Chapter XI: What Kind of Choice is This?
A/N: This chapter was particularly fun to write with IzzieStar. So much happens in it. Enjoy the chapter!
By the time Webb's black Volvo S80 pulled into the drive, Elizabeth, John and Jack had spent over an hour retracing the night the twins had been taken, noting down times and checking the house for any sign of a break in. It was a process that Webb had already undertaken the previous day, but helped them to know that they were doing something that could give them in a lead. With Webb's arrival though, they stopped and waited for the inevitable anger that was coming in their direction. In an attempt to deflect this from Elizabeth, Jack insisted on answering the door, but this only served to provoke Webb as he was greeted with the knowledge that Elizabeth had gone back on the promise which he had pushed her into agreeing to. Instead of replying to Jack's greeting, Webb barged past him and stormed into the living room, his hands on his hips pushing his jacket back just enough to reveal the gun on his belt.
"Our cooperation in finding your children was dependent on you keeping their disappearance to yourself." Webb said, icily.
"Well, we happened to be in the neighborhood and thought we could drop in to lend a hand. Did I mention that I'm a two-star General?" Jack asked politely.
Webb turned to Jack, "I already know all I need to know about you General O'Neill. The same applies to you Colonel Sheppard, and I have to say that you being here is not the kind of help that the IOA wants or needs."
"That's a shame because you're gonna be getting it whether you like it or not." John said, firmly.
"I don't like it. I don't like it one bit, and I'm pretty sure my superiors won't either." Webb said, taking his cell out of his pocket.
"Go ahead, ring 'em. Tell them I send my regards." Jack said, with a smile.
With a glare at Jack, Webb marched back out of the room, clutching his phone, and watching through the window, Elizabeth watched him speaking into the cell in a flurry of angry lip movements, occasionally kicking his heels against the ground.
"You're going to have to go and check in to a hotel. The last thing I need is for you two to go up against the IOA." Elizabeth said, with a pointed look.
"It's not going to come to that. I'm going to talk to him." John said.
Before Elizabeth could protest, John followed Webb and waited, leaning against his car, knowing that Webb would rather end the conversation than risk him listening. His prediction proved to be correct as Webb quickly made his excuses and slid his cell back into his jacket and turning to face John. To assert his presence, John pushed himself off the car and stood facing Webb, with less than a meter separating them.
"I think it would be advisable that you inform your superiors that you think it would be to advantage that we stay." John said, casually.
"Is that right?" Webb said, looking highly amused.
"You see we have contacts too, and I don't think they'd be too impressed with the treatment Elizabeth has had to face. I think they'd be so unimpressed that they might decide that Elizabeth doesn't need to remain under IOA supervision any longer."
It was subtle, and it was brief, but John saw a flicker of fear in Webb's eyes at the thought of Sheppard's threat. His years of training meant that he was quickly able to assert his arrogance though, with a defiant laugh and shake of the head. It was too late though; Sheppard knew he had Webb worried enough to ensure that they could stay.
"You think that I don't know why you're so interested in the welfare of Elizabeth's children?" Webb sneered.
It was John's turn to experience that momentary convulsion of fear as he uneasily met Webb's eye.
"We've known since the birth of the children that you're the father. Those compulsory DNA samples for all SGC personnel came in handy."
"I guess the congratulations card got lost in the mail." John said, sarcastically.
He should have been angry that the IOA had known, but he had already wasted so much anger on his lost years of fatherhood that sarcasm was much easier to fall back on. Not to mention, that his surprise that IOA hadn't informed him felt like nothing compared to the shock that both Jack and Elizabeth had kept the truth from him. Now, it was all history, and all that mattered was getting back his children.
At the same time, but in Washington, Samantha Carter found herself in a similar frame of mind, unable to take her mind off the missing twins. Over the screen of her laptop, she watched Rodney McKay getting increasingly frustrated with the calculations for the project he was working on. The recent years which had seen them working together had taught Sam that it was for the best to leave Rodney to himself at times like this, but she couldn't quite shake off the sense of duty she felt that she had to tell Rodney about the predicament Elizabeth found herself in. The moment he had returned to work the previous day, he had set about making his displeasure at Sam not telling him that Elizabeth was still alive, and had given birth to the children of 'Kirky Boy', more than clear, and Sam wasn't thrilled at a similar prospect if Rodney was to discover the truth from about the twins from elsewhere. Not to mention, that Jack had dropped some not-so subtle hints that Rodney's skills might come in useful.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Sam asked with a smile.
