Personal R&D

It was quiet, peaceful. The only sounds that filled Helen's study where the rustle of papers while she worked, birds singing outside, and the popping of the firewood burning in her fireplace. Helen savored moments like these. They didn't come often in her life because of her life's work. If it wasn't one abnormal crisis or another it was something else involving her children, or her protégé, her colleagues or friends. Setting her pen down Helen reached for her tea. It was one of her personalized blends, an oolong because she'd fancied something a bit more light and sweet compared to her normal black teas. Helen sighed contently after sipping her tea and let her head fall back gently to rest against her chair. She set her cup aside and closed her eyes for a moment. She could feel the warmth of the sun as it came through her beautiful window, smell the sweet smoky scent of the fire, hear nothing but welcomed silence. It was bliss.

It was too good to last.

The door made little noise as it was flung open but it made a startling bang as it was thrown closed. Helen jumped to her feet instantly, her vivid blue eyes scanning the room for trouble while her hand reached for the gun hidden under her desk.

"Helen!" Nikola smiled as he sing-songed her name. "You're absolutely radiant when you're startled."

Her gaze fell on the vampire grinning at her like some kind of Cheshire cat. Helen blinked and then scowled. "Nikola!"

"Sorry." Nikola said with an amused chuckle. "How was I suppose to know I'd catch you in the middle of a catnap?"

She nearly growled at him as she asked, "What are you doing here, Nikola?"

"I'm here to work of course." He answered as he moved gracefully across the room so he could be closer to her. "Now, where is your offspring, Helen? I was hoping to get started as soon as I arrived."

Helen didn't bother hiding her confusion. What on earth did Nikola want with Ashley? "Ashley's gone to met with one of our arms dealers. Why?"

Nikola waved a hand at her as if dismissing the idea the way he'd dismiss a footman at dinners from their past. "Not the pretty dangerous one, the pretty genius one."

That made Helen raise an eyebrow and smirk in amusement. "You mean Samantha?"

"Yes, yes, that one." Nikola replied. "Now, where is she, already in the lab? Doing inventory I hope. I did warn her we might have to acquire some of the materials we'll need. I highly doubt you'll have the more obscure things simply on hand and just laying around."

There were often times when Helen had no clue what the hell Nikola was talking about, and this was certainly one of those times. "I would imagine that if Samantha's on Earth she's at home in Colorado Springs."

Nikola frowned at her. "You mean she hasn't arrived yet?"

"Samantha isn't here, Nikola." Helen replied. "Is she supposed to be?"

The handsome vampire walked over and pushed Helen's chair, and there by Helen with it, out of the way so he could check her calendar. He grumbled a little and said, "Yes, we were suppose to meet here today. I'm sure of it." He was annoyed, perhaps a little angry. "Months of collaborative work just sitting in limbo because we can't go further until we've actually made a working prototype. She was so excited about this project last we spoke she nearly gave me diabetes."

He was one of her oldest and dearest friends. With John gone, either missing or dead for all she knew, Nikola was all she had left of her Oxford days, of those glorious years of The Five. She loved him, she did. That didn't necessarily mean she wanted him collaborating with one of her daughters. "Nikola."

"Yes my dearest Helen?" He purred at her.

Helen rolled her eyes and then asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"

The look on his face said that he sudden remembered something important, like the fact they hadn't told Helen what they were up too. "Oh, nothing, you know me Helen I love a good pointless rant. Now if you'll excuse me I do believe I sense new wine in your fabulously stocked cellar."

She watched as the hurricane of a man known as Nikola Tesla moved towards her door. She stood from her chair and came around her desk as if to follow him, but then stopped, shifted her stance a bit, reallocated her weight to her right foot and crossing her arms. Her tone of her voice lowered as she pronounced every syllable in his name, "Nikola."

Nikola stopped in his tracks as if her voice had some kind of magical power over him. He turned slowly to face her and gave her his most charming smile. "Have I mentioned how utterly striking you are today, Helen? The way the colors from the sunlight streaming through the stained glass highlight your hair is breathtaking."

