Chapter 4
Jack found June Carter going over her work reports as she sat at the station. He came up to her and called, "Carter."
She looked up, "Sir."
He held a set of keys, "I got ya a ride."
"Um," she wasn't sure how to react.
"Come on, kid. I don't have all day to teach you how to drive." he sounded.
"I have to finish my report," she told him.
"It can wait," he waved the report off. "Come on!"
She rose to her feet unsure of she should leave her work.
Jack noted, "Boy you are as bad as Carter." He then asked, "You and her related?"
"Why do you ask?" she wondered.
He shrugged, "You kind of have the same nose and you act alike."
She changed the subject, "What am I driving?"
He found it odd how she didn't answer his question. He motioned, "This way." He led her down the hallway and up the elevator to the entrance. He walked her to his large black pickup truck.
"You want me to drive a tank?!" she gulped.
"We will be going to an airfield where you can drive it around." he climbed in behind the wheel. He looked out the window and kidded, "Come on Mini-Carter."
"Mini-Carter?" she asked baffled as she climbed in the passenger's seat for she was not aware of Jack's clone.
They started down the road. Jack asked, "So, you like to watch T.V.?"
"Some," she replied.
"Ever watch the Simpson's?" he asked.
"I could relate to it," she nodded, "And Married with Children."
"I watched that one too," he agreed.
"Ever watch Night Court?" she grinned.
Jack smiled, "Bull is my favorite. What's your favorite movie?"
"I like to watch the musicals from the 40's," she admitted. "Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing…Maybe a few black and white crime dramas…"
"Like old crime dramas," he gave a nod. "What's your favorite color?"
"Why?" she wondered.
"Wondering?" he shrugged. "You can tell a lot about someone by their favorite color."
"Teal," she replied.
"That's good," he gave a nod.
She asked amused, "Why is that good?"
"It means you're mellow and down to earth," he figured. "Now if your said black we would have a problem. That would mean you are depressed. If you said red, that would mean anger. White would mean you had given up."
"When I was little my favorite color was yellow," she informed.
"Sunny," he stated, "Means you were looking forward to a new day."
"And now?" she wondered.
"You've settled into yourself," he replied.
"I never thought that much about colors before. What's your favorite color?" she wondered.
"Peridot," he stated.
She made a face, "Kind of a booger green…"
"It doesn't look like boogers," he countered "more of a bright green…"
"Neon booger green," she teased.
"You should talk," he miffed, "Teal can be kind of weird…" he pulled into the airfield and drove the flat grassy area. "Okay kid…You and I switch."
"You are really gonna let me drive your truck?" she asked.
He motioned towards the empty field, "Not like you are gonna hit anything."
"Okay then," she opened the door and slid down the seat. She walked around and climbed up behind the wheel as Jack took the passenger's side. She looked over the dashboard and the controls. "Okay, I put my foot on the break and put it in drive," she figured.
"Yup," he nodded.
She pressed the break down feeling excited. She couldn't believe it! Someone was letting her drive. She bubbled with excitement. She placed the shifter down in drive. She then slowly placed her foot on the gas and ever so gently pushed. The truck started at a crawl.
Jack looked over, "You can go a little faster."
"I don't want to hurt your truck if I mess up," she told him.
"You shut down a wormhole but you afraid to 'hurt' my truck?" he asked her.
"The wormhole was easy," she explained. "This is harder. I never drove before."
"But you are pretty handy with your pocket knife," he stated.
"I rebuild computers and video games," she told him. "That was just like fixing a gaming system. But driving…" she clenched the wheel, "I could actually crash."
"Not at two miles an hour, Carter." he told her. "Now press the gas down a little bit more."
"Okay," she agreed and pressed the gas down harder.
The truck jerked forwards and quickly slammed on the break. Jack's head whipped back and forth. He placed his hand on the wheel, "Slowly!" he stated.
"Right," she nodded. She liked Jack for he seemed to be more relaxed than most officers and took a genuine interest in her. She slowly pressed the gas down and the truck rolled through the field as Jack instructed her.
Meanwhile
Sam roamed the halls looking for June wondering where she went. It was not like the Airman to simply disappear. She began to worry that perhaps June had gone A.W.O.L. in fear. Her fears dissipated as she found June stepping off the elevator with Jack.
