Chapter Six: The Other Women

Vanessa Miller had only begun to settle into her new home on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. This was the last place she thought she'd end up. But Mary had gotten a new job. And for better or worse she'd decided to hitch her wagon to Mary's at least for the time being.

Life was different here, a long ways from the political intrigue of Washington or the bustling night life of New York. Those were her towns, her style. So much so she had to pay a visit to the old crowd in Washington last month.

The visit had been well timed. As luck would have it she met her dream Air Force officer right outside the Pentagon where she'd been cruising in hope of finding a likely new mark. Unfortunately, he wasn't interested in repeating their earlier tryst. She'd noticed a wedding band this time. Though that meant nothing to her, it obviously did to him.

She remembered him. He was special. At the age of thirty-four, Vanessa had long ago learned to distrust men. She'd been hurt more times than she cared to remember. So she'd set out to enjoy herself and gain power over men in the process. And if the situation was financially profitable, it was all the better.

That had been the plan when she met General Jack O'Neill six years ago. Of course he'd only been a Colonel then. Brash, handsome and sad, that's how she remembered him. In spite of the sadness she felt from him he'd been gentle with her, caring even. If she hadn't been careful, she could have fallen for this one. As it was, their brief fling lasted all of two nights, a golden weekend in Washington, before he returned to his home base and most likely, the woman who'd broken his heart.

Back then, she'd just begun her little sideline. A professional photographer by trade, Vanessa started to bring home men from various high class clubs around town. Regardless of what her good sense told her about this high risk practice, she rationalized it, telling herself she was relatively safe and, after all, she wasn't selling herself. She was simply having a good time, dating, choosing the men she wanted.

Then, on a whim, she started to videotape her encounters.

Initially she kept these recordings for insurance and her own amusement. Occasionally she would use one or another to extort money from a particularly well connected individual. Finally, she decided to start an internet business. "Pay per view", she called it. Her "business" took off overnight. Apparently there were more than enough cyber voyeurs out there to make her little cottage industry profitable.

For reasons she barely acknowledged to herself, Vanessa never included the tape of herself and the Colonel in her Internet repertoire. In retrospect, she would say it was because Jack seemed different from the rest. A good man, she had the feeling he didn't make a habit of one night or, in this case, two night stands.

In all honesty, she'd forgotten about that particular tape, tucked it away for safe keeping. Then Mary found it when they were unpacking a few months back. She seemed fascinated by this particular tape, not like the others. Vanessa had no idea why she was so interested. Then again, there were a lot of things Vanessa didn't understand about Mary.

OoOoOo

Early the next morning, Jack left to pick up Vala for their surprise visit to Vanessa.

Meanwhile, Sam made her way to the neighbor's house to talk with little Laurie and her mother. She was certain they had no idea the hornet's nest unleashed by the envelope they'd delivered to her. What's more Sam had no intention of telling them what the envelope contained. But she did need to know the identity of the anonymous mailperson.

Sam could be creative when she wanted to be. After all, as Rodney once told her she was an artist, even in her scientific pursuits. Without breaking a sweat, Sam came up with a believable story about how someone had sent her a very special greeting but forgotten to sign his or her name. And of course she wanted to be able to thank that person for the gift.

"Sam!" Five-year-old Laurie exclaimed as she opened the door to find one of her favorite people standing there. "Mommy," she called excitedly, "Sam's here!"

Karen joined her little girl almost immediately, smiling to see Sam at the door.

"Hi," she said. "I was a little worried when you didn't make it over for coffee the other day. I was going to come check on you but then I saw your friend, Daniel."

"I'm sorry, I meant to call you," Sam replied. "I got tied up with some things. In fact, that's really why I'm here now. I'm doing a little detective work."

"I love detectives," Laurie said, "I want to be a detective!"

Sam smiled brightly. Laurie was a little angel. She'd be happy to have a little girl just like her.

"Well Laurie, I have a job for a good detective," Sam said.

Karen watched Sam with Laurie. She'll make a great mother, Karen thought.

"Me! Me do it!" Laurie cried.

"You are exactly the one I had in mind," Sam said. "Do you remember the person who gave you the envelope for me the other day?"

"Sure I do," Laurie said. "The pretty lady gave it to me."

Karen smiled. "Laurie was all excited. She said the lady looked a lot like you, only 'she was short'".

"Wow, that's good," Sam said, directing her comments to Laurie. "I'll bet her hair was blonde, like mine."

"Yep," Laurie said definitively. "But it was shorter," she said, holding her hands just above her shoulders. "Like this."

"Okay, that's good," Sam said, encouraging the little girl. "And was she short or tall like me?"

"She was short," Laurie said, climbing up to sit beside Sam on the sofa and placing her hand at Sam's shoulder. "Like that."

"I think you're going to make a very good detective," Sam said. "Do you remember anything else?"

"She was wearing shorts, really short ones like mommy won't let me wear."

"Thanks honey," Sam said. "You did great."

Sam turned to Karen.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see her very well," Karen said. "She knocked, handed it to Laurie and was walking away by the time I got to the door. I just saw her back. But like Laurie said, she was five-three, five-four, not much taller, and blond. Oh, and she got into a red Jeep and drove off." Karen stopped, looked meaningfully at Sam and said, "I hope everything's okay."

"Its fine," Sam lied, "I want to thank her for the gift is all." If I can figure out who the heck she is, Sam thought. Vanessa Miller was a brunette. So who was the short blond woman Laurie and Karen saw?

OoOoOo

As Sam talked with Laurie and Karen, Jack and Vala approached the house where they expected to find Vanessa Miller.

Jack was glad to see a vehicle in the driveway. Hopefully at 1000 hours on a Saturday morning, that meant someone was home. As they walked past the red Jeep to the front door, Jack fully expected Vanessa to answer the door. He realized he knew very little about the woman he'd come to see. He wasn't certain how much he wanted to know, particularly if she were responsible for making the tape and sending it to Sam.

When the door opened, he was surprised. Instead of the tall, brunette Vanessa, he and Vala were greeted by a petite blond, no older than twenty-five years of age. It was Mary.

TBC

A/N: Sorry, but I'm getting slowed down by life!! First of all the computer ate this chapter, not once but twice! Then lots of little problems, like the car dying just before vacation, an invasion of mice and other "special occurrences". When it rains it pours!! I think I need SG1 to come and bail me out!!

Anyway, there may be a delay getting the final 2-3 chapters written and posted, but I'll do my best.

Please let me know what you think of this one.