What made his coy comments even more annoying is the fact that he actually sincerely meant every word. "Cut the crap, Nikola." She warned him. "What project are you talking about? And what does Samantha have to do with anything?" She took a threatening step closer and narrowed her vibrant eyes. "What have you gotten my daughter into?"

Thankfully Nikola was saved by a knock on the door. "Oh look duty calls. I bet that's young William with some incepted problem he can't managed on his own, poor child."

Helen didn't take her eyes on the century long pain in her ass. "Come in."

Sam walked into her mother's study with a bright smile and a cheeky comment ready on the tip of tongue, but any clever greeting she might have come up with was quickly forgotten when she suddenly found herself in the middle of what looked like a standoff. Her eyes darted between her mother and Nikola and then back again. Her excitement and joy at seeing her mom face to face for the first time in what felt like forever was smothered out by the wings of the million or so butterflies now stampeding in her stomach. "Um, bad time?"

"You were supposed to be here two days ago." Nikola said through the corner of his mouth, as if speaking or moving would set off the lovely beast staring him down.

"I know." Sam replied in the same hushed tone. "I was stuck off world until yesterday."

Helen watched the pair for a moment, still in that authoritative stance she'd taken up when she'd called out to Nikola. Then she suddenly relaxed and smiled a megawatt smile. She knew her daughter and her friend were up to something, something that was already making her feel unease, but the joy she felt at seeing Sam outweighed that for now. "Hello sweetheart. This is a lovely surprise."

Sam relaxed when her mother did and easily moved towards her to give her a hug. "I hope you don't mind us just dropping in like this, but Janet and I finally got some time off and I thought it might be nice to spend it here."

"Darling you know that you are always welcome here." Helen reassured. "This is your home too." She brushed at Sam's hair, which was ever so slightly longer than the last time they'd been together in person. She smirked a little and in a teasing tone asked, "But if you and Janet both have time off is visiting your mother really the best way to use that time?"

"It is when half of you can't do much but hop around." Janet said from the doorway, where she stood on crutches, her right foot held aloft.

Helen's eyes went wide with concern as soon as she saw the smaller doctor. "Janet, what happened? Samantha, help her to the sofa."

"Its just a mild break, nice and clean, so big deal." Janet reassured.

"Breaking her ankle only served to pissed her off even more than she already was. We were on a medical supply mission when we were attacked by a small band of loyal Jaffa." Sam said with a laugh and incredible pride as she helped Janet onto the sofa. "The Jaffa didn't know how to react to the small human female taking them out one by one with a P90 while sitting on her ass in the mud."

Janet huffed softly. "Lots of people tend to forget I'm not just a doctor, I'm a trained solider as well."

"We don't forget Janet." Sam said with a smirk. "We use the fact that people underestimate you to our advantage."

"All these fearsome females." Nikola sighed dramatically. "It's all going to my head. I think I need to lay down."

"Don't move." Helen warned him. "Don't think for one moment I've forgotten about you."

"Of course you haven't." Nikola replied. "I'm unforgettable."

Helen took in the three of them with slightly narrowed eyes. Then she focused on Janet. "Are you a part of whatever these two are up too?"

"Depends on what you think they're up too." Janet replied with a sheepish look.

Turning to look at her daughter Helen demanded answers. "Samantha."

"Well, um, see, Mom, I had this idea one night, see, and it was pretty complex so after I kind of worked out some of the very basics I kind of emailed Nikola to see what he thought, ya know, just out of curiosity." Sam rambled nervously and with her sweet little unsure grin. "I have weird far fetched ideas all the time so I didn't expect anything to come of it, I just kind of really wanted to see what it was like to run an idea by Nikola Tesla. I mean who can honestly say they've done that, ya know, in like the last seventy years."

"The girl idolizes me, Helen." Nikola said with a cocky grin. "Isn't it fabulous? Actual respect, such a nice change from the crap I get from Heinrich."

"Get to the part I'm not going to like." Helen said after eyeing the two.

Nikola and Sam looked at each other before looking back at Helen. It was Nikola who said, "Samantha's designed a containment cell. It was crude at best in the beginning but we've been working together for months to make it feasible."

Sam rolled her eyes and groaned. "Never get tied of the backhanded compliments."