Jack was in the process of telling her a story from his youth. "So, there I am on my bicycle and I'm riding with the two best buds and it came to be my turn in the game to say something awesome about my bike. I had playing cards on the front spoke to make noise and I pointed to the front wheel with my toe. I stuck my foot out to far and my sneaker got caught in the spoke while I was going down a hill and I went over the handlebars…And that was how I learned about flight theory!" He spotted Sam standing ahead of them, "Carter!"
"Sir," she looked at the pair. "Where have you been?"
"I took other Carter to an airfield to let her practice driving." he informed. "She did good after she got the hang of it."
"He let me drive that tank of a truck of his," she cheered. She smiled brightly. It was the first time Sam had seen June smile. She looked happy for once.
"I'm glad for that," Sam assured her. "When you get your learners permit I can take you out on the road."
"She already got it," Jack told her. "After the airfield we went to the D.M.V. and I had her take a book test to get the permit. She aced that! It was awesome, Carter. She picked up the book for the test, flipped through it and then took the test and got every answer correct." He pointed to her, "She's like a walking computer."
"That would be the photographic memory," Sam explained.
"I know," he grinned. "It's cool! Now all I gotta do is teach her to play cards…"
"You are not going to take her to Vegas to count cards," she insisted annoyed.
June told her, "If I want to go to Vegas and gamble then I can."
"You would be cheating," she countered. "And gambling can turn into an addiction and I don't see you waste your life in a gambling hall in Vegas."
Jack cocked an eyebrow, "Ease up Carter. You're not her mother. She's an adult."
Sam drew a deep breath as she bit her lip annoyed.
June stated, "Actually she is!" She turned to Jack's confused face, "Thanks for helping me, Colonel. I have to get back to work now." She walked away without a word to Sam.
Jack looked at Sam as June walked off. "What?" he asked her.
"I was sixteen and my mother just died and I got too close to a boy in high school. I got pregnant and my father arranged for the baby to be adopted. I never saw her when she was born; they took her right from me. I assumed she was adopted by a loving family and had her own life. Her adoption fell through and she ended up in a string of foster homes that I didn't even know about. She should have come back to me. She never did. Her records were never sealed so she had her original birth certificate and it's in her file. She needed it to join the military and pass the background checks. I'm on the certificate, right date, the right hospital and the right name. She's the baby I gave for adoption when I was in high school."
Jack figured, "And you are trying to make up for that time now."
"I wasn't there for her as a child. I didn't even get the chance to be but I can at least help guild her now. I can help her find a good college and make sure no one takes advantage of her." she replied.
"Whose her father?" he wondered.
"His name is Cameron Mitchell," she informed. "We were kids in school, both are parents were military. Occasional, I'll see his name pop up in rosters and reports…he's a Major. I never told him, he doesn't know."
"Why didn't you ever tell him?" Jack wondered.
"His father is disabled and I know Cam. He would start searching for her and I thought she had been adopted and had a whole new family and I didn't want my mistakes to ruin the lives of three people." she explained. "We were both kids in high school."
Jack stated, "She's an adult now. You won't be ruining anyone's life. Mitchell is an ace pilot and I saw his name in the Glider Program in Area 51. He knows all about this place. Why not just tell him? She's great kid, Carter. Just don't push her too hard."
"I won't," she promised.
"Jacob seen her yet?" he wondered.
Sam's eyes grew wide as she shook her head, "He's due for a visit in a few days." She looked at Jack, "June knows who he is and that he is the one who arranged for her to be adopted. Do you think she might say something to him?"
"I'm sure of it," he nodded. "The thing about foster kids is they tend to grow up faster than other kids. They end up like…Daniel. She will have some tough questions for him."
"Like what kind of questions?" she wondered.
"Like how come he didn't tell you her adoption failed and then placed her in foster care. He had to have some doing in that." Jack pointed out.
Sam expression went from confusion to anger as she realized her father must have known that the baby went to foster care. She crossed her arms and squinted, "He kept her there. How could he do that?"
"Maybe you should ask him?" Jack suggested.
