Chapter 4 – Hellos and Goodbyes

Janet opened her front door, with Sam and Cassie waiting behind her.

"Dad!" exclaimed a surprised voice.

At the SGC…

Jack O'Neill was thinking he'd never get home. First there had been an unscheduled off-world activation, resulting in an urgent visit from the Tok'ra. Before he had a chance to leave, he was sent a recording of an urgent message received from Prometheus. Worried about what might have happened, he immediately played it.

"This is General Hammond, commander of Prometheus. We are returning to Earth after receiving minor damage from an encounter with a Ha'tak, two Al'kesh, and several Death Gliders. Prior to this, we were lured into a trap by a phony distress call by a pirate who proceeded to steal Prometheus and sell her to traders. No injuries were received apart from zat fire. We have since captured the traders and a third Al'kesh. Unfortunately, the pirate took two of my personnel prisoner."

Jack had been worried when he head that Prometheus had been under attack, but had almost laughed when he heard that the ship had been stolen by a single pirate. He was relieved to hear that no injuries had been sustained, and pleased at the mention of prisoners and loot. But the mention of prisoners had his heart sinking back towards his feet. Cynthia and Daniel had better not be among the prisoners.

"The prisoners are Doctor Daniel Jackson and Cynthia Sanders."

Jack swore. Loudly.

"The prisoners say that the dealer took the prisoners aboard a cargo ship, of which we have seen no sign. We were forced to leave by a Ha'tak, and our shields are minimal. However, the planet's location matches a stargate address, so we believe it is possible to sent a search team to see if the pirate is still on the planet. I am sending the relevant security footage so you know who you are dealing with. In summary, she claims to be a former Goa'uld host, wore armour taken from one of Anubis' drones, and used a zat gun to avoid killing anyone. We should reach Earth in approximately five hours. Hammond out."

Jack muttered some choice words about interfering female space pirates.

At Janet's home…

"Hi Sam! Doctor Frasier, Cassandra, I'm sorry to barge in like this, but I needed to see Sam."

"Dad, it's been a while," Sam greeted, giving her father a hug.

"It's no problem, General Carter," Janet replied.

"Please, call me Jacob."

"If you remember that I'm Janet when I'm at home. Come on in."

Jacob moved inside, but didn't sit down. "Actually, I can't stay for long."

"What's wrong, Dad?" Sam wondered with concern.

"I… Selmak's dying," Jacob admitted.

"What?" three shocked voices asked. "I'm sorry to hear that," Sam added.

"She's okay with it. She lived a pretty full life."

"I think I know what you mean, from my short time with Jolinar," Sam responded.

"She doesn't feel up to speaking for herself, but she wants to thank you for being good friends and allies. She also says she thinks of you as a daughter, Sam."

"I… I don't know what to say. Just… tell her I thank her for everything she's taught us… and you, Dad."

Jacob smiled. "She says it was an honour."

"Is there anything I can do?" wondered Janet.

Jacob shook his head. "I'm afraid not. She's just too old to live much longer. I need to get back to the base so she can safely… leave."

"I'll come with you, Dad," Sam offered.

"Me too," Janet added.

"No, Janet. You said today is a special day. You and Cassie stay here, and I'll be back as soon as I can. No working for you tonight."

"If you say so," Janet reluctantly agreed. "Goodbye and… good luck," she said to Selmak and Jacob.

"We thank you, Janet." Jacob Carter walked back to his car, followed by his daughter.

"Now what do we do?" Cassie wondered after the guests had left.

"I suppose we'll need to…" Janet was interrupted by the phone ringing. "…answer the phone." She quickly picked up. "Janet Frasier speaking."

"Doc, is Sam with you?"

"I'm sorry, she just left with Jacob, Sir. They're returning to the base."

"Oh, I'll tell her when she gets back. But this news is for you too."

"Bad news?"

"I'm afraid so. We received word from Hammond. He's scrubbing the mission. Ran into a spot of pirate trouble. Some woman managed to steal their ride, but they got it back without anyone getting hurt."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"That's not the bad news though. She took two prisoners. Not intentionally, but they happened to be in the right place at the wrong time."

"Prisoners? Daniel?"

"And Cynthia," Jack confirmed.

"Oh no! I'll be on base as soon as I can."