"Don't fret pet. It's for your own good." Nikola smiled at Sam. "We wouldn't want your ego getting as large as mine."

Helen was having mixed feelings about this. Samantha was brilliant and the fact that Nikola had called her a genius earlier said a lot about what he truly thought of Sam. Nikola didn't call anyone but himself a genius. Sam could learn so much from Nikola. But Nikola was Nikola, and as Will pointed out on a regular basis was true, Nikola was always working an angle, always in as long as it benefited himself somehow. He was unpredictable and not always trustworthy. Did she really want her daughter near those qualities of his? "A containment cell for what?"

"This is the part you're not going to like." Nikola admitted. "So remember it was all Samantha's idea."

Sam shot him a look and then rolled her eyes before turning to look at her mother. "The electrical elemental that's living off Druitt."

It was difficult to truly shock Helen Magnus on any kind of deep level. In her extremely long life she had seen and done things that were downright unimaginable, so catching her so completely off guard like this took something monumental. "I'm sorry, did you just say you've been working on something that could free John of his elemental?"

"Theoretically." Sam answered. "Yes."

"Why?" Helen asked.

"The thrill of discovery, the rush of doing the impossible, the glory of being smart enough to do it when no one else can." Nikola said.

Again Sam rolled her eyes at him before looking into her mother's. "He's someone you care about, and he's Ashley's father." She said softly. She'd lost Jacob and Thomas. Ashley could still have John if this worked. "That thing, it feeds off of, or amplifies, or is responsible for his dark side. If we can remove it and safely contain it…"

"You could give Ashley her father back." Helen said softly.

"Some thing like that." Sam said with a shrug.

"Samantha." Helen said in a breathless whisper.

"Or you know what Nikola said." Sam joked uneasily.

The uncertainly of this plan was written all over Helen's face. She had seen a glimmer of the man she'd fallen in love with when he'd been freed of this elemental parasite before. Before the darkness had overtaken him John had had the brilliant mind of a scientist and the sweet soul of a poet, and oh how she had loved him. When he became who, what, he is now it had torn her to shreds. Her John had been lost to her forever. They could never go back not even now, not even if this plan of Samantha's worked. But what kind of man could John be if he was truly free of the darkness the elemental brought out in him? And there's the rub, how much of that darkness was the elemental and how much of it was John himself?

She had feared for her own well-being and of that of her unborn child so Helen had delayed Ashley's birth for a century. She had lied to her daughter about her father to protect her. Even now when John was around Helen stood a little closer to Ashley, was always aware of where she was, of what John was doing. How could she willingly allow one daughter to put herself in harms way even if it meant giving the other daughter a chance to know the real man her father use to be?

"Mom?" Sam said softly as she tried to get Helen's attention. The dark haired Brit had drifted off and Sam had a good idea where too. Memory and emotion could be powerful things.

"I'm not sure about this, Samantha." Helen said honestly.

Before Sam could reply Nikola scoffed and said, "I told you we should have just done this on our own, but no, you had to seek out permission from mummy dearest."

"I wasn't going to do this behind her back." Sam growled at him.

"Of course she wasn't. Samantha's a good girl." Helen said as she sent one hell of a glare at Nikola. "I'm not just concerned about John." She admitted. "That," She waved her hand at Nikola. "That right there, you trying to corrupt my child, that's another reason I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"Oh please." Nikola jeered. "When it comes to morality and ethics she's just like you, worse in fact, because she has all that," He waved both hands at Sam as he said, "Military-ness about her."

Sam stood there kind of amused and a little annoyed as her mother and Nikola argued about Nikola being a bad influence on her. Her pretty blue eyes darted back and forth as the two tried jabs and barbs, finally she spoke up and said, "You both know I'm standing right here don't you? And that I'm a grown adult who can make my own choices regardless of outside influence?"

The argument stopped for a second as both sets of ancient eyes fixed on her. Then Helen said, "Hush Samantha the centenarians are talking."

Sam blinked while over on the sofa Janet cracked up.

The laugh made Helen turn and look at Janet. She remembered her earlier question about the younger doctor's role in this and she said, "You've been filling in the medical blanks?"

