It Wasn't Supposed To Be Like This
"Can we track them?" Jack's apprehension was barely visible, but inside his soul was tearing apart.
Walter listened into his earpiece only to look back at the General shaking his head. "No, sir."
"What? No Asgard device we can use?" Jack's voice was full of anger.
Walter was just as disturbed about Sam's disappearance. He had experienced the loss of the members of SG-1 more than once, and each time, felt the anxiety of never seeing one or all of them. "Apparently no, sir."
"We need a plan," Landry stated firmly. There was no chance they're loosing one of the most qualified people on Earth to solve just about anything, but most of all, he didn't want to lose his friend.
After notifying the President, a plane was sent for both Jack and Hank to attend the Joint Chief's meeting.
Months ago it had been proposed that a preemptive attack would be Earth's best hope, and since than, they've worked on heightening their defenses. With the help of the Asgard they had built three more large ships, like Prometheus, along with smaller aircrafts much like the X-302.
Now, it seemed as if they didn't have a choice. If the Ori could come as they wish, without SGC's sensors being able to detect them, they had to move fast before an actual attack on Earth happened.
Jack immediately contacted the Jaffa Council through the Goa'uld communication device, to coordinate the attack. They had expressed the desire to go against the Ori on several occasions, but eventually agreed to wait until Earth was prepared.
Jack requested news about Sam, asking if they had seen her, but got a negative response.
The only question on the minds of the military leaders was why of all people the Ori took Colonel O'Neill. Although she's the greatest expert on the Stargate and could figure out any kind of technology, that alone didn't make for much of an excuse. Something was up.
Hank and Jack returned to base to prepare everything from their end. If the news about the Ori establishing a base on one single planet was true, they'd have a chance.
"Dial P3P-X45," Landry demanded.
"Yes sir," Walter reached for the computer, starting the dialing procedure. "Chevron One engaged…" they waited. "Worm hole established," the sergeant finally announced.
"SG-1 this is General Landry, respond."
"General," Cameron's voice came through, "the Intel was correct. We've observed at least a hundred solders on the ground, possibly more, two ships also on the ground, and probably more in orbit, several Ori priors, and apparently Adria is due to come in a day,". They'd been on the planet for nearly twelve hours now, and the thing Cameron hated the most was recon missions – there's never anything to do, just sitting and watching.
"We have a situation here," Landry patiently waited for the Colonel to finish, "Colonel O'Neill has been kidnapped by the Ori."
"What?!" Katana practically screamed.
"The Ori ship appeared out of hyperspace and beamed her away, they were gone in thirty seconds," he sounded tired.
"But why? Why did they take her?!" Katana's anger was growing. She wanted to kill him for not allowing her to stay on Earth, she could've prevented it. Maybe.
"We have no idea, but…"
"Sir," Cameron interrupted, "something's happening… stand by."
All four members of SG-1 looked at the thundering sky, but there was no visible sign of a storm. And than they saw yet another Ori ship, landing. They watched as the Ori solders disembarked.
"Colonel Mitchell? What's going on?" Landry asked.
"An Ori ship just landed, we're…" he stopped, still looking at the massive craft.
Katana took hold of her communicator. "It's SAM! She's here!"
"Come again?" this time it was Jack who spoke.
"Sir, we have a visual of Sam, she's on the planet!" Cameron responded.
"Is she alright," Jack tried to sound normal, but it was obvious he was worried.
"She is restrained, but otherwise seems to be unharmed," Teal'c spoke into the devise.
"Of course, we have no way of knowing if she has internal injuries…" Daniel was speaking more to himself, but Jack heard him as Cameron was holding the button preparing to say something.
"We can rescue her, sir," Katana stated, assessing their options. She could use her powers or something… but with so many Ori Priors it wouldn't be prudent. Yet, she was willing to take that risk, and so was the rest of the team.
Landry reacted. "Negative. Do nothing for now."
Katana's anger for the man returned instantly. "What?! We have to try!" she challenged him. She didn't have to follow his orders, it's not like she was eligible for court martial.
As if sensing her thoughts Jack stepped in. "Katana, follow orders," his voice was strong now, "Operation Countdown will start at the designated time, we can not risk you being caught, so be prepared, and keep a low profile."
They looked at each other knowing full well what that meant. When the plan for defending Earth in a preventive attack was started, the code name was devised in case of the full scale attack on an Ori controlled planet.
"Understood, sir," Katana responded. Sam appeared to be unharmed, but still Katana couldn't rest since there was a small matter of Sam giving birth to her in a day or so. She felt helpless and desperation was overwhelming her.
On the other end of the Galaxy, a man felt just as Katana. Jack wanted to go right then and there once he knew where to find his wife, but he knew it was best for them to wait. Katana's powers might be good enough to rescue Sam, but with so many Ori Priors there, and without the jamming devices Jack didn't want to take that risk. He would go with the ground troops through the Gate.
