Chapter 4: Divide and Conquer
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Thank you for all the positive responses, guys! I'm happy you like it so far!
Okay, so I just rewatched 'Affinitiy' for the first time since it aired and I practically burst into tears at Sam and Jack's conversation about the ring. How could she have said yes after that?! Sigh…
Enjoy!
Sam stood outside the car, staring up at the building looming in front of her. It looked much different than the high school she had actually attended. Hers had been two stories and made of bricks. This one was bigger—three stories, all modern lines, and concrete. To the increasingly young mind of Sam Carter it was intimidating.
"You're going to be late." Janet supplied helpfully from the car.
Sam turned and gave her a tight smile before shutting the door and hitching her bookbag higher on her shoulder. She saw Jack and Daniel a little ahead of her on the school's front steps. They weren't supposed to interact with one another, so as not to give suspicion to any of the Trust. She watched as Daniel entered the school and Jack stayed to hang out on the steps. As Sam passed him, he whispered, "Drop your bag."
Without pausing to think, she followed the order, dumping her bag to the ground. "Crap." She bent to pick up a few items that had spilled from the bag. A few kids asked if she needed help, but she just smiled and declined, thinking that these kids were so different from what she was used to. The colonel—Jack—kneeled next to her, picking up her notebook and holding it out to her, keeping his eyes down at the ground.
"You going to be okay? You seem a little…off." He spoke quietly, barely moving his lips.
Sam did the same. "Yes, sir. Jack." She corrected, glancing around to see if anyone heard.
He nodded almost imperceptibly before standing and holding out a hand to help her up. "Remember, anything happens that feels off, come find me. You know where I'll be."
Sam nodded and said 'thank you' loudly, then dropped her voice again. "Same to you."
"See ya sixth." Then he waved and disappeared into the throng of kids. Sam watched him go, her heart thudding in her chest. Several girls were staring at him as he passed and Sam couldn't help the smug feeling blossoming in her chest. 'I know him and you don't.' She taunted silently, barely acknowledging this was not normal behavior for her at all. 'And you never will.'
Then she hurried off to class, her blue dress swirling as she went.
….
Teal'c was already waiting in the head administrator's office by the time she came in. "You must be Mr. Jones." She held out at her hand as Teal'c rose and shook it.
"You may call me Murray." Teal'c inclined his head, careful not to displace his black beanie.
"Murray." She smiled at him before sitting behind her desk and opening the file folder that lay there. "Well, you certainly come highly recommended."
"Indeed." Teal'c inclined his head.
"In fact, you come so highly recommended I have to wonder…why here?"
Teal'c's instincts perked up a little. This woman was suspicious; was it possible she was working with the Trust? "My son, Ryan, has chosen to go to university in the area. I wish to be closer with him as I missed much of his childhood."
The woman-Rena Maynard according the plaque on her desk-smiled at him, her eyes softening. "My husband is in the military and we have a young daughter, so I understand. I think it's very noble of you to uproot your Air Force career to be close to him."
Teal'c inclined his head again, the corners of his mouth tugging up. He was proud that his cover story had worked so well. The woman cleared her throat. "So, Murray, you have first hour free, so that is considered your planning hour. You're welcome to spend free time in the teacher's lounge or in your office which is located in the boy's locker room. Do you have any questions?"
"No, Mrs. Maynard. This has been most enlightening." Teal'c stood and shook hands with her again.
"You can call me Rena." Teal'c nodded and left the room. As he walked down the hallway he peered into several of the classrooms, wondering if he was seeing any members of the rogue NID group. At the end of the hall, he spotted Major Carter, sitting front and center in her A.P History class. She was sitting up straight and attentive, bright eyes focused on the teacher.
Teal'c smiled slightly. Major Carter seemed to be within her element. He turned the corner and made his way to the gym. He passed the library and saw Daniel Jackson sitting at a table with another boy. Both were ignoring each other, too intent on the books open in front of them. Teal'c continued on, wondering if he would happen across O'Neill as well, but he reached the gym without passing anymore classrooms.
…
Jack stared down at the open notebook in front of him, not paying the slightest bit of attention to what the teacher was saying. He had already done this, why bother paying attention? Besides, math was more Carter's thing than his.
So, instead of paying attention, he looked around the room. It was a small class, maybe sixteen or seventeen people and an even mix of girls and boys. School was only a few weeks in, but the friend groups had already been established. It wasn't fair to call them "cliques," Jack couldn't really see any defining characteristics in each group. Had cliques gone out of style?
Two girls glanced back at him and smiled, giving him finger waves. Jack gave them the barest of grins, his adult brain cringing at how inappropriate this was. But that gave him pause. Why hadn't his brain told him it was inappropriate to think Carter was incredibly hot? Maybe because he was still thinking of her as an adult? Jack thought about it. He was thinking of her as an adult, no question. And she looked so much like her adult self—just a little shorter and with longer hair.
Jack felt his heart pick up speed when he thought about her in that dress. These damn hormones. He continued to look around the room. All of these kids looked normal—none appeared to be an adult in a kid's body. Jack shook his head. He couldn't explain it, but he didn't think any of the Trust were in this trig class.
…
Daniel was so engrossed in his book that he didn't hear the girl come up behind him, or when she sat down across from him. After staring at him for a long moment, she finally said, "Hi."
Daniel looked up and blinked rapidly, pulling himself from the book. "Hello."
She smiled at him. "New guy?"
"That'd be me."
"Cool." She looked around for a moment and Daniel wasn't sure if he was supposed to respond to that. "I know what it's like to be the new girl. My dad's in the military, we're always traveling."
"That can be cool too." Daniel started slowly, not actually sure what he should be saying.
"I guess. This is my first week here, too." She looked over her shoulder at the teacher to see if she had noticed them talking. She hadn't.
Daniel narrowed his eyes slightly. She was new too…could she be one of the people they were looking for? They weren't exactly sure how many people they were looking for, but tentative intelligence said there were three. No specification on gender.
"Do you like it here?" Daniel searched his mind for a question that might give her away, but came up empty.
She shrugged. "No complaints. People are generally nice. Hopefully, I can stay here for awhile."
"Right." Daniel smiled and opened his mouth to ask her something else when the bell rang.
She stood. "It was very nice to meet you, uh…"
"Peter." Daniel supplied, the name sounding strange in his mouth.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Jane."
"You too, Jane. See you tomorrow." He picked up his backpack and they parted ways. If Daniel hadn't been distracted by his own thoughts, he might've seen her look back- just once-and frown, before pulling out her cell phone.
TBC
A/N: Please R and R!