Janet nodded, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "Sam didn't want to get anyone's hopes up so she came to me when something medical needed to be worked out. We have some experience in that we built a holding tank for a symbiote together."

"Are you three the only ones who know about this?" Helen asked.

Sam nodded. "I made sure Druitt wouldn't find out about this."

"She threatened to have me transported to a wine-less planet." Nikola complained.

Helen smirked at that. "That's my girl."

Sam returned the smile.

"Let me see these plans of yours." Helen said after another moment of thought. "Then give me some time to think this over."

Sam gave her mother a brilliant smile as she pulled out some folded up blueprints and a notebook from the bag she'd left with Janet on the sofa.

"That's how you kept me from finding it all!" Nikola protested. "You never put it on a computer!"

"Of course I didn't." Sam replied with a cheeky smirk. "You don't think I noticed the hacks on my personal computers?"

Nikola gasped. "You crashed my servers! You cluttered up everything with cat videos and Twilight!" Nikola suddenly smiled a genuine smile. "Oh I like you." Turning on his heel he began walking towards the door while Sam showed Helen their plans. "Wine anyone?"

He didn't get a reply, not that he'd actually waited for one, because Sam had already launched into explaining everything to Helen. To say the thing was complex would have been an understatement. The gist of it was that John would teleport into the unit, it would be activated, and then he'd teleport out free and clear. The unit was totally self-contained and the elemental it's self would maintain the battery. It had fail-safes on top of fail-safes to keep it contained, starting with the webbing material Sam and Nikola had come up with that would allow John in and out but not the elemental. If it even tried it could end up dead.

"We'd have to house it somewhere secluded, isolated, away from all modern technology." Helen mused. "Could be arranged." She caught a hint of excitement in Sam's eyes and added, "I'm not saying yes to this yet, Samantha. There's still a lot for me to consider not the lest of which is your safety."

"Mom." Sam said softly as she locked her gaze with Helen's. "I've gone up against a lot worse than John Druitt. I mean Anubis was the scary evil guy that scared the other scary evil guys, and I managed to come out of that safe and sound."

"I've never come face to face with the enemies you fight, Samantha." Helen said after a moment of thought. "It's a little easier not to give in completely to my worries and concerns and fears regarding your work because I have that silver of ignorance to hold on to. I know John. I know his darkness. I have seen the evil he's done first hand, looked into the faces of his earliest victims. I have seen the look in his eyes, the malevolence in his very soul, up close and personal more than once." Helen stopped for a moment to push away the memories and the emotions that came with them. "I'm just going to need a little time, Samantha. This is a remarkable design and an even more amazing gesture. I promise not to dismiss it simply because I'm a little frightened and unsure."

Sam was about to say something to reassure her mother but Nikola burst into the room. "Helen!" He roared. "What have you done to your wine cellar!"

"It's been Telsa proofed." Helen said with a proud smirk. Sam and Henry had built a rather clever way of using Nikola's magnetic abilities against him. It had something to do with reversing polarities, Helen wasn't sure how it worked, but she knew it would repeal Nikola much like magnets repelled each other when facing each other in a certain way. "Don't worry, I've left a little section just for you."

"And you call me immoral!" Nikola huffed and stormed out.

"You know that's not going to keep him out forever." Sam said with amusement.

Helen was beaming. "I know, but so worth it just for that moment. Thank you my darling."

"Maybe I'll let Henry rig it to give him a shock next time." Sam laughed.

It had rained the day before so everything in the garden felt fresh, clean, and alive under the warmth of today's bright sun and cloudless sky. Helen walked along the path letting her thoughts wander as she tried to come to a decision about Sam's project. It felt a little odd to even be debating it. She had spent a better part of her youth trying to save John. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she was hesitating. She had spent a lot of time and energy on John only to watch him sink deeper and deeper into the depths of his madness. Was she really going to allow her daughter to follow in her footsteps? Sam didn't even like John. Helen felt as if that were just asking too much of her. But then she wasn't asking, Sam was offering, and she wasn't doing it for John she was doing it for Ashley.