Earth and Jaffa ships were to meet at P3P-X21, a planet three hours away from their target, and hopefully far enough for the Ori not to notice the gathering.
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Since the moment she was taken, Sam had tried to get some information, but no-one wanted to speak with her. Once they arrived on the planet, she was placed in a house that seemed to act as a base for the Ori army. Her mind raced, searching for the solution out of her situation, but came up empty. She was pregnant and under constant guard. There wasn't much she could do to save herself. For the first time in a long time she found herself scared.
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After five hours of waiting Sirius came back to check up on them, and to deliver the news.
"Sirius!" Daniel called out.
"Dr. Jackson, I could not come sooner…"
"It's alright," Cameron interrupted. "We need to…"
"Sir," Sirius spoke impatiently, "my people will wait no longer. We have discussed it and decided to attack the Ori at daylight. If you want you can join us, if not it would be safer for you to go."
SG-1 stood in silent disbelief. It was the first time it wasn't required of them to convince the people to fight for themselves. It was obvious that the Rellians were different. They were less advanced than Earthlings, however that was their choice – they had a great understanding of science, and medicine, but chose to live a simple life as farmers and hunters.
"Actually," Cam started again after the pause, "we will help you, but we need you to wait. Our forces will come in ships and through the Stargate, when that happens we need you to be prepared."
It was Sirius who stood in silence now. "Alright, I will talk to my people."
Vala brushed at the dirt on her pants as she stood up. "Why are you so willing to attack?"
"It's the woman they brought with the last ship," his face grew red.
"What? What about her?" Katana's stomach rolled.
"They plan to kill her," Sirius stated in frustration.
"Do you know why?" Katana's stomach didn't rest; it only got worse with sharp pains going through it.
"And when," Cameron cut in, he sure didn't want to let something happen to Sam. If they had to, they would rescue her themselves.
"It is decided she will be killed after the children are born," he started to explain, "I have never heard of a woman giving birth to two children at the same time…"
Cameron opened his mouth to say something but Daniel raised his hand stopping him, not allowing for Sirius to be interrupted.
"That woman must be very blessed by the God for her to receive such a gift," he turned to Daniel, "You know Doctor Jackson how we value life," when Daniel nodded, he continued addressing everyone, "well, we value a new life even more. The mother and one of the children will be killed immediately after the birth, while the other child is to be taken and raised by the Ori."
"Wait, wait, why just one child? And which one? How would they choose?" Daniel's questions were on all of their minds.
"That Orici woman, we've heard she had a vision that the first child will bring destruction to the Ori."
Katana couldn't calm herself after those words. Her hands started to shake at the realization it was all her fault, she is the first child. Her mother might die because of her. A sudden urge to scream was stopped when she sensed the strong Jaffa hand on her shoulder.
"It will do you no good thinking about it now," Teal'c spoke as if he could read her mind. "You must be strong."
Since their attention was on Sirius, the members of SG-1 didn't see the exchange between the two.
"… I don't understand how those solders could be so blinded by the Ori…" Sirius was still speaking.
"Well, they are their Gods…" Daniel tried justifying the actions of misled people.
"Yes, but if they are Gods, they could not be scared of a baby destroying them," Sirius stated a fact that was missed by thousands of Ori followers.
"Look, we need you to bring us some clothes, so we can blend in down there," Cameron pointed behind to the village.
"Why would you want to come down? Wouldn't it be safer to wait here for your people to arrive?"
"No, once the attack begins we need to get to Sam as soon as possible," Cameron saw the confusion in the man's eyes. "The name of the woman they have captured is Sam, she's our friend."
Sirius was surprised by this, and it only served to convince him he was doing the right thing in helping them. "I will be back in the morning with the clothes."
After his departure, Daniel, Vala and Cameron turned to Katana.
"Do you know anything about this?" Cameron moved closer almost like he was threatening.
"No," she said sincerely shaking her head. "I already told you, I wasn't allowed to see any documents regarding this year."
"Damn it! Am I alive in the future?" Cameron's annoyance was reaching his limit.
Katana frowned at that question, wondering should she give him the answer or not, but determined it didn't matter. "Yes, you're alive."
"I'm gonna kick myself in the ass for not allowing you to see those records!" he was hitting the ground with his left foot, cursing under his breath.
For the first time in a month Katana had to laughed. She laughed at Cameron's behavior, at her life, at the situation she got herself into going back through time, and at the fact that she was now on a strange planet, ready to fight the enemies she had never heard of before, with the fear her mother might die. A mother she used to hate, she constantly rejected was about to die, and Katana laughed at the irony of her life.
They looked at her knowing that something was wrong. Katana's laugh was more hysterical than one of amusement. Than she started crying, sobbing, completely unable to stop herself.
"Katana?" Vala called out to her. "What's wrong?"
"Everything," she spoke through tears, "everything's wrong."
Teal'c came to her, once again placing a hand on her shoulder. "It will be alright," his voice was reassuring and strong. "I can see the greatness within you, everything will be alright."
