A/N: Unanticipated Tissue Alert!
Much of Grace's story involves background from Saving the World.
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Last time: Before Jake could elaborate, the room was transfused by a startling bright light, none other than the state-of-the-art Asgard beaming technology.
In a flash, three human females and one short, familiar grey alien stood before the assembled group.
GRACE
"Can we assume Grace was one of the arrivals?" Jessica asked, her voice conveying hopeful excitement.
"I'm sure the little grey fellow was your husband's good friend, Thor," Sara added.
"Of course," Emma agreed. "But who were the other two arrivals?" Then after a moment of thoughtful silence, the retired aerospace engineer added, "You've mentioned an older granddaughter before. Did she come too?"
"Questions, questions," Sam teased playfully. She continued to be amazed by the interest her friends showed in a story she considered so personal. "Yes," she continued, "Grace had finally arrived and, as you guessed, our Asgard friend Thor accompanied her. Seems Jack's little buddy couldn't pass up one last visit with his favorite human."
"And then?" Emma probed.
"And … I'll have to tell you some of Grace's story before I talk about the other arrivals. Are you up for that?"
"We're looking forward to it, Sam," Jessica said, scanning the faces of her friends and voicing the feelings of the group.
"Alright then …" she said. So began a beautifully sad story of family tragedy and triumph.
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Grace married Paul Sands when she was thirty-one years of age. The same Paul Sands she'd dated in high school, the same Paul Sands who'd caused Jack O'Neill no end of worry as he struggled to let go of his little girl in ways he knew had to happen. Seems the two young people were destined to be together, much as Jack and Sam had been.
The pair stayed together throughout college and their post-graduate studies, both pursuing degrees in biochemistry. They were inseparable, going after similar career goals and enjoying each other's company. Eventually Grace and Paul co-founded an independent research laboratory.
Within a year of their marriage, Grace was pregnant. Alyssa O'Neill-Sands was born nine months later, a beautiful, seemingly perfect little girl with her grandmother's blue eyes and a head full of silky soft brown hair.
Their first grandchild was a source of great joy to the O'Neills. Jack, already in his early eighties, was thrilled beyond belief that he'd lived to see a grandchild. To say he and his wife doted on the little girl was an understatement. For Sam, Alyssa was a miraculous blessing, the culmination of a life she'd never imagined for herself before meeting Jack O'Neill.
During the first four years of Alyssa's life, everything seemed to go according to plan for Grace and her little family. With emotional and sometimes financial support from both her parents and in-laws, she and Paul never lacked for material needs or the security of extended family. What's more, Alyssa grew to be a gentle, soft-spoken child of remarkable physical beauty and empathic insight. The preschooler's ability to accurately sense and respond to the moods of others seemed uncanny at times. In some situations, that same ability was a source of immeasurable consolation for family, friends and even certain strangers.
But by her fifth birthday, their precious child had begun to show disturbing hints that something was amiss. In her presence, small objects would begin to vanish or move on their own accord. When she was tired or upset, these occurrences increased in frequency and intensity. Within weeks, Alyssa was in trouble. Paranormal happenings plagued her daily. The child was understandably frightened. No one could have predicted the extent or eventual consequences of Alyssa's abilities.
In Alyssa, the telekinetic powers that had been seeded in Sam by the Ori had found full expression.
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Sam and Grace began to coach Alyssa in the mind control techniques they'd both learned from Oma and the Innocent children on Kheb so long ago. The process was laborious; Sam, Grace and Jake had lost their telekinetic abilities years ago, so their ability to help Alyssa was limited. All the while, Sam and Jack made concerted efforts to contact the Ancients by official and unofficial means. Given the decision of many of the Ancients, including Oma and Elizabeth, to become mortal so many years ago, this search was fraught with frustration and apparent failure.
One Sunday afternoon, Paul had taken Alyssa with him on some errands. They'd completed the entire list and were ready to stop for ice cream when Paul decided to check on a lab experiment. Since it was Sunday, he knew no one was scheduled to be in the lab for at least another twelve hours. It seemed reasonable to stop and record the results himself. After all, Alyssa loved to visit mommy and daddy's work.