Rodney looked up with an expression of confusion which soon settled into a look suspicion.
"Why would you offer to help? You never offer to help." Rodney said.
"That's because you usually tell me that you don't need it." Sam replied.
"Well, as it happens, I don't."
"Okay then. I was just going to get a coffee if you'd like one." Sam said, with the same strained smile.
At this, Rodney folded down the screen of his laptop and folded his arms, eying Sam with suspicion verging on contempt.
"What is it? What's going on?" He demanded.
Hesitantly, Sam stood up and moved to the stool beside Rodney, causing him to unconsciously lean away from her and fold his arms even tighter. Normally Sam would have called Rodney out on this, but it didn't feel like the time or the place in light of what she was about to tell him.
"Oh God, you're not dying are you?" Rodney asked.
Sam's jaw involuntarily dropped, "No I am not dying Rodney."
"Well, that's...good. So what is it?" Rodney said, awkwardly.
"It's about Elizabeth and the children..." Sam started.
"Please tell me that John hasn't done something ridiculous and proposed." said Rodney.
"Rodney! Could you just shut up for two seconds? No, John has not proposed," Sam said, exasperated by his continuous interruptions, "the night you all returned home, JJ and Olivia were taken. They've been kidnapped. John and Jack are there..."
"Kidnapped? Crap. I need to get over there," Rodney said, standing up, "Where's my cell? I need to call Carson."
Clumsily, Rodney started rifling through the papers on his desk, anxiously searching for his cell. Rather than calm him down, Sam joined him in the hunt, realizing that he wouldn't be deterred from his personal mission. Eventually she found it, dropped onto the floor beside the waste-paper bin and passed it to Rodney who grabbed it from her hand, without a thank you, and marched from the laboratory to the rest room, clutching the phone to his ear, waiting for Carson's reply.
"Hello, Doctor Beckett speaking." Carson said, from the other end of the line.
"Carson, it's me. Something terrible has happened; Elizabeth's kids...Elizabeth and John's kids have been taken. We need to get over there. When can you meet me at the airport?"
"Rodney, slow down. This is terrible news, but we have to treat it sensitively. How do we even know that John and Elizabeth want us there?" Carson asked, gently.
"Of course they want us there! The old team together again." Rodney stressed.
"Rodney, I really do think we should check with John and Elizabeth first."
"Don't be ridiculous. The sooner we get there the better. Sheppard and O'Neill will have put down the groundwork, but they're going to need us." Rodney stressed.
"Okay, okay. I can be at the airport in a couple of hours, just promise me that you'll call John or Elizabeth first." Carson warned.
"Yes, of course, I'll call them."
As it turned out, Rodney was so preoccupied with preparing for their 'rescue mission' that he forgot to ring either, and when Carson and Rodney eventually turned up at Elizabeth's house in the midst of arguing over the map, both John and Elizabeth were stunned as they filled the doorframe side by side.
"Did you invite them?" Elizabeth asked, turning to John.
"I had no idea." John said.
While Rodney smiled at John and Elizabeth in a way that was supposed to be sympathetic, but mostly made him look condescending, Carson turned to Rodney in exasperation. He realised that Rodney was in one of his most determined moods ever, but he had expected, well hoped, that Rodney would listen to him in the circumstances. It was these very circumstances under that Carson decided to let it pass and instinctively take Elizabeth's hand, eyes full of empathy.
"I can't imagine what you're going though love." He said.
Feeling the threat of tears once again, Elizabeth didn't respond but just nodded, trying to look anywhere other than Carson's eyes. Thankfully, her attention was quickly taken by Rodney slapping his hands together, with a look of expectation.
"So what's the plan?" Rodney asked.
"The plan?" Elizabeth asked, confused.
"To get the kids back; that's why we're here."
