Present time…
Kaylia had been released from the infirmary. She was doing much better, and they had provided her with quarters.
She had asked to see Carter.
Carter was sitting at her office, mulling through reports, persistently trying to find a world for Kaylia and her surviving people.
"Colonel" the airman said.
Carter looked up and saw Kaylia.
"Hi, yes please come in" she said.
Kaylia slowly came in.
"Sam…I hope I'm not disturbing you" she said as she looked around.
"Oh..no..no not at all…I apologize for not coming and seeing you sooner. I have been trying to find you a home, and it's been taking most of my time" Sam said.
"It's alright. I understand" Kaylia said.
She looked around as if she was looking for someone.
"Where is Jack?" Kaylia asked.
For a second there, Carter almost had forgotten he was there.
"He's…he's" Carter had no idea where he was.
He hadn't come by in several hours. But he also knew that she needed to work, so he knew not to disturb.
Sam not puzzled, but quickly gained her thoughts
"Airman, would you find out where the General is, please?" Sam asked.
"Yes Ma'm" he replied.
Sam then came and sat with Kaylia.
"How have you been feeling?" she asked her.
"I am well Sam….Your Dr. has been quite kind, and they even gave me a room to stay in". She said.
"Is this your planet? This dome?" Kaylia asked.
Carter realizing she had not seen the outside world.
"Oh no..this is just our work areas, and tents, as you would know them" Carter said.
"Come let me show you this world" Sam escorted her to the promenade where Kaylia can get a glimpse of the city.
The doors opened, and Kaylia was taken aback.
"This is, this is…" she was speechless.
"Grand isn't it" Jack said.
Carter and Kaylia both were startled. They did not realize he was standing there.
"Sir…I didn't know you were here" Carter said.
"Ah well, you've been quite busy, figure I'd plant myself here and enjoy the view" He said. Something told her, his statement had more to it, but she didn't dig further. She just gave him that all too familiar smile, as she walked to stand beside him.
"Jack" Kaylia said. "It is good to see you. Your city is beautiful. I have never seen anything like this"
"Yes, beautiful in more ways than one" Jack said, slowly looking at Carter when he said it.
Carter blushed, and couldn't say anything. She just stood there as Jack refocused his attention back to the city.
Kaylia watched intentively.
Tears started to form in her eyes, and roll down her face. She quickly faced the city as to not to draw attention to herself. But it was too late. Sam saw the tears and quickly came to her side.
"Kaylia…you alright?" she asked.
"I'm sorry..it's just…I miss my Eli so, and the children…when I look at you and Jack, I see what could have been between Eli and I. " she said as she wiped her tears.
Her and Jack? Was it that obvious. She tried not to react to he statement.
Sam went to her and held her close hoping a hug would help, knowing nothing but time can heal the pain Kaylia was experiencing.
As Sam held her Kaylia suddenly began to feel inner turmoil that Sam was experiencing herself. She immediately pulled away from Sam.
"Sam..why do you ache so?" she asked.
Sam looked bewildered. "What did she mean?" she asked herself, confused about Kaylia's statement.
"What?" Sam quickly responded. "Kaylia..I'm fine" she said.
"No…you struggle with something within. An ache, a want but you cannot have, similar to my ache for Eli. But I do not understand, Your Jack is here, right here. So why do you ache so." Kaylia quickly stated.
Sam didn't know how to react. But before she realized it the tears were just falling from her eyes. Kaylia's statement caught her completely off guard. She couldn't catch her breathe. She couldn't even respond. Jack just stood there. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize what Kaylia was talking about. Sam ached for him. She ached for someone she thought she could not have due to military regulations.
Kaylia saw her reaction. The young girl was confused. She didn't know about the regulations, so she could not understand how Sam could ache for a love that stood right in front of her.
"Sam why do you cry? I do not understand. I did not mean to upset you" Kaylia can see how her statement through Sam for a loop.
"It's ok." Sam tried to re-assure her. "I just..I just…don't understand how you sense that" Sam said, wiping the tears. And not realizing she did not deny it.
Jack just stood there. Not knowing what to do or say. He honestly just wanted to grab Sam and hold her but knew he would just confuse Kaylia even more.
"You see, not only were our women able to retain knowledge, we found that amongst us, we have few women that had some type of sensory ability. We could not explain it. It was found more in the older women of our tribes. It was rare to find it in someone as young as I." she said.
"Ahh..that explains it" Jack said, wondering if he should have said anything.
Sam was frozen. She couldn't move or think. Here was this young girl who practically reached into her soul, and verbalized her inner hurts, right in front of the man she could not have, or so she thought?
Right then, as if on cue, Sam's comm went off.
"Colonel, this is Dr. Keller"
Sam paused. She knew she had to get herself together. But she could barely talk. "Go ahead" was all she was able to verbalize in that instance.
"Yes, I was just wondering if Kaylia was with you, Colonel? I need to run some test" Dr. Keller stated, noticing there was a hitch in Sam's voice. Carter quickly snapped out of her frozen state, and chimed in quickly. "Kaylia is here with me, and General O'Neill."