To their surprise Daniel, Vala, and Cameron understood she was crying about Sam. She was worried, and they couldn't believe it. Yeah, sure, they've accepted her as a friend, and into their small family circle, but they didn't expect so much love as she was evidently showing.
"You know," Vala tried at consoling her, "if Sam's alive in your future, that means that we will save her," her idea did as much for the rest of the team as for Katana. Suddenly they had a lot more hope than a minute ago.
"Yeah," Katana tried a smile. She knew enough about time travel to know it only took one thing to be different and the universe would be changed. The reality was that Sam could die or survive. There was no assurance.
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With the first light, Sirius returned with their disguises. SG1 followed the man down into the village trying not to look suspicious. Luckily the soldiers didn't bother to get to know the people who lived there. It wasn't a small village but for all the time the Ori soldiers had spent there they knew little of its people.
SG-1 spent the following hours blending in, talking with people, resisting the urge to run to the house where Sam was being held. They were so close; it seemed as though they could make it, especially with Katana's abilities. But instead, they followed orders.
"It's time," Sirius approached them.
"Time for what?" Cameron frowned.
"For prostration," he responded quietly.
"Oh no," Vala rolled her eyes, "Not again."
"Come on," Daniel pulled her, "we have to."
"You do realize you always take me to the same places," Vala tried to find humor in her despair.
Daniel frowned. "Hm?"
"I went with you to my first prostration," she explained.
"Oh, right, ha-ha."
After an hour of prostration, Daniel suddenly remembered it was Christmas. Mind wandering, he thought how they had been invited to Jack and Sam's, but he had had a different idea for this year. A surprise for Vala with candle light dinner, and with a little jewelry box that would fit a ring, but that wasn't going to happen now. 'As soon as we get back,' he promised to himself. No more waiting.
After another four hours Vala's restless nature was taking over. "How much prostration can one person take?!" she whispered through her teeth. "I'm already at my limit!"
"Just calm down, it'll be over soon," Daniel reached out to her, squeezing her hand.
A scream spread throughout the silence of the village. Katana tried getting up almost instinctively, but was stopped by both Cameron and Teal'c.
"Stay down," Cameron ordered.
"It's Sam!" she whispered desperately.
"I know, she must have gone to labor, there's nothing we can do now, stay down," he again ordered.
"If we wait…"
"Katana," Cameron was loosing his patience. He understood her wish to save Sam, Sam was his friend too, and it wasn't easy just sitting here, doing nothing.
"Fine," she finally said. Another scream reached them. Katana squeezed her eyes shut and for the first time in years she prayed.
Over the next hour occasional screams were heard, but nothing to indicate that a baby was born. Than they heard it. A baby's first cry as she inhaled, Katana was born.
"We can't wait any longer!" Katana said and Cameron agreed.
He gave the signal to Sirius, who did the same with his people, and it started. Some of them had projectile weapons, others carried knifes, and other tools they could use in the fight.
Not a moment too soon the Gate activated and marines and airman of the SG teams stormed in waves. They had brought an active jamming device with them, leaving the Ori Priors defenseless.
Jack was among the first to step through the Gate. Having taken the guards out by the Gate, the new wave had attracted the attention of more Ori forces.
At the same time, Earth and Jaffa ships were engaging Ori vessels high above.
Somewhere in the mid of the battle SG-1 got separated. Their soul objective was to get inside the house where Sam was, but as they all made their way separately, Vala spotted a flash of white light and Adria appearing in the middle of the chaos.
"Adria!" Vala called out making her turn.
"Mother," she coldly greeted Vala, seemingly unaware of her surroundings.
Vala lifted her gun, pointing at Adria's head. "You are evil. I can't let you do this any more," Vala blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. She knew Adria wasn't really hers, but it was painful none the less.
"Please don't do this," Adria wasn't pleading, more like warning Vala to back down. "You wouldn't kill your own daughter," Adria challenged her.
"No, Adria, not my OWN daughter," Vala pulled the trigger but nothing happened. She felt relieved and disturbed at the same time. She looked at the weapon, making sure it was unlocked, pointed at Adria again, and again nothing.
"You disappoint me mother," Adria stated angry. Vala fell on her knees before her daughter, unable to control her movements. She grabbed her throat trying to remove the invisible hands that were choking her.
Daniel turned to find Vala choking, he aimed and fired, but the P-90 was empty and he didn't have new rounds. He ran towards Adria in a desperate attempt to save his lover.
Adria sensed him and immediately he was in the same position as Vala, choking.
They looked at each other, tears on both of their faces. "Daniel," Vala barely pronounced his name, extending her arm, trying to touch him and he did the same, but they were just out of reach.
Teal'c saw his friends on their knees and wasted no time. He moved closer behind Daniel and Vala, locked the Ori staff, firing. But the blast stopped inches away from Adria, at her personal shield.
"You will pay for this," she looked at the Jaffa with fire in her eyes.
At the same time Cameron and Katana entered the house which seemed to be abandoned.