"And to offer our emotional support, of course." Carson said, surreptitiously nudging Rodney.
"We need to know where they are before we can get them back." John said, tensely, conscious of Elizabeth's present emotional fragility.
"Not to mention we have the IOA watching out every move." Jack said, nodding at the surveillance trailer that had arrived at some point during the afternoon, as he walked into the hallway, "Good to see you guys."
It seemed that his 'suggestion' to Sam that it would be useful to have somebody like McKay would be good to have around had paid off, and he made a mental note to thank her if...when they were able to bring the twins safely home. As much as he was reluctant to let on to Elizabeth, Jack was becoming increasingly worried about the twins, sure that whoever had taken them should have had tried to contact them in some way. Occasionally, he caught John staring at the mailbox with a concentrated expression of concern, and he suspected that John was having similar thoughts. Neither of them admitted it though, and both continued to concentrate on ensuring that Elizabeth didn't fall into complete despair and trying to work out the motives for taking the children. Part of Jack still suspected that the IOA were behind it, but the more he thought about it, the more it didn't make sense.
After Elizabeth had set Rodney and Carson up in the living room, using up the last of her blankets and pillows, she joined the men in the kitchen, sat around the table muttering between themselves. It irked her slightly that she had been sent off to find bedding while they talked 'tactics' when, once upon a time; she had been the person at the head of the table that John, Rodney and Carson had all looked to. She didn't show it though, and slipped into the seat beside Carson, mustering all her efforts into a smile.
"I'm afraid you've got the least comfortable sofas in the house." Elizabeth said.
For a moment, Rodney looked as though he was about to form some sort of complaint, but with one look from O'Neill he immediately backed down and thanked Elizabeth for her hospitality, hoping she appreciated the risk her sofa was posing to his back.
"Have you arranged some sort of search?" Carson asked.
"Sheppard and I took out the car and drove round the town this afternoon, but the IOA seem to think they have it covered." Jack said.
"What about posters?" Rodney asked.
"Posters?" Elizabeth inquired.
"You know, 'have you seen these children?' sort of thing." Rodney continued.
"That's actually not a bad idea." John commented.
"Elizabeth, do you have a recent picture we can use?" Jack inquired.
Elizabeth nodded, and stood up, almost dreading the moment she would open the box and be faced with the faces of her children. From the top of the bookshelf, she reached for the box of photographs which she hadn't bought albums for yet and placed it down on the table, as far away from her as possible, hoping that somebody else would be the person to pull the lid from the box. As it happened, it was Rodney, who couldn't wait to put his plan into action. At the top of the pile, was a picture of the twins sat behind a cake in the shape of space rocket. Seeing the picture, John took the picture with a wistful smile, studying the obvious delight in their faces.
"I didn't know you could bake." Rodney commented.
"There's a lot you don't know about me." Elizabeth said, with a raise of an eyebrow.
Ignoring Rodney and Elizabeth, John looked the picture for a few more seconds before turning it over. Written across the back of the photo was '14th February'.
"They were born on Valentine's Day?" John said, looking up at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth looked up at John, their eyes locking, and smiled, "Yes."
Across the table, Rodney snickered, "Well it's a good thing you guys aren't together or every Valentine's Day would officially be ruined for the next twelve years." That comment earned him a glare from Jack, which he ignored.
Hearing this comment, Elizabeth broke eye contact with John and picked out a photo of the twins which was focused on their faces, commenting, "This one is suitable."
With a picture chosen, Rodney and Jack stationed themselves at the computer desk, squabbling over the most minimal details of the poster, while John attempted to persuade Webb that having Rodney and Carson around would work in their favor, which he reluctantly accepted. This left Elizabeth in the kitchen with Carson, who didn't say a word, but made her a sandwich, gently stating that the needed to make sure she was strong for the children. Reluctantly, Elizabeth ate the sandwich, but she found that with every mouthful she felt a little bit more nauseous, and welcomed the distraction of Rodney moaning that printer was out of paper.