Samantha adored her sister and Ashley felt the same for Sam. Ashley had been able to bring out a little more of Sam's playful side, giving her much older sister a chance to be carefree in a way she hadn't since the loss of her adoptive mother. Sam had brought out a sense of responsibility in Ashley Helen hadn't seen before. Ashley wasn't as quick to jump the gun; she took a few more moments to think first. She'd become more of a leader rather than a loner. Sam had become someone Ashley looked up to and wanted to be like. How could Helen not allow Sam to do this for Ashley?

It was dangerous. John was dangerous. The elemental was dangerous. She was tired of always inviting danger to court her children. She'd lost Ashley once already and it had very nearly ended her. If Sam hadn't arrived, if Thomas hadn't brought her back and helped her save Ashley, Helen would have done something drastic. She knew of an old legend, a way to end an immortal life, she would have gone looking for it. She'd struggled with allowing Ashley back on missions, but Ashley was the woman she'd raised her to be and she couldn't deny her what she was meant to do. She hadn't raised Sam but it was so easy to see that she was just as much her mother's child as Ashley was. They were strong, intelligent, independent, compassionate, and fierce; and Helen couldn't be more proud of them.

"You should let her do it."

Helen stopped walking and turned towards the sudden intrusion to her thoughts. "Pardon?"

"You should let Sam build the machine." Biggie said as he stood from the crouch he'd been in while cutting fresh flowers to put in Magnus' office. "You don't have to use it, but let her build it."

"Why?" Helen asked. Perhaps she needed an outside point of view to make this easier.

The Big Guy took a moment to sort out his thoughts and words and then explained, "Sam is like you. She doesn't do well with feeling helpless. The way she helps is she builds things, fixes things. She couldn't build or fix anything to save her father's life. She couldn't build or fix anything to prevent whatever happened to Thomas. She can build the containment cell. She can try and fix Druitt, fix him for Ashley, and for you."

"For me?" Helen said with a soft snort.

"You love him." Biggie said boldly.

"I loved a man long since lost to me." Helen replied honestly. "Even if we could free him from this elemental, from his darkness, he is no longer that man and I am not longer that girl."

"What he is now hurts you." Biggie said. "It hurts Ashley."

Helen sighed softly. "And Sam wants to take that hurt away."

Biggie nodded. "Let her build the containment cell."

She cycled around her thoughts again and said, "Before I agree or disagree I should talk to Ashley."

Ashley tried to act as if she didn't care one way or another. Druitt had been nothing but a pain in her ass and a temporary thorn in her relationship with her mom. She'd told her mom that if doing this helped Sam in someway, if it helped her move on from the grief of losing Jacob or helped her with the frustration of not knowing what happened to Thomas, then let her go ahead and build her gizmo. She told her that she didn't care what happened to Druitt, but she wasn't sure if Helen bought it. Ashley had gotten to see a flicker, a brief glimmer of the man her father could have been when they first discovered he had an elemental stowaway. That man she could have maybe seen her mother liking, so maybe she could have liked him too, but she wasn't going to sit around hoping Sam's science project worked. It wasn't that she didn't doubt it would, Sam was a genius, but Ashley felt like they were all just giving to much credit to the elemental for John's bad behavior.

So with Helen's permission Sam and Nikola got started on making their containment cell. Helen helped when asked, but was perfectly fine letting Janet continue giving medical advice for the unit. More than ever Helen found herself wishing she could tempt Sam and Janet away from the Air Force and the Stargate program, but she would never follow through on such desires. She knew they were just where they belonged, at least for now.

Helen would have liked to been around to keep an eye on the project but she had duties and responsibilities of her own. She had a global network to run and abnormals to capture and help. Whenever she had to leave the Sanctuary she made sure whoever she left behind knew that they were expected to keep an eye on Sam, especially with Janet still laid up with her injury. Which is what led to Will ducking and weaving away from Sam's reach in the front entry hall.

"Damnit Will, give it back!" Sam demanded as she reached for the component Will had taken from her workbench in the lab her mother had given her and Nikola to play in.

Will was actually having a bit of fun playing keep away with Sam. She'd been just a little to serious, to into what she was working on, and he could tell Helen and Janet were just a little worried she'd over do things. "You can have it back after you take a break."