Hearing Sam moan they rushed up the stairs. Cameron signaled he would go in first and she was to follow. Opening the door abruptly he found Sam on the floor, trying to get up.
Katana was right behind him, weapon pointed as she checked the room.
"Aaa!" Sam screamed unable to move. "Cameron! She took Janet!"
He immediately came to her side, along with Katana helping her to get to the bed. "She took Janet!" Katana could hear her mother's desperation.
"Who? Who took her?"
"The woman that helped me give birth… aaaa," she screamed again, "she went that way!" Sam pointed to the other door. "I'm still in labor," she cried out inconsolably.
"You stay with her, I'll go after the woman," Katana ran through the door and could hear Cameron in the distance.
"Dedalus, this is Colonel Michael, I have Colonel O'Neill, she's in need of medical attention…"
As Katana stepped into the chaos that ruled outside, she scanned her surroundings, trying to determine what road to take. Than she spotted the woman carrying the baby. She was by the DHD, dialing the Gate.
Katana ran towards her, stopping when someone called her name. She turned to see Daniel and Vala suffocating, and Teal'c assuming the same position as his friends. In the second she had to think, she spotted Jack knocking down his opponent, near the Gate.
"Jack!"
His eyes raised to Katana pointing to the opened worm hole behind him. The woman had a baby in her arms, and Jack realized instinctively it was his daughter.
They moved in different directions. Jack towards the woman yelling "Stop!" and Katana towards Adria raising her hands also yelling "Stop!"
The woman turned to face Jack, placing his child in the line of fire, and stepping through the Gate backwards.
With all her strength Katana forced Adria to let go of the grip she had on her three team mates knocking her down. "Go!" she yelled at Daniel, but he was already helping Vala up trying to get some distance.
Jack ran to the shivering blue light, jumping into it, but the worm hole shut down at that instant. He was left standing in the center, but there was still hope. He rushed to the DHD. The address was gone. With both hands gripping his head he cried out, "No, no, no."
It didn't take much for Adria to get back on her feet. She turned to Katana, with the same burning eyes that had been directed at Teal'c, raising her hands, and sent an invisible force to crush Katana.
Katana hadn't expected that much strength but somehow she managed to defend herself against the most of it, but it still sent her to her back. For a moment Katana glanced to the Gate to see her father standing in front of DHD, a look of loss written all over his face.
All the anger of growing up alone, of not having real parents, real family, of missing out on the companionship of her siblings, of not knowing for twenty years when her birthday was, returned with a vengeance! But this time it was directed at Adria.
Katana stood up, fully prepared to destroy her. It was her emotions that made Katana special. Even though she couldn't possibly be an equal to her fellow warriors on Calisa, for they were much more advanced than she, but today, against all odds she was at her best.
Adria relished the idea of hurting this woman in front of her.
Both women, hands out and palms forward, faced each other. At first the force being exchanged between them wasn't obvious, than it began shooting sparks all over. Each spark causing a small explosion.
Looking on, SG1 was mesmerized by the sight. The two women were engulfed with strains of energy forming a white-bluish swirl. Every time a spark escaped the explosion got bigger.
And than it happened. Katana bounced off several meters, hitting the ground hard. Her right shoulder was severely burned. She was tired, so tired.
Adria approached Katana, standing over her . Daniel and Vala yelled something but Katana couldn't hear them. Teal'c stared as if trying to give her strength. And then she saw Jack.
Her father stood next to his friends looking just as strong as ever. She could've sworn she heard him in her mind. 'Don't you dare give up.' Maybe she was imagining it but it didn't matter.
"Who are you?" Adria demanded, oblivious to the fight that was going on inside her opponent.
"You're the God here, you tell me," Katana struggled with words, clearly in a lot of pain.
Adria pointed her hand to Katana's body, ready to give her the last blow. "It does not matter now," as soon as she had spoken those words, she lost her bearings, falling down on her back. Katana had tripped her. She was a true O'Neill - expect the unexpected.
Katana reacted instantly, staying by Adria's side, placing one hand on her heart, and the other on her forehead. She began extracting Adria's life force, and there was no way to defend against that.
The more Adria tried, the easier it became for Katana.
That particular maneuver was banned on Calisa, but her master had taught her anyway. It was done in secrecy but it was still risky. The punishment for using the ancient technique was the loss of one's life. Katana didn't care.
Before Adria took her last breath, Katana came to her ear and whispered. "I am the first born of Samantha O'Neill."
With that knowledge Adria finally closed her eyes.
Katana stood up, looking around, feeling disoriented. Everyone watched in silence. The Orici was dead. She felt her shoulder healing, but her insides burning. She was never able to heal herself and she suspected the extra energy had something to do with it. The burning sensation became stronger, reaching the limit of her threshold for pain. The last sight before collapsing was SG-1 and Jack rushing towards her.
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Two days had passed, when Katana came to. She didn't recognize the room at first, but after a moment she realized she was in her quarters at the base.
