AN: Before I begin this chapter, I should probably state that here in New Zealand, we have only seen up to series three of Atlantis (which sucks!!) and therefore I do not know if SGC still retains their ZPM that they had at the end of this series. I am working under the assumption that they do.
Last time on Relativity…
"Any questions?"
Chapter 9: Finding Families
"Yeah, I have a question. Where were we during all this?"
"Well Mitchell, this is where it gets tricky. You see, not everyone agreed with General Landry's decision. You were okay with it but you kept on picking random times to throw stuff at my head in order to check and see if I 'developed funky Ori powers.' Teal'c didn't exactly welcome me with open arms, but neither did he reject me. He would nod a greeting when we passed in the hallway, but it's not like we had in-depth discussions about being former bad guys. Sam kept on looking at me like I was a really interesting test sample, Daniel completely ignored me and Vala…well…watch."
Attention drawn to the screen in front of them, everyone could see one of the ever-standard concrete hallways of SGC. Watching one dark-haired figure chasing after another dark-haired figure, they could sense the tension emanating from both women. "Mother! Mother, please will you wait! I need to talk to you!"
Whirling around to face her pursuer, Vala's eyes were cold and hard but glistening with unshed tears as she spat out her reply. "Don't you dare! You have no right to call me by that name."
"But you are my mo…"
"No! I was an incubator. A packing crate. A storage unit. I was never your mother." As Vala paused to wipe her eyes, Adria tried to interject, but was stopped before beginning. "Those ascended bastards put you in me without warning. I carried you for nine months, scared and hopeful at the same time, not knowing where this baby had come from, but thankful that it was there. Praying that I wouldn't be like my father and that I would be a good parent. And then, when my baby was born, I never even got to hold it. They took it from me and the next thing I knew, my baby didn't exist. She had been replaced by a child, already walking and talking and spouting religious propaganda, without having had anything to do with me. So no, I am not your mother and you are not my daughter. My daughter died the day you were born."
Adria stood frozen as Vala turned away and almost ran down the hall. As the last glimpse of her disappeared around the corner, Adria's legs gave way and she crumpled to the floor, sobs shaking her slight frame. She was unaware of the panicked looks shooting between her two guards and she also missed the relief that crossed their faces upon seeing the person approaching from the opposite end of the corridor. "Adria? What's wrong? What did you two do to her?"
"Nothing, ma'am. There was a…encounter between herself and Mrs Jackson, and …well…"
His stammering answer was interrupted by Adria trying to explain what had happened. "I just wanted (sniff) talk to her about me being here and she said that I (sob), I was dead to her…" Any further explanation faded out under the fresh onslaught of tears.
Understanding the situation, Dr Lam crouched down beside the crying woman and, placing a comforting hand on her back, she addressed her with the tone normally reserved for hysterical children. "Adria? C'mon Adria, we need to get you up off this cold floor. Do you want to come with me to the infirmary?"
Taking the faint nod as agreement, Carolyn draped her arm around the younger woman's shoulders and started walking her in the direction of the infirmary. Pausing to address one of Adria's guards, she sent him down to the cafeteria to get some of 'Dr Lam's Miracle Cure.' When Adria queried her through her sniffles about this Miracle Cure, Dr Lam smiled as she replied "I'm guessing that in the week that you have been on this planet, you have not yet been introduced to the therapeutic qualities of triple chocolate brownie fudge ripple ice-cream?"
As Vala stared at the image of Adria being comforted by Dr Lam, she knew that she had to speak up. "It's true. What the other me said, it's all true. That's how I feel." Turning to face Adria, still confined in the chair, Vala looked her steadily in the eyes as she elaborated on her statement. "I'm guessing that in your future, you managed to sort things out to the point where it was okay for you to call me 'Mother' again but I don't know if that will ever happen in this reality."