"Why aren't you helping?" Kate asked Janet. The two women were sitting on the stairs watching Sam and Will with a great amount of amusement.

"This is almost as much fun as watching the way Sam reacts to Helen." Janet admitted. "Sam doesn't get to act like this back home."

Kate nodded in understanding. "Because of the military stick up her…"

"I'm Air Force too Kate." Janet reminded the younger woman.

"I know." Kate said with a smirk.

Janet glared at the younger woman. Luckily for Kate there was a knock on the door and she decided to answer it.

Abby smiled when the door opened. "Hi Kate." She greeted in that bubbly way of hers. "Is Will…"

"Sam!" Will warned. "Don't!"

"Give it back Will!" Sam demanded once more.

There was a crash, something glass breaking on hardwood. "What was that?" Abby asked as she pushed past Kate who'd turned to see what it was as well.

Sam and Will stood there looking between the broken vase and each other with wide eyes. A moment later they burst into laugher.

Kate was laughing as well while shaking her head at the two normally sane ones in their odd little family. "The Doc's gonna kill both of you."

"This is Will's fault." Sam chuckled while shaking her head in disbelief. When had she turned into a twelve year old? What was it about visiting her mother that allowed her to act like a child? She hadn't been a child since she was, well, twelve.

"You're the one who caused us to stumble into the table." Will pointed out.

"You're the one keeping my electromagnet capacitor away from me." Sam whined.

Will held up the device he'd swiped when he'd gone into Sam's lab to tell her to take a break. "Is that what this is?"

"Yes." Sam said and held out her hand. "Now give it back."

Will pulled away from her reach again. "You can have it back in two hours."

Sam nearly stomped her foot as she said, "William! Seriously!"

"I promised Magnus, Sam." Will replied. "And honestly she scares me more than you do."

Sam huffed. "How come you're not interfering with Nikola's work?"

"Two very good reasons." Will answered. "One, He's a vampire which means he doesn't need to sleep or eat the way you do. And two, I really don't' care about his well being enough to bother even if he did."

Which mean he did care about her well being so that made Sam come up short as she made for the devise again. "Oh."

The moment Will seemed to have with the strange incredibly beautiful tall blonde made Abby uncomfortable and she cleared her throat to let the others know she was standing there. "What's going on here?"

Will and Sam turned to look at her and Will lit up. "Hi Abby." He greeted and then remembered. "Oh, right, lunch. Just give me five minutes to hide this."

"Will!" Sam protested.

Abby walked up to the pair and eyed Sam carefully. Up close Abby was startled by Sam's resemblance to Helen and Ashley, but that didn't stop her from asking, "And you are?"

"Contemplating what would happen if I put Will's baseballs in the glovefish tank." Sam replied while glaring at Will.

"You wouldn't." Will gasped.

"Give me the damn thing." Janet said as she hopped over to the two on her crutches. "I'll make sure Sam takes a break." That made Sam smirk a smug smirk that made Janet say, "You're not getting it back until after lunch, Sam."

"Janet!" Sam whined.

Janet gave her a wife a look that made her stop, huff and cross her arms while she pouted.

"Seriously." Abby said sharply. "Who are you people?"

That made Sam blink. She turned to look at Abby for a moment. "Who are you?"

"Easy ladies." Kate cut in. "Abby, this is Sam and her wife, Janet. Sam's the Doc's kid. Sam, this is Abby. She's Will's girlfriend."

Abby couldn't hide the surprise. "You're Magnus's daughter?"

Sam nodded.

Abby looked slightly confused. She and Will were still kind of new so she wasn't completely in on all the Sanctuary secrets yet. She wasn't sure how this woman could be Magnus' daughter; she looked too old to be her daughter.

Kate easily adverted any uncomfortable questions by asking, "So who's going to explain that?" She pointed to the busted vase on the floor.

Sam and Will shared a look before saying in unison. "You did it."

They glared at each other for a moment and then Sam said, "Maybe she won't notice?"

Will and Kate snorted, they knew better, but Will still said, "You clean it up. I'll see if I can't find something reasonably similar in one of the storerooms. Something missing out right is easier to notice than something slightly different."