Cam, Vala, Daniel, and Teal'c were there.
"I will go and get the doctor," Teal'c stated walking out.
"Hey," Daniel greeted softly, "how are you feeling?"
"We were all worried about you," Vala took hold of her hand.
"I'm alright I guess… I have no idea… what to expect after this, I have never done it before," Katana spoke slowly trying to asses if there was any psychical damage. The wound had healed and she wasn't burning inside, she actually felt fine. "I guess I just needed to sleep it off."
"Yeah, you can say that again. You almost went ancient on us," Cameron added.
Seeing her frown Daniel stepped in. "Apparently, somehow, your brain activity was heightened, it was operating at ninety-eight percent, which is more than enough to ascend."
"You glowed and everything! It was so cool!" Cameron butted in.
Daniel cut his eyes to Cam with a glare, "After you stopped…glowing," he uttered the word not knowing a better way to put it, "you slipped into a coma."
"For two days," Vala added.
Katana realized why it had been prohibited to practice that maneuver. If people knew they could ascend with the help of another person's energy, who knows what could happen.
Dr. Lam entered the room accompanied by Teal'c, her attention falling on Katana. "How are you feeling," she felt Katana's throat, checked her eyes with the penlight, and listened to her lungs.
"The best I can tell I'm fine…" Katana stated surprised.
"We'll have to do more extensive tests, but you should be alright," Dr. Lam assured the young woman. "We were overwhelmed by the wounded so we had to place you here," she pointed to Katana's quarters. "Besides, I thought a familiar surroundings would help you."
"Thanks Doc. So what happened after I passed out, have we won?"
"I'm told you did an amazing thing out there," Carolyn smiled at her patient.
"In a word," Daniel cut in, "yes."
"You fought a formidable enemy Katana," it cost Teal'c ever ounce of his self control not to add O'Neill at the end, "and you managed to prevail," he bowed.
"And by doing so, saved a galaxy or two," Cam added.
"After the death of their God, it was easy to convince the Ori soldiers that they've been mislead," Daniel explained. "The fact that none of the dead soldiers, or Priors, or Adria for that matter didn't ascend made them believe us."
"You should've heard him Katana!" Vala said excited, pointing to Daniel. "False Gods! False Gods!" she yelled, raising her hands, apparently imitating Daniel's speech and they all laughed at the sight.
"They were one angry bunch," Cameron said still laughing.
Vala's hands went instinctively to her knees that still ached. "After that much prostration you'd be angry too."
"They're headed for their home galaxy to tell the people all that has happened," Daniel injected. "Anyway, we can safely assume that without their worshipers the Ori would be destroyed," he stopped, a thought forming in his mind, and an odd expression on his face.
"Daniel?" Vala questioned his behavior.
"Wait, if the Ori are destroyed by these events, and Sam and Jack's first born was supposed to bring the destruction, than you…" he stopped again, pointing to Katana. It was the thing that bugged him for months; she looked so familiar, so easy to like, easy to forgive, the blue eyes, so smart, the attitude – Sam and Jack written all over. "You must be Janet!"
They all fell silent at his statement.
"Wait," Cameron frowned, pausing. "What?"
"She's Janet!" he repeated.
She had kept her secret so well, and certainly didn't expect for this to happen, but knew there was no point in denying it.
Vala's hands were on her mouth, Caroline just looked in wonder – although she had suspected something it was still a surprise, and Cameron was still lost.
"Katana you have to tell Sam and Jack," Daniel stated sadly.
"No, I can't…" she tried to explain.
"Forget the influencing the future!" his frustrating was obvious. "They are destroyed! You don't understand what…" he was yelling.
"No, you don't understand!" Katana cut him off her frustration rising as well. "All my life I hated them for abandoning me! Do you have any idea how a child can hate?! It's beyond every reason!" she paused trying to calm herself, or at least lower her voice. "When I met them for the first time…" she shook her head, "… I was terrible. Worse than terrible. The look in Sam's eyes when I rejected her," she lost her strength to speak, her whole body shaking.
They were all waiting for her to continue.
"I blamed them, when all along it was my fault," Katana said sadly, wretchedly.
"It's not your fault…" Daniel relented trying to reassure her.
She snorted sarcastically. "I could've stopped the woman, but…" her voice trailed off.
"But you chose to save us," Daniel finished with understanding. "You have to talk with them." Seeing her shaking her head again, Daniel decided to try and make her understand. "Sam is in bad shape. She won't talk to anyone, not even Jack."
"She hasn't slept in two days," Carolyn added. "All she does is cry. We had to force her to eat, so she could feed the baby …Kathryn."
"And Jack… well, he's being Jack, closing himself off, but if Sam doesn't pull through, he won't either. He blames himself, and I think that Sam blames herself too…" Daniel finished.
"It wasn't their fault," Katana said desperately.
"That's why you have to tell them," Daniel tried again, his voice thick with emotion.
Cameron was at a lost for words. They all remained silent, reflecting on everything that had happened.
