
"I'll take that as a yes." Sam stated matter-of-factly.
Danni just nodded for a moment. "How did you…"
"Mother's intuition."
"Right."
"Danni is everything OK?"
"Yeah, everything's fine." She lied. Now the dream from that morning was beginning to make itself memorable and she fingered the spot on her chest as she could swear it was burning yet again. Finally she allowed her gaze to meet Sam's. "They're just dreams right?" There was a hint of worry in her question.
"What kind of dreams?" Sam pried with motherly affection reserved only for the girl in front of her.
"This is going to sound so stupid…" She trailed off shaking her head.
Sam rose from her seat and came over to the one beside Danni so that the two were only feet apart. "It's not stupid. Just tell me what you saw."
"I've had this one before…at least parts of it." Danni started. "There's this man. As strange as it sounds he's like one of those guys from Dad's stories. In the dream, I can't get up. It's like I'm stuck to a wall…and then." She struggled for the words. "He had a bottle of something…and he dropped it into the air."
"Into the air?" The story sounded eerily family to Sam. Like one she had heard years before from another person dear to her heart.
"It was like there was no gravity…or better yet like it was behind me. Whatever it was in that bottle, it burned right through my skin."
Sam let a small gasp slip and Danni knew in that moment that there was more to the dream than an overactive imagination. "You know." She whispered.
"Did he say anything, the man?"
"He wanted to know why I came back…and he wanted a name."
"Did you tell him?" Sam seemed to be on the verge of tears and this made Danni even more uncomfortable than before.
"No…he told him he didn't know, that he would tell him if he knew."
Sam looked confused. "Who told him?"
"I didn't see him, but I heard him…" Danni trailed off and bit her lip. "He sounded like Daddy."
A/N: Thanks for reading! I've made a C2 group to keep up with this series if you're interested. I've got another two planned after this one, and seeing as my college isn't offering the history or education classes I need this summer…I'll have plenty of time to write!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. These first few are supposed to establish personalities etc. As well as open up what the issue was that "Lizzie" never mentioned, and for good reason. The dramaful part of this story should start in about two or three chapters.
PLEASE REVIEW!! It makes me write faster ; )