Sam nodded her head in agreement.

Three days later Helen, over the din of everyone dancing around the kitchen getting morning tea, coffee, and breakfast, asked in a calm tone of voice, "Does anyone know what happened to the vase that use to be near the stairs in the foyer?"

Will and Sam instantly stopped what they were doing and looked at each other while Kate and Janet hide smirks behind their mugs of coffee.

Helen noticed the body language and raised an eyebrow.

"Did you check the security footage, Doc?" Henry asked, trying to be helpful.

"I did." Helen replied. She watched the slightest flicker of Will's eyes as they widen just a little, as if perhaps he had forgotten that nearly every inch of the house was watched by security cameras. There was a slight twitch to Sam's lips when Helen said, "The only thing of interest I could see was Abby looking a bit perplex while meeting Samantha."

"She doesn't know how old you are does she?" Sam asked, hoping to divert the conversation.

Helen shook her head. "No, which is why she looked so confused. Her intense look of irritation however was harder to figure out. It could have something to do with what happened just before introductions were made but there appears to have been a glitch in the security feed."

"A glitch?" Henry said as if he'd been stung. "In my system? No way."

"Look into it Henry." Helen said firmly.

"Absolutely Doc." Henry said and rushed off to check his precious system.

After everyone went off to do what they needed before the morning staff meeting Will stopped Sam on her way down to her lab. "What did you do?"

Sam smirked. "Don't worry. Henry will never be able to detect it."

"Are you sure?" Will asked.

"Positive." Sam reassured as they walked towards the elevator together.

"I can't believe I forgot about the footage." Will said as he smacked himself in the forehead.

Sam laughed. "Good thing I didn't. I'm not sure how we'd explain fighting like six year olds over a toy and breaking a antique vase in the process."

"You may want to try finding a way to explain." Helen said as she stepped out of the open lift.

Sam and Will jumped at Helen's sudden appearance. They stared at her for a moment, and then looked at each other, and when they turned to face Helen again they pointed at each other and said in unison, "It was his/her fault!"

Nikola stood in front of the whiteboard where he and Sam had written out the formulas and general design for the power source. They'd hit a bit of a snag making it work. The containment cell would need to be self-contained or they'd risk the elemental getting into outside systems the way it had gotten into the Sanctuary. He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he looked for the piece they were missing. He was also listening to the conversation happening on the other side of the room without trying to appear as if he were listening.

"It's just not SG1 without you Colonel Carter." Cameron Mitchell said. "We need you back."

"I'm flattered Colonel Mitchell." Sam replied. "But…"

"Cam." Cam cut in with a boyish smile.

"Cam." Sam repeated. "I know SG1 is in good hands until I get back."

"And you're coming back soon right?" Cam asked hopefully.

Sam smiled softly. "To be honest with you, I'm not sure how soon."

"Aww Sam, can I call you Sam? How exciting can some private sector R&D project be?" Cam replied. "I've read your file. There's no way you're happy working for some ol fuddy duddy. Where's the excitement and adventure in that?"

Sam dipped her head as she tried to hide her laugh.

"What?" Cam asked. "What's funny?"

"The project I'm working on is for my mother's research clinic." Sam answered. "That's why General O'Neill gave me the leave of absence and permission to work on a civilian project."

"Oh." Cam said with a flush of embarrassment. "Well I'm sure your mother is a lovely ol fuddy duddy."

Sam laughed. She liked this Cameron Mitchell. He was no Jack and it would be strange going back to the SGC with him gone, but it might not be to bad. Though if she were honest after hearing Jack had been promoted to Washington she did think about maybe making a few changes in her life. The thought had been a flitting one however. In her heart she knew she'd return to the Stargate. "Look, Cam, I know how excited you are about being a member of SG1. I just need you to give me some more time."

"Fine." Cam sighed in defeat. "Daniel said I wouldn't be able to convince you to come back early but I had to try."

"It was a nice try." Sam said with a smile. "Do me a favor until I get back?"

Cam smiled back. "Don't worry. I got Daniel's and Teal'c's six."

"Thanks." Sam said. "I need to run."

"Right." Cam said and gave a little wave.