"Is Kathryn alright?" Katana asked, trying to change the subject.
"Yes," Vala smiled, "she's gorgeous, those little fingers, and nose, little mouth…just gorgeous."
"And in perfect health," Carolyn stated proudly.
"Look," Daniel spoke again, "Sam and the baby will be in the infirmary for the next three days… if you don't tell them by then, I will!" he stated firmly.
"I can make you forget you know."
Daniel smiled at her words. It was amazing how much she looked like his friends, and yet so different.
"Well you won't need to make me forget, 'coz I'm confused as hell," as usual Cameron played dumb, much like Jack once had.
Katana didn't agree to do anything, she knew Daniel would make good on his threat. Maybe it would be better coming from him.
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Jack sat beside Sam's bed feeling tired. It has been four long days. He had lost a child once again. As much as he tried, he couldn't convince himself it was a nightmare he was living in. No, it was reality.
Sam gave birth to Kathryn aboard Dedalus, but after that all she did was cry. He understood, but prayed she'd stop. She been asleep for two hours but only because the Doc gave her sedatives.
Kathryn was doing great. Jack turned to check on her. She was beautiful, sleeping peacefully in her medical cradle. But there were supposed to be two; they had two cradles at home. They had everything in pairs as there was supposed to be two babies. But there was only one, and it was all his fault.
Sam stirred a little before opening her eyes. She sat up, snapping her head toward Jack, than to the baby. 'No, it wasn't a nightmare,' she buried her head into her hands, elbows on her knees, crying.
"Sam," Jack reached for her, but she pulled away. "Sam," he repeated swallowing hard. "I'm sorry," he had already tried to explain what happened, but she wouldn't listen. "I'm sorry," he tried again, "I couldn't save her…I lost our child," his eyes were filled with tears, but couldn't bring himself to let them drop. He didn't for Charlie, he didn't think he had the right, and this felt the same. "It's all my fault."
Sam frowned at those words, looking at him desperately. Her hand found a way to his cheek, "Jack," for the first time in days she spoke up quietly, "it wasn't your fault. It wasn't," she tried to sound strong, but her own guilt prevented her. "It was mine. I couldn't stop her from taking our baby. She just took her… I tried… but I couldn't get up," she cried even harder, unable and unwilling to control herself.
Jack couldn't believe his ears. "What are you talking about?! Sam, you were in labor for crying out loud!"
"I could've tried harder!" she yelled at him. "God, Jack," she returned her head to her hands, "I don't think I can live with this," she whispered through tears.
"Stop right there!" he moved to the bed lifting her by her shoulders. He knew that feeling all too well. "Don't you ever say that again! I need you!WE need you," he pointed to their child still sleeping, and finally allowed his tears to drop. "There was nothing you could've done, nothing," he tried consoling her, taking her into his arms taking refuge in her as much as she in him.
Katana stood by the door unnoticed. After two days of reflecting, she had decided to at least visit her mother, even though she still wasn't sure if she would tell them who she really was. Seeing her parents broken like that, she lost her nerve and turned to leave, when she heard Sam's voice give away to despair, "It wasn't supposed to be like this," her mother's outcry gave Katana the strength to face them. Her parents were suffering, and she could help.
"Actually," she startled them, "it was."
"What?" Jack's usual 'what' didn't came close to this angry one.
"It was supposed to be like this," Katana ignored his tone, as she tried to remain calm.
Jack however was ticked off. How dare she walk in here and say something like that!? "And you couldn't tell us?"
"I didn't know," Katana closed her eyes, trying to find words to explain. "I wasn't allowed access, remember?"
"But you know where she is now?" Sam's eyes lit up in hope.
"Yes," Katana tried to stay calm.
"That's great!" Jack's anger was gone momentarily. "You can tell us, and we'll go get her," he made it sound so simple, and it could've been.
Katana's eyes were filling up with tears, while her parent's eyes were drying with the hope of getting their little girl back – she was just a wormhole away.
"I could tell you," she paused, closing her eyes again, "but I won't."
Jack moved in, invading her space. "You won't?" his was livid, and his tone made it perfectly clear he wasn't about to allow this to go by.
"I won't," Katana stood her ground, expression held in check, she met his eyes.
His jaw clenched. He had conflicting feelings, on one hand he felt like he would kill her right there, and on the other something inside him was preventing him from hurt her.
"I can't tell you," she said quietly facing the pain in her father's eyes, as he slowly back away.
"Why not!?" Sam cried out.
"Causality paradox," Katana remained stoic.
"Causality paradox?" Jack repeated not understanding. This was more of Sam's field, but either way he couldn't understand what this had to do with his daughter.
Sam searched her mind for the answer. "What we'd see as effect causing a certain consequence, it would actually be a consequence causing the effect and than again the consequence," Sam explained but like Jack didn't see the connection.
"Exactly," Katana nodded in agreement.
"So? What that has to do with…" Jack's rose escalated with confusion.