"Can you have Kaylia come to the infirmary please?" Dr. replied.
"Is something wrong with me? I thought I was ok?" Kaylia said concerned. She didn't like visiting the infirmary much like Jack.
"Infirmary..I don't like them either" Jack chimed in, which broke the awkward moment.
Kaylia smiled.
She still could not understand why Carter felt the way she did. But she also knew it was rude to push or pry.
An airman was outside the promenade, since Kaylia didn't know her way around Atlantis yet.
Carter escorted her out, and into the care of the airmen.
"It's probably just some routine test, that's all. No need to alarm yourself" Sam said, hoping to calm the girls nerves.
"See that she gets to the infirmary" Carter said.
"Yes, Colonel" the airmen replied. Carter just stood there and watched the doors closed. She realized that Jack and her were alone now, and she was sure that Jack understood what Kaylia was speaking of.
"Sam?" He said. Knowing he needed to address "them" sooner than later.
She couldn't turn. The tears started to flow. She crossed her arms across her chest, feeling that very anguish that Kaylia spoke of.
Jack walked slowly towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey…." He said, as he slowly turned her.
And with that his famous "C'Mere" is all she needed. He held her. And she sobbed.
He held her close. He lowered his lips to ears, and whispered "It's going to ok". And without saying another word, Sam knew they both understood what Kaylia said. He just held her, not wanting to let her go. They just stood there, holding each other.
Sam's crying had come to a small wimper. She still held onto her Jack. Yes, her Jack. And yet her mind was running a mile a minute. "Dear God" she thought to herself. "How I love this man, how much more of this can I take? We still have regulations, that prevent us from being together…."
As they stood there in each other's embrace, Sam's comm went off again.
"For crying out Loud" Jack said.
"Colonel Carter, come in, this is Dr. Keller"
"Go ahead, Dr" Sam said. Slowly leaving his embrace, reluctantly.
"Would you come down to the infirmary please." The Dr. Stated.
"Is everything alright?" Sam asked concerned.
"I've ran some additional test on Kaylia. There is something you need to be aware of" she said.
"I'll be there shortly" Sam said. Although she didn't want to leave the moment that she was in, she knew she still had a ship to command.
She looked at him, and he simply said, "Go" …
But before he let her go completely from his embrace, he did something he's wanted to do, for a very long time. He lifted her chin, and slowly placed a soft kiss on them.
She stood for a moment, and smiled as he pulled away. She was shocked. Did he just kiss me? And she just stood there.
He knew her mind was processing at light speed.
"Go" He said, hoping it would break her unbelief of what just happened.
She placed her finger softly on her lips and gave him the softest brief smile.
As she left the room, she turned to him and said softly, still in shock of what had transpired.
"See you later?"
"You sure you bethca" he said.
Ask she walked outside into the corridor; her heart couldn't beat any faster.
"Did that just happen? Did he just kiss me?" she asked herself. Her heart couldn't be more full at this moment.
As she made her way to infirmary her mind could not process what just happened. The word regulation was all she could see in her head. They never once waivered in all the years they worked together. Why did he suddenly now give in? Was there something she wasn't aware of? A change in regulations? A change in his rank?
"Colonel" Dr. Keller said.
She didn't realize that she had reached the infirmary.
"Dr" she said shaking her head as if to shake herself back into command mode.
"Are you o.k?" Dr. Keller asked seeing she was perplexed.
"Yes, yes I'm fine" Sam said, knowing Dr. Keller was a good judge of character, and that she knew she was lying, but she left it alone. And Sam was so glad she did.
I was reviewing results from Kaylias people. I came across a common thread of cerebral similarities. It seems they have a larger, temporal lobe. Their Limbic system, is much larger than ours. Which would indicate..
"High sensory ability?" Carter interrupted.
"Why Yes…" Dr Keller said.
"Kaylia told me this morning. Seems the older women of her tribe contain this ability, but it is rare on the younger ones" She explained.
"Yes…that is what alarmed me. I have only found it thus far on the older women of her tribe. But when I came across Kaylias results, they matched them of an older women." Dr. Keller stated.
"I don't think there is anything to be alarmed of" Carter said trying to reassure the Dr. Kaylia just might be someone unique her tribe.
"Was that all Dr.?" Carter asked eager to investigate the questions she had running through her mind when she arrived the infirmary.
"Yes..that was all, Colonel" Dr. Keller said.
"Are you sure you're alright, Colonel" she asked again.
"I'm fine Jen (using her first name in hopes to deter her questions). Thank you for asking" She said.
"If you need me I'll be in my office, catching up on reports" Carter said as she made her way out of the infirmary.
The kiss was not something she can easily forget. It was something she had wanted for so long, and it just happened. But why now? what had changed that he felt the freedom to kiss her.
He didn't realize he had set her mind in motion. If something had changed along the ranks, Sam Carter was going to find out. But would she find out before Jack could act on his plans?