"No need, Doctor. No one's hurt, and we're already planning a rescue mission, via a handy shortcut." He meant the stargate, of course. "Don't worry, we'll get them back. You'll get all the details tomorrow."

"A woman has Daniel prisoner and you're telling me not to worry?"

"He'll be fine – he's already slapped her in the face once so far. And he has his garage door opener in case he gets away."

"Alright, but I'll be in first thing in the morning. Thank you for informing me." She set the phone down. "I knew it was a mistake to let him go!"

"What happened, Mom? Is Daniel alright?" Cassie wondered.

"He was taken prisoner to what sounds like a female space pirate," Janet replied. "And Cynthia with him."

"That's terrible! Is anyone hurt?"

"No, everyone's fine. Though apparently Daniel slapped the pirate in the face."

"Way to go Daniel!" Cassie responded exuberantly. "Let's eat and try not to worry for a while, okay Mom?"

"Let's try that," Janet agreed. "And you can tell me what you got up to with the friends you were visiting this morning." Cassie was saved from answering by the door chiming yet again. "Now what?" She flung the door open to find nervous-looking visitors. One was a short and very tan young man with untidy light brown hair and familiar yet strange eyes. The other was a slightly taller girl with very dark skin and long hair, almost black. She seemed about the same age but less nervous.

"Janet Frasier?" Ivan asked. He recognised her, but he had to be certain.

"Yes. Can I help you?" She didn't feel like being helpful, but she felt that she knew him from somewhere.

"Mom."

She immediately knew who he was. "Ivan! My baby, you came to me!" She quickly wrapped him in a fierce – and a bit embarrassing for him – hug. Leah couldn't help but smirk, until her eyes met Cassie's. The two girls looked at each other warily.

"Can I breathe please?" Ivan eventually asked.

"Of course. Sorry, I've missed you." Janet released her son who she hadn't seen since he was a baby. Then she realised something else that had to be said. "Happy Birthday, Ivan."

"You remember my birthday?" He seemed surprised.

"Of course, I'm your mother. I even have cake. You should come inside." She noticed Leah for the first time since realising Ivan's identity. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Leah. Leah Lincoln. Leah, this is my mom, Janet Frasier." Then he explained, "She came with me 'cos… she's kinda in trouble."

"Oh?" Janet raised an eyebrow, almost as well as Teal'c.

"I – It's nothing bad," Leah quickly corrected. "I mean, it is, but… well, that is – it's not…"

"Someone wants her dead," Ivan quickly filled in.

"Then you'd better come in. I hope you're hungry."

"Yep, we are," Ivan replied with a good-natured smile. "Um, who's this?"

Janet realised she had an introduction to make. "This is my daughter Cassandra. Cassie, meet my son, Ivan Sage." She was a little reluctant to speak her ex-husband's family name.

"Uh, hi, Cassie. I wasn't really expecting a little sister, especially a taller one."

"Actually, she's older than you too," Janet corrected.

"Pardon?"

"Adopted. Nice to finally meet you, Ivan. Mom's told me about you," Cassie told her brother pleasantly. She offered him her hand, and she shook it. He didn't seem to react so well. "Ivan? Are you alright?" She thought he looked shocked, and a little lost.

"Uh, I'm alright. Just hungry," he covered.

"Then take a seat. There should be plenty of food. We already had too much, and then Sam had to go."

"Sam? A boyfriend?" Ivan pretended to wonder.

"No, she's a Samantha. One of our best friends. She's a scientist and works for the Air Force with my mom. Our mom, I mean," Cassie explained and corrected.

"Air Force? You're in the Air Force, Mom?"

Janet nodded as she began setting plates of food on the table. "I'm chief medical officer over at the Cheyenne Mountain base."

"That sounds interesting," Leah commented.

"It is, but I can't tell you anything about it. Doctor-Patient confidentiality, you know."

"Oh, I was hoping you could tell us some stories. Hey, is that an engagement ring?" Leah had spotted the shiny stone on their host's finger.

Janet nodded. "I was given it yesterday."

"Ooh, who is he?"

"His name's Daniel Jackson. One of my worst patients, actually. He's a civilian contractor to the Air Force."

"Doing what?" Leah pressed.

"Translations. He's an archaeologist and linguist and knows a lot of languages. I can't tell you any more than that."