As sadness and acceptance ran through her at the same time, Adria nodded her head slightly. "I know. The reason that you did end up accepting me is tied into the reason that the other members of SG1 didn't feature in my early months at the SGC. Just a couple of days after Walter, Siler and I had lunch together for the first time, about three months after I had arrived, Sam returned to Atlantis as the expedition leader. Daniel accompanied as he wanted to study some of the Ancient database and Mitchell went as well, mainly because he was bugging General Landry with all of his complaining about losing his team members to another galaxy. Vala, you stayed back because on the day of departure you weren't feeling well and Dr Lam didn't want to risk spreading illness amongst the inhabitants of another galaxy…"
Sitting next to Walter in the Control Room, Adria silently observed the farewells happening below. As Vala embraced Sam and whispered something in her ear that brought smiles to the blond woman's face, Adria wished that she were the one going to a different galaxy. There, at least, no-one knew who she was.
"Ready to begin dialling sequence." As Walter switched off the microphone, he settled back in his chair and swivelled to face Adria with a grin on his face. "Much as I like them, it's always a little easier to breathe when SG1 is off base. It seems to lessen the risk of our being invaded."
"Admit it. You love strapping on a P90 and playing hero!"
"Only if there is an entire squadron of marines nearby and I'm not giving the orders!"
Distracted from their conversation by various beeps, Walter turned back to his computer. As he called out that the third chevron was locked, Adria watched as Daniel and Vala embraced one last time before he departed for Atlantis. After a final round of hugs, handshakes and last minute orders, the shimmering blue of an open wormhole lit up the embarkation area and the majority of SG1 stepped through and disappeared.
"So… coffee?"
"It was about one week after they arrived on Atlantis that we received the message that both Daniel and Mitchell had been abducted by unknown aggressors when on an off-world mission. A couple of days after that was when my relationship with Vala started to change."
Walking down the hallway and unconsciously humming the rather stupid tune that had been stuck in her head all day, Adria was startled to hear sobbing coming from the women's bathroom as she walked past it. Tentatively pushing open the door and poking her head around, the sobbing became more pronounced and she felt obliged to check and see if the unknown woman was all right. As she quietly walked past the cubicles, she was surprised to find Vala kneeling on the floor of the last cubicle, obviously unwell and crying her eyes out.
"Mot...Val...Mrs Jackson, are you okay? Do you want me to fetch Dr Lam?"
Pushing her hair out of her eyes, Vala stared unseeingly at her and started to giggle hysterically through the tears. "No, no, I was just there. No need to see Dr Lam at all!"
"Umm, I'm not to sure about that."
"Oh I am. Besides, every time I see her, something in my life changes. This time I found out that I am pregnant just when my husband is missing and presumed dead in another galaxy and I can't do anything to help find him!" With that, the giggles ceased and the sobbing returned.
Having never been in this kind of situation before, Adria was completely helpless and unknowing of what to do. Realising that just standing there and staring at the crying woman was not the compassionate thing to do, she crouched down next to her and placed a hopefully comforting arm around her shoulders. As Vala turned her head into Adria's shoulder and cried even more, Adria marvelled at the reversal of the traditional roles between mother and child. The sobs soon diminished and Vala began to calm herself, so Adria reached over and took some toilet paper from the holder for Vala to wipe her eyes and nose with.
"Look. I know that I am probably the last person that you want to have seen you like this, but that can't be helped now. I can tell you however that Dr Jackson has disappeared before and he has always come back. Not only that, but before he only had his friends to come back to. Now he has a wife and a future child as well. He will be back. Now I know that you have already seen Dr Lam today, but I think that this warrants a second visit in order to have some of her Miracle Cure. This is the perfect situation for some ice-cream."
As Adria helped Vala stand on slightly unsteady legs, and walked her out of the room towards the infirmary, Vala turned to her with questioning eyes. "Why are you helping me? I wasn't nice to you so why are you nice to me?"
"Because even though you don't consider me as your daughter, to me you are still my mother. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but I can't change the way that I feel about that."
"Maybe we should try being friends first."
"Maybe."
And with slight smiles on their faces the two carried on towards the infirmary, intent on sharing ice-cream and comfort with their friends.
"After that, I helped out Vala whenever I could. Considering that her husband was missing along with one best friend, and of her two other best friends, one was trying to help run the government of his people and the other was in another galaxy, there was a lot that I was able to do, especially considering that I was restricted to base. It was through this that I was able to meet a rather interesting person."