"If you're daughter doesn't stay lost, you may never find a way to defeat the Ori!" she cut him off.
"Katana! You're not making any sense! How can our child have anything to do with what's going to happen to the Ori !?" Jack felt as if he would burst from desperation, he moved to Sam, hugging her tightly as she cried again. "Shhh, we'll find her," he tried comforting her.
"You won't," Katana finally said, barely breathing from sustaining her tears.
Jack looked at Katana with rage as Sam's eyes filled with pure pain.
Before Jack could say anything she continued. "You won't find me," she stated awkwardly, "I will find you… twenty years from now," she couldn't speak any longer. The lump that was formed in her throat started to ease up as she allowed her tears quietly fall.
Jack and Sam watched in shock. "You?" Jack wasn't sure he heard right.
Katana nodded, still not able to speak. She tried composing herself, opening her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
"I am your daughter," she finally stated. "I'm so sorry," she watched as Sam grabbed Jack's arm in disbelief. "I didn't believe you when you told me it wasn't your choice to leave me. You tried to make me understand, but I didn't listen!" she cried out, inconsolably.
The thought that their daughter was alright, that she would survive was more than they could've hoped for.
Covering her face with her hands, Katana wept. Than she felt someone's hands on her shoulders, pulling her into a hug, as Jack kissed her forehead.
Sam had managed to stand, coming to her child, and Katana switched from her father to the welcoming hands of her mother. Both sobbed, holding tight to one another.
Jack hugged them both, realizing he was right all along. Katana was his child, their baby girl.
They stood like that for a while, until Sam began to loose the strength to stand on her feet.
Katana and Jack caught her before she hit the floor.
"You shouldn't be standing," Jack said in reproach, placing her in bed. "You're still recovering, your still weak and the fact you've been lying in bed for four days now hasn't helped."
"No kidding," Sam tried to sound bright but felt to exhausted.
"You should rest," Katana turned to leave, but the hand that wouldn't let go stopped her.
"Don't go," Sam pleaded, and there was no resisting her.
"Okay," Katana smiled, "I'll stay. But you need to sleep," she tried sounding determined but it came out soft and loving. "There's someone who needs you to be strong," Katana pointed to her sister who slept undisturbed by the events, than to Jack.
"Alright, but you stay here," Sam's voice was firm, as she started to feel her strength coming back.
"I'll tell you what, if you make room for me, I'll crawl in the bed with you, and stay as long as you want," Katana offered smiling, and Sam scooted over patting the space beside her.
"Hey! What about me!" Jack pretended offense. "Besides, the bed's too small for two people, let alone three," he looked at the empty bed next to them with a raised eyebrow and a grin. He moved it next to Sam. They placed some sheets in the space between the two mattresses, and made themselves comfortable.
Katana was between Sam and Jack, both of them tucking her in, and she smiled at their situation. It was ridiculous. Three grown individuals sharing two beds were sure to cause more than one smile, but Katana didn't mind.
Sam closed her eyes, and drifted off to contented sleep within minutes. She wanted to know so much, to ask so many questions, but was too tired to think any more.
"Hey, are you sleeping?" Jack whispered close to Katana's ear.
She smiled at his childish behavior opening her eye towards him. "No."
"I wanted to…" he waved his hand through the air.
"To?"
"To thank you for telling us who you are," there, he said it.
"Think nothing of it," she tried to joke.
"I still don't understand why you can't tell us where you were taken," his tone wasn't reproaching or angry, more like curious, and pleading.
She met his eyes. "If I tell you and you go and get me, I will never do the things that made me who I am, I would never be able to defeat the Ori, save Risi, I might even not marry Duncan."
"You can tell us where Risi is and we could save her. And you don't have to worry about Duncan; hell, I'll make you marry the guy if necessary, and as for the Ori, they're already toast, so..."
"No, you see, if I don't live the life that I did, I'd never learn to use my abilities the same as I do now," she saw Jack frowning, "and no, you can't train me. Kathryn has the same brain chemistry as me, and certainly the same abilities, but she never learned to use them the way I do. She can move things with her mind, and has great instincts, but still it's not enough," Katana explained. "If I don't marry Duncan, and he doesn't die," she paused as the memory of his death came rushing through her mind, "there would be no reason for those men to be hunting me, and I wouldn't be running away from them. It's the reason I'm here in the first place. And the same goes for Risi… I was on that planet because of her…"
"I get it," he cut her off, "I get it."
"I'm sorry," she sounded apologetic as tears began forming, but Jack just shook his head.
"So am I," he placed his hand on Katana's cheek. "You are so beautiful. You look like your mother, you know."
"Yeah, so you've said," she smiled.
He didn't know how to feel. His daughter was lost to him and yet she was right here. A woman of great strength, choosing to sacrifice her happiness for the good of Earth. "I'm proud of you," he simply stated, and like Daniel two days before, was reminded about something. "Teal'c knew, didn't he!?"
Katana panicked. She didn't want to cause a fight between two friends. "I begged him not to say anything," she said quickly.