The experiment was underway on the second floor of the facility. Under controlled conditions, it was a safe procedure that offered no risk to any personnel. So Paul had no reservations about bringing his little girl in with him while he checked on its progress.
Alyssa's "gift" had been growing exponentially. She'd come to enjoy practicing her new found abilities. Now, entering the upstairs lab with her father, she saw once again the fascinating assortment of colored liquids and shiny equipment which always captivated her imagination. And while her father calibrated equipment and recorded data, Alyssa decided to amuse herself.
What would happen if some of those pretty colors moved around? What if they mixed together? It was a thought every child has had and followed through on at one time or another. But not every child could cause things to happen without permission in a secure setting, simply by thinking them.
Alyssa had no idea the harm her actions would cause.
Within seconds, the chemicals the innocent little girl chose to combine coalesced. The spontaneous conflagration that resulted caused the startled child to scream for her father. Paul, only a few yards away, saw the flames immediately and ran to pull his little girl to safety. In spite of his immediate reaction, within minutes the room was engulfed in flames and the smoke was overpowering.
The fire alarms functioned perfectly. Paul knew they were patched directly to the fire department and help was on its way. Still, given the conditions, they had little time. Fortunately, fire escapes were in place at nearly every upstairs window of the lab. From what investigators and eyewitnesses later testified, that's where Paul headed almost immediately once he found the doorway blocked by flames.
Hearing the alarm from the street and looking up to see a man and small girl struggling to open the window, a passerby climbed the fire escape to help. By the time the woman, an off duty policewoman, reached them, Paul had managed to open the window. In one smooth, fluid movement, he gently lifted Alyssa out, placing her in the outstretched arms of her rescuer.
Before Alyssa's father could climb out the window himself, he was struck from behind by a falling beam. Holding the small screaming child to her chest, effectively blocking her view, the rescuer watched helplessly as Paul was pulled back into the burning room and to his death.
OoOoOo
Sam's living room was enveloped in silence.
No one knew what to say. With all their friend had been through, to know there'd been still another tragedy was almost too much. The sadness on the faces of her friends said all that needed to be said.
Finally, Sara asked, "What about Grace and Alyssa, what became of them?"
"As you'd imagine, the days that followed the fire were horrible. Grace was inconsolable. And Alyssa, our little angel didn't speak for days. It was a long time before any of us knew exactly what had caused the fire," Sam said, a faraway look in her eyes. Although she'd never said as much, Sam, because of her early experience with Grace and Jake, had suspected from the beginning.
"After Paul's death, we realized how pitifully ineffective our attempts to help Alyssa had been. Since we'd been unable to contact the Ancients, Jack suggested the Asgard might be able to help. By then, Grace was ready to try anything," Sam said recalling the horrible sadness of those days.
"No matter how we tried to help, Grace clung to Alyssa and wouldn't let her out of her sight. When the suggestion was made that they go to Othalla with Thor, Grace jumped at the idea. I think she longed to get away and try to forget." Sam recalled vividly how her daughter had distanced herself from everyone. Leaving her home planet had been a convenient final step.
"Thor promised us the Asgard would keep Alyssa safe until she gained control of her ability. And he offered to transport any of us to visit whenever we wanted. Though it was terribly difficult to see Grace and Alyssa go so far away, we knew it was the only choice. None of us had any idea how to control the abilities that were surfacing in Alyssa."
In less than a month, the Asgard managed to contact several of the surviving Ancients. One of them, now a young woman named Anya, agreed to be transported to Othalla in hopes of helping Alyssa. Anya and Grace were old friends. As a child, this young woman had been one of the forever young Innocent who'd taught the twins to manage their abilities. Though she'd abandoned her ascended status and her abilities years ago, Anya's knowledge of her ascended life was surprisingly intact.
TBC
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A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews and comments I've received about this story. It's good to know that although it is sad and sometimes difficult to read (and write), at least from an emotional perspective, readers are staying with it.
Clearly this chapter was an aside which focused on Grace and Alyssa. In the next chapter, we will return to the main story line and hopefully all of this will fit into a coherent whole.
To the best of my knowledge two or three more chapters are planned to conclude the story. Unless, of course, my muse has other plans, in which case I go along for the ride.
Please review this chapter. I depend on your thoughts, encouragement, and constructive criticism.