As Adria entered the infirmary, intent on picking up Vala's forgotten prenatal vitamins, she was halted in her steps by a piercing wolf-whistle and a comment of "Who's the babe?" coming from a bed in the corner. Turning to face the young man who was lazing on the bed with a couple of monitoring devices strapped to his arm, she put her best 'Bow Before Me, Minion' look on her face and in the coldest voice manageable, prepared to cut him down to size.
"I'm sure that on whichever planet you originated from, basic manners where taught from a fairly young age. Such a pity that you are obviously too stupid for the lessons to have sunk in. Just who the hell do you think you are?"
As an easy grin stretched across his face, a sparkle entered his eye as he sat up slightly and replied confidently "Well ma'am, I am Jonathon O'Neill, the de-aged (and rather more handsome) clone of the commander of Homeworld Security, retaining all of his memories and skills, brought about by interfering aliens and currently attending college. You?"
Expecting a blank look or a stammering reply, he was instead surprised by the young woman. "I am Adria, the mortal incarnation of ascended beings and was the formerly God-like ruler of the Ori Army, before dying, ascending and subsequently descending back into human form, and am now residing at the SGC until they figure out what to do with me."
After a moments silence, Jon seemed to come to a decision. "You win. But only because of the God-like powers. I beat you in the rest."
Smiling as she reached over to shake his hand in greetings, Adria felt that she could add another friend to her rather short list.
"Jon and I stayed friends for the rest of my time at the SGC. He had only been stopping in for his yearly check-up, but when he found out that Vala was pregnant and that Daniel had disappeared, he offered to help out any way he could. Of course since he was cleared for travel outside of the base and I wasn't, this meant having to take her shopping at the drop of a hat and trying to comfort her when the clothes she tried on no longer fitted, but he managed to take it in his stride. When I was placed with SG9 and had to go on off-world missions he, along with Walter and Siler, helped take over more in looking after Vala. He was the one who asked me to be notified when it happened."
To the onlookers, the scene was very familiar. The planet could have been one out of the hundreds they had visited, the same birds, the same trees, even the same small village with the similarly attired villagers. The members of SG9 were easily recognisable, clad in their BDU's and P90's attached to their vests, but there was no air of danger and everyone was relaxed and friendly. As Major Southern scanned the group, he was happy with the way that this contact situation was proceeding.
"Major Southern, this is Stargate Command. Please respond."
"Southern here, go ahead Stargate Command."
"Major, General Landry has requested that Adria return to base. Please send her through as soon as possible."
"Roger that Stargate Command. Sending her back now. Southern out."
Walking quickly over to his team's newest member, Major Southern quietly extracted her from the group of children surrounding her and informed her of her new orders.
As Adria stepped back into the Gateroom, she sent a questioning glance up towards the Control Room. Noting her safe arrival, Walter activated the microphone. "Dr Lam has requested your presence in the infirmary. It's time."
Forgoing the normal post-mission protocols, Adria instead opted to drop her Tac vest and weaponry into the waiting hands of a Gateroom defence member and sprinted towards the infirmary. Bursting through the door, she was greeted with the sight of a panicking Jon O'Neill and a (rather creatively) swearing Vala Jackson.
"It's about time you got here!"
Unsure of which panicked voice had uttered the statement first, Adria moved to her mother's side and taking her hand, offered apologies and to wipe her forehead.
"Adria, I have seen things that I am sure I was never meant to see, and for that I may never forgive you for being off-world. I'm going to wait outside!"
Yelling "Coward!" after Jon's retreating back, Adria promptly forgot about the young clone's comment as she focussed on helping Vala through her ordeal. It took almost nine hours, but when Dr Lam placed the youngest Jackson on his mothers' stomach, Adria felt the strongest surge of happiness, protectiveness and love running through her. "Congratulations, Vala. You have a son!"
Watching an exhausted Vala carefully counting her new-borns' fingers and toes, and staring into his unfocussed eyes, Adria started to feel like an intruder in a private moment. But as she started to stand up and leave the two of them alone, a quiet "Stay" halted her.
Turning to Vala with a questioning look in her eyes, she was greeted by a luminous smile. "Adria, I want you to meet David Nicholas Jackson. Davy, meet your big sister, Adria."