"That lying Jaffa! I don't believe it," he raised his voice a little, but Katana reminded him that Sam was sleeping. "I don't believe it!" he repeated whispering.
"Please don't blame him for anything; he respected my wish not to tell you. He didn't know that anything would happen to me…"
Jack closed his eyes for a moment. If Katana had asked Teal'c not to say anything, Jack knew that his friend would honor those whishes.
"Hey, you know, I can tell you something…" Katana tried changing the subject.
"What?" his eyes popped opened and he looked at her expectantly.
"You're gonna have a very large family!" she smiled as she knew it was his desire to have more children with Sam. "Laarge family!" Katana didn't whisper any more.
"Shhh!" it was him who reminded her now that Sam was asleep, knowing if she caught them talking about the future, they'd be in so much trouble. "Really?"
"Yup," she gave him one of Sam's radiant smiles.
"Hockey team big?" he asked with hope.
"You can only hope," Sam's eyes were shut, but she wasn't sleeping any more.
"You're supposed to be asleep!" Jack tried to sound hurt by her ease-dropping.
"I would if the two of you would shut up," she joked. She heard just enough to make her heart jump of joy, but still she knew the risks that time travel brought, and couldn't allow Katana to say anything more.
Like Jack, she felt better knowing their daughter lived. The fact that Katana was next to her, helped. The need to be alive was again taking place instead of the dark place in which she been for the past four days.
"Alright, we'll be quiet," Jack surrendered, but not for long. "Give me a sport? Any sport," he tried extracting information.
"Jack," Sam's voice warned.
"Oh, fine."
Katana smiled at her parents. They are going to overcome this, and everything would be alright.
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When they arrived home, things went bad again. Sam and Jack saw that the nursery had only one cradle, and everything that would suggest there should be two babies instead of one had disappeared. Katana and the rest of the team had made sure of that.
Still it didn't help them forget, not that they ever could. Sam cried that first day, again making herself unapproachable. Katana stayed with her, holding her, until she fell asleep crying.
Jack held himself together, but even so, he needed Katana there as much as Sam. He suggested she moves in with them for the little time she had left in their time. She agreed. As much as they needed her, she needed them as well.
Kathryn was adorable, loving and taking care of the newborn helped Sam to hold on.
SG-1 had managed to stay away, to give the family some privacy, but after two days they showed up unannounced.
"Hey," Daniel said as Jack opened the door. "You see, we were driving…"
"And Teal'c said…" Cameron injected.
"Save it," Jack waved a hand, moving aside to let them pass, "I've heard that excuse before."
As they entered they found Katana in the living room, turning off the TV.
"Hey! I was watching that!" Jack rebelled.
"You've watched every episode of 'The Simpson's' at least three times! Take a break!" Katana rolled her eyes jokingly.
Jack waved his hand off. "Beer anyone?"
Katana and Vala left the men and headed for Sam and the baby. Vala's happy chatter, her delight at Kathryn as well has Katana's constant regard helped Sam get through the day.
Not long after her friends left Sam got out of the bed, finally realizing she had a child to raise – a child that need her love, and she had hope for the future. She would take it one day at a time, knowing it was going to be a lot of work, but with Jack and Katana's help she could make it. The initial delight of finding out Katana was their daughter was overshadowed by the fact she wouldn't be raising her, and that was difficult.
Throughout the remaining weeks Katana spoke of her childhood, her escape, and her happy life on Calisa, trying to assure them she will be alright, that she was happy for the most part. She talked about her master, who in the same time was her adopted father. He was the greatest warrior in the history of Calisa, and Katana felt lucky she was trained by him.
She didn't mention the amount of love she had for the man, not wanting to hurt them, but they could see it from the way she talked about him. It was painful to know that their little girl would love some other man as her father, especially for Jack, but at the same time they were relived she was in good hands.
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The time went by quickly and the day of her return arrived. They were all on Atlantis, saying their goodbyes.
She hugged and kissed Cameron and Teal'c, saying farewell, turning to Vala and Daniel.
"I'm sorry I'll miss the wedding," she wrapped her arms around Vala, than Daniel.
"Don't worry, we'll have lots of pictures," Vala said trying to hide her tears.
"Yeah," Katana nodded trying just as hard to keep her own tears at bay, but she was broken seeing her parent's pain as they stood beside her.
She held on to both of them, savoring every moment. She didn't want to let go, but the wormhole was established, and Rodney informed her that if she was going back, there was no more time.
"See you in about twenty-five years," Jack tried to joke, but his statement wasn't funny, not even to him. Katana smiled anyway.
She turned and headed for the event horizon, but before stepping through, she faced them again.
"Just remember, no matter what, I love you," and before they had a chance to respond she stepped through the Gate, and was gone.
Sam buried her head into Jack's chest crying, with Kathryn cooing softly between them.
Jack sighed heavily holding them tightly, while his eyes stung with unshed tears.
Katana was gone.
TBC