Ivan was thoughtful. "When do I get to meet this guy?"

"I'm not sure. He's out of the country at the moment, and I don't know when he'll get back."

"Oh."

"So… what brings you back to me, Ivan?" Janet asked her son. "I don't think your father would be happy with you coming to see me."

"No, he wouldn't, but I had to. He… he's said a lot of bad things about you over the years, and I was starting to think that perhaps they weren't true. Now that I'm 18, he can't get me back, so I don't have to worry about the consequences. And… now that I've met you, I can see that he must have been lying." He could see that in more ways than one.

"What did he say about me?" Janet asked slowly. She would rather have not found out, but she had to know, for Ivan's sake.

Ivan helped himself to some chips before revealing, "The worst thing he said was that you tried to kill me, before I was born."

"I'm not surprised," Janet answered. "He threatened to have me convicted of that if I didn't let him keep you."

"But you didn't do it."

"No, but he did. He said he could blame it on me, and since he had a few friends in high places, I was afraid he might succeed."

"Why did he do it?"

"He had some… issues. Control issues. He married me after he got me pregnant because he wanted to be sure he could bring you up properly. But then he later decided I would be a bad mother for his child, after a petty disagreement. So he tried poisoning us. When that failed, he threatened he'd have it pinned on me if I didn't agree to a divorce and let him have you. I was happy to be rid of him, but not you. Then I was worried that he might try to harm me, so I joined the Air Force."

"You're right about the control issues," Ivan agreed. "Otherwise, he's generally decent."

Janet nodded. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have looked twice at him in the first place."

"Yeah. So, what did he try poisoning me with?"

"He slipped me some drugs. Don't know how he got them, as he was never a user."

"Yeah, he's clean," Ivan agreed.

"Fortunately, whatever it was, it didn't cause me any lasting problems, and you survived too."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ivan lied. "Hey, where'd the girls go?" He looked around and found that Cassie and Leah had swiped a couple of plates and were chatting quietly in front of the TV, which wasn't turned on.

"I think they saw we needed some privacy," Janet realised.

"True. Say, is it alright if we stay for a couple of nights, until we figure out what we're going to do?" he asked.

"Of course. But we only have one spare room."

"I'll sleep on the couch," he volunteered.

"No, Leah can have my room," Cassie offered, having picked up on the words 'spare room'.

"Are you sure?" Leah asked.

"Sure I'm sure. Can we put a movie on now?"

"I don't see any reason not to," Janet agreed.

As the only male, Ivan couldn't help but groan at the thought of what they might choose.

At the SGC…

"Sam, Jacob, I didn't expect to see you back so soon. Except that Janet told me you were on your way."

"Sam?" Jacob questioned.

"I told you, I'm out of his chain of command, so he's gradually starting to call me by my first name," Sam explained.

"And was this before or after you broke up with Pete?"

"After. Can we stay on track, Dad?"

"Sorry. Jack, I've got some bad news for you." Jacob had naturally left Jack waiting as he wanted to tell his daughter first.

"The Tok'ra need our help again?"

"No, Jack. Selmak's dying."

"Selmak? Dying?"

"Selmak is one of the oldest of the Tok'ra. While they have long lifespans, they don't live as long as the Goa'uld."

"Because they don't use the sarcophagus," Jack followed.

"Precisely. But she's had a full life, so she's not afraid to go. Especially now that she's seen several system lords fall."

"Can't Selmak speak for herself?"

"No, she's saving her strength so she can leave safely. But she's thankful for the help the Tau'ri have given the Tok'ra."

"Tell her the galaxy is welcome. But I've got some bad news of my own, which is why I was on the phone with Janet."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"We got word from General Hammond. Prometheus is returning to Earth."

"Prometheus?" Jacob questioned.

"A mission to the Pegasus galaxy, to see what's happening to the Atlantis expedition," Sam explained. "What went wrong?"

"They were suckered by a phony distress call. It was actually a pirate who proceeded to dump everyone in an Al'kesh and make off with Prometheus. Actually, she missed Daniel and Cynthia, and they succeeded in taking her down, but then she got the upper hand and sold the ship to a couple of aliens. But the rest of the crew got the Al'kesh going and took Prometheus back, after destroying a couple of other Al'kesh and some gliders which followed them. Then a Ha'tak showed up and they got out of there as soon as hyperdrive was working. Because of the damage sustained – the shields were minimal and didn't stop everything – they're heading back to Earth."