As the importance of her mothers' words sank in, a matching smile crossed her face and she rushed to her mothers' bedside and embraced her, careful not to squash her new baby brother. "Thank you."
"Davy quickly became the base mascot, with no lack of babysitters or people to hold him if he started crying. The only thing missing from the happiness was his father and honorary uncle. They had been gone for almost a year before we heard any news of them. Where Atlantis had originally thought that the Wraith or a Replicator cell had captured them, it turns out that they had been hostages of the Genii for the entire time. Laden's sister had discovered that her brother's people were holding them hostage in order to extract information about the Ancients and any Ancient technology they might know about. Going against her brother was one of the hardest things that she could have done, but Dr Beckett had saved her life, and Dahlia felt that what Laden was doing was wrong and must be stopped. She managed to contact Atlantis and pass on intelligence that led to Daniel and Cameron being freed. Of course, our shaky alliance with the Genii became non-existent after that, but for the people at the SGC, no one really cared. We had our people back."
The members of SG9 were awaiting departure in the embarkation room, checking their equipment and in the case of Adria, saying farewell to her mother and baby brother. Addressing her younger sibling in a mock-serious tone, she explained to him his responsibilities. "Now Davy, you have to look after your mother, and make sure that she looks after you. If this means crying at three o'clock in the morning, I give you permission to go right ahead."
"Thank you darling. I sure that he needed your express permission to do just that!"
Smiling at the tone of Vala's voice, Adria extended her arms towards the baby. "Okay then, one last cuddle before we go."
Embracing her brother, she was suddenly made aware of the dialling noise of the Gate. Turning towards Walter with a questioning look, she was answered by the call of "Unscheduled Off World Activation!"
Hurrying towards the safe areas near the blast doors, SG9 and Vala awaited the call of whether it was safe to remain in the Gateroom or not. "Receiving IDC. It's Atlantis!"
Sam Carters' voice could be heard over the radio connection between the two galaxies, and the people who knew her best could detect a happy tone to her voice.
"General Landry, Sir. I have a special delivery from the Pegasus Galaxy for yourself and Vala Jackson. Do you wish to accept the package sir?"
As Vala turned hopeful eyes towards the stoic General, he stood taller and replied "Send it through, Colonel."
"Yes sir!"
And with that, the long missed figures of Dr Daniel Jackson and Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell stepped through the event horizon.
With a cry of elation, Vala left the safe zone and sprinted towards her husband. As they whole-heartedly embraced for the first time in nearly a year, the only dry eye in the room was that of young Davy Jackson who had slept through the momentous occasion. As Vala and Daniel slowly came back to the reality that they were standing in the middle of the Gateroom, they kept in contact with each other as they made their way down the ramp. Releasing her husband only to give Cameron a welcoming hug, she quickly wrapped her arm back around her husband as she led him over to SG9.
"Darling, there is someone I want you to meet. This is your son, David Nicholas Jackson."
Watching as a stunned Daniel Jackson took his baby son in his arms for the first time, Adria was distracted my Mitchell muttering "…Carter had a photo in her office. Never said who he was…"
Watching the newly re-united family leave the Gateroom together and Mitchell be dragged toward the infirmary by Dr Lam, her smile remained as Major Southern announcing that "They still had a mission to proceed with so SG9 get ready to move out!"
And as she stepped through the blue puddle, she knew that it was going to be a good day.
"So that is what happened to SG1. Everyone was together, and until I departed, everyone was healthy and well. Daniel, Vala and Davy lived off base but they bring him in with them to stay with Dr Lam whenever they have a mission, which was why I was so surprised to see them without him when I arrived."
Sitting there and watching the reality of their possible future lives sink in to Daniel and Vala, as well as seeing the others watching the exact same thing, Adria couldn't take the tense silence for much longer (she was her mother's daughter after all).
"So…let me guess. More questions?"
TBC…
AN: Thank goodness that this chapter is over. I have been dreading writing this one for a while. Please note that I have no experience of the child-birth process, so if anyone thinks that the scene was too short or there wasn't enough detail…that was something that I was not going to research so tough luck! As far as I can tell, there will only be two more chapters so next chapter, a couple of final questions.