Sam cut the feed and sighed softly.

"You're talents are wasted on those small minded…"

"Nikola." Sam warned as she stood and walked towards him.

Nikola blinked as he looked over at Sam. She sounded so much like Helen when she said his name like that it was jolting. "The universe can be so cruel."

"Nikola, stop it." Sam warned as she picked up her tablet.

"Stop what?" Nikola replied sweetly.

"Looking at me the way you look at my mother." Sam answered. "It's creepy."

"You're beautiful." Nikola purred. "Just like your mother."

Sam glared.

Nikola sighed. "Alright fine. Lets figure this out so we can finish this thing. A man can only spend so long in a house full of women who are with other women and won't let him watch."

"Nikola!" Helen scolded from the doorway.

Sam smirked. "I told you to stop."

"May we help you Helen dear?" Nikola asked as he ignored them both.

"I've come for Samantha." Helen said as she walked into the room and over to where they stood so she could look over their work. "It's nearly time for dinner."

Sam looked startled by that statement. "Really?"

"Impossible." Nikola said with a shake of his head. "We're on the verge of a breakthrough and she just spent ten minutes with a whiney young man on a video call begging her to come back to work so he could play out some childhood fantasy of being a space cowboy."

Helen ignored Nikola as she looked at Sam. "You've been up sense dawn and you've worked through two meals. It's time to call it a day, Samantha."

"Seriously Mom?" Sam replied as she crossed her arms and laughed. "You keep hounding me for the way I work, it's funny."

"And just why is my concern for you so amusing Samantha?" Helen asked. "I am your mother."

Sam looked right at her mother and said, "Hello kettle I'm the pot."

It took a moment but when Helen understood she barked out a half laugh half scolding, "Watch your cheek young lady!"

Despite what her mother and wife thought Sam did know when she needed to stop and take a break, unless someone's life was in danger and then all bets were off, so she headed upstairs to the living quarters. She found Ashley, Janet and Charlotte in the parlor where she joined Janet on the sofa to wait for dinner. After dinner Ashley tried to talk everyone into a game of poker to which Janet replied, "Sam isn't allowed to play poker."

"Why not?" Ashley asked as she gathered the supplies.

Janet chuckled as she said, "She unknowingly cheats."

"Apparently I count cards without realizing it." Sam said with a shrug.

"Do you unknowingly cheat at pool as well?" Helen asked from where she sat with Charlotte.

Ashley laughed. "Mom's still sore you beat her."

"No. That I do knowingly." Sam replied with the biggest grin.

In a specially built bunker under desert sands in the middle of nowhere but still under the watchful eye of the Sanctuary is where the finished containment cell with it's new occupant would be housed. Helen had spent the weeks Sam and Nikola spent building the cell trying to figure out if she were actually going to use it. In the end she knew she had to try. The problem was she had no idea where John was. She hadn't seen him since Hollow Earth. He would turn up, he always did, but she couldn't keep Samantha around until he did so no matter how badly she wanted too. Sam had a life of her own and it was time she got back to it.

"You can't keep avoiding it Samantha." Helen said firmly as they walked in the garden together.

"Avoiding what?" Sam asked as she turned to look at her mother.

"The changes at the SGC." Helen said knowingly.

Sam sighed. "I know."

"You're life has been nothing but change for the last few years." Helen reached out to put her hand on Sam's arm, halting their little stroll.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "Some better than others."

The smile Sam gave her made Helen's heart swell. "Very much agreed." She reached up and brushed the backs of her fingers along Sam's cheek and jaw. "They need you Samantha."

"I know that too." Sam replied.

"Thank you for what you did." Helen said as she squeezed Sam's hand.

Sam smiled. "I hope it works."

"It will." Helen said proudly. "My daughter created and built it."

"Thanks Mom." Sam said softly. "You don't know how much I needed this."

Helen leaned in and kissed her daughter's forehead. "This is what mothers and homes are for when you're grown, Samantha, sanctuary for the little bits of our hearts we allow out into the world, or in my case out into the galaxy."

"Never an empty motto huh?" Sam replied with a loving smile.

"Never." Helen agreed as she mirrored that smile.