Sam digested this fascinating tale. She knew there had to be a catch. "What about Cynthia and Daniel?"

"They're still prisoners of 'Vala the space pirate'. Hammond sent a gate address of the planet the trade took place on, so I can send a team to check it out."

"Do we know if she hurt them?"

"She only used a zat on the crew, though she was dressed in full super-soldier dress, including those nasty wrist blasters. She did shoot Danny once, but immediately healed him with some mini Goa'uld healing gadget. Says she's a former host, and seemed to act the part too. Though she did later tell him a whopper about rescuing her people. On the other hand, Dannyboy lied to her plenty too. She let Cynthia take her laptop along, and Daniel has a GDO, so I don't think she's particularly violent, and they have a chance of escaping on their own."

"Hold on, who's Cynthia?" Jacob wondered.

"Jack, would you like to explain?"

"Well, she's our new stargate expert and genius inventor. She's only fifteen, but she's very intelligent, since her mother is a genius astrophysicist and her father has the Ancient gene and is a USAF general."

"Your long-lost grandaughter," Sam added quietly.

"You do have a lot of explaining to do, as soon as I'm back from the infirmary. Selmak says goodbye... and congratulations." Jacob's expression was unreadable, because he was feeling so many things at the same time.

"That went well," said Jack to Sam as her father left.

Sam nodded. "We caught him at a time when he couldn't do anything. Speaking of doing things, I should really call Janet, and then we have a MALP to send."

"Sure you don't want to watch Selmak's last moments?"

"I'd rather not, and Dad told me one of the other Tok'ra is here to see that everything... happens as it should." It was impossible to say 'everything goes well' since a death was involved. "I can't remember his name. Their names."

"Neither can I and I met them. Well, I met the snake. The host wasn't talking. And you were about to talk to Janet."

At Janet's place...

Janet Frasier decided the evening was going well, apart from Sam's absence. She'd expected to spend the evening seeking comfort for her son's absence, but actually seeing him was far better. He seemed to be a pleasant young man, though troubled and not very forthcoming. For a reason she could not fathom, he often appeared to let his mind wander, and briefly forget where he was. Leah seemed normal enough, and did seem to be truthful about being a schoolfriend who hadn't seen Ivan for a few years. The girl didn't give an explanation for the trouble she was fleeing, and Janet didn't see the need to press.

Sam rang part way through the movie, explaining vaguely why she couldn't return. Janet was happy to tell her friend the good news that her son had showed up, and promised to explain the back-story as soon as possible. The movie eventually finished, much to Ivan's relief. This was partly because he wasn't interested in the first place and partly because he'd made the mistake of using his 'gift' to see how it ended.

Ivan had considered amusing himself by spoiling the end, but he wasn't that mean. Also, it quickly became obvious that all the women had seen it before. Besides, the only way to explain how he knew the ending without revealing his ability – which he was reluctant to do – was to claim to have seen it before, which was something he absolutely refused to consider. Even with the movie running, he enjoyed the good-humoured atmosphere, and the company of his mother and adopted sister, who seemed like nice people from what he could see with his normal senses. Leah was interesting to have around as well. Thinking of which, he had to talk to her alone some time soon.

"Can we put another one on?" Cassie asked, as the movie was over.

Janet shook her head. "I don't want anyone having a late night. I need to be at the base early tomorrow, and you need to drive back to school."

"Studying medicine so I can be a doctor like Mom," Cassie explained. "But Emma's driving too," she added, referring to a friend who also lived in Colorado Springs.

"I still want you in bed soon. I don't want you keeping our guests up."

"Actually, it's not so late for us, with the time change," Leah mentioned.

Ivan nodded. "Actually, I'd like to take a walk around the neighbourhood."

"Good idea, I'll take my camera."

"You want to take pictures in the dark?" Cassie wondered.

"It's what I do."

"Not if you're staying here, you don't. If you want to sleep here, you'll do it now," Janet ordered. She wasn't about to let any teenagers roam around on their own, not on her watch.

"We should sing 'Happy Birthday' one more time before we go to bed!" Cassie suggested.

Ivan managed not to groan, but only because he'd been expecting her to say it.