When they had printed off about a hundred posters, Rodney, Carson and Jack set off in the car ready to stick the posters around town. After waving them off and John had gone off somewhere, Elizabeth felt her body aching for rest, emotionally exhausted, but she found that she daren't allow herself to stop. So she found herself stood in front of the kettle watching the increasing ripples as it came to the boil, clutching a jar of coffee so tightly that her knuckles were beginning to ache. As the kettle clicked, Elizabeth released the coffee and turned to the fridge for milk, catching a glimpse of a dark spiky hair through the back door which momentarily gave her a trembling sense of hope before she realised it was the hair of John Senior.
With the milk in her hand, Elizabeth grabbed another mug, and poured out two strong coffees, the way she had made it during those late nights of crises in Atlantis. After returning the milk to the fridge, Elizabeth picked up the mugs and eased the door open with her elbow, her eyes hesitantly meeting John's as he turned around in surprise, accepting the mug which she offered. Behind her, she closed the door and sat beside John on the step, their legs gently touching.
"How are you?" John asked, softly.
Elizabeth looked at him, struck by the caring tone of his voice, "I'm scared."
Struck by the sense of weakness that he had never witnessed in Elizabeth before, John looked away into the depth of his mug, tilting it to catch the reflection of the moon.
"Me too." He admitted.
With this, John turned to face Elizabeth and slipped his hand into hers, conscious that words couldn't really give her the comfort that she, and he, both so desperately needed.
"I should have called you." Elizabeth said, after a pause.
"Yes, you should've. I shouldn't have had to find out from Jack."
"Again." Elizabeth added.
"Again." John confirmed.
"I'm sorry John, for everything. It's been hard for me, to let go, to let you in...but I want to." Elizabeth said, hesitantly.
"Well, you're here, and you're making me awful coffee again so we're getting there." John said, with a slight smile.
"Awful coffee?" Elizabeth asked, affronted, but smiling for the first time all day.
"Yeah, I thought it was best not to say back in Atlantis, what with you being my boss and my girlfriend. Sorry." John admitted, sheepishly.
"Don't be, I'm touched, in a way." Elizabeth said.
To demonstrate this, she reached for the mug from John's hands and tipped the contents into the potted plant beside her, sighing as she remembered watching the twins water the plants in the mornings.
"We'll get them back. I promise." John whispered, squeezing her hand.
Beside him, Elizabeth nodded and rubbed her eyes, which were surrounded by dark rings. Squeezing her hand again, John suggested that she should go and have a bath to relax, and although she attempted to put up a fight, she quickly gave into the gentle firmness in John's tone and left him in the garden.
Alone, John stood up and strolled around the house to the front garden where his attention was taken by the bird feeder which his children had seemingly made from the way their names were spelled out on it. Across the garden, on the drive, he observed Webb leave the surveillance trailer and get into his car and start the engine, lighting up the street before him. John looked across the overgrown garden of the opposite house, under the glare of Webb's headlights and noticed a woman in the window, not noticing him, but watching the car. As he watched her absent-mindedly play with a strand of blonde hair, he couldn't help but get the feeling that he'd seen her somewhere before. Edging closer to the edge of the garden, John continued to watch the woman in the darkened house, as Webb's car moved towards the edge of the drive. The woman looked up into the full glare of the lights from the edge of the window, and John felt a sinking feeling as he remembered the last times he had set eyes on that woman. At the time, as he received his wallet from her, in the hotel lobby, he had been struck by her beauty, now the only thought that struck him was that somehow she was involved in the kidnap of his children, and that she was the lead to getting them back.
Inside he was shaken, worried, but when he returned to the house he had regained his Colonel composure, and positioned himself in the living room behind a book where he could watch the opposite house. While he was seemingly engrossed in his book, John was frequently raising his eyes to the window through which he'd seen the lady from the hotel, not once moving his head or giving any indication that anything was afoot. Behind the safety of what was a children's encyclopedia, John was recalling the details of his acquaintance with the woman, remembering the kind smile as she had returned his wallet. His wallet. Wriggling slightly, John reached into his back pocket for his wallet and rifled through it, looking for some form of tracking device. There wasn't, and John threw it down onto the coffee table and returned to his watch from behind the book.
He was waiting, but for what, he wasn't entirely sure. Even though he was increasingly convinced that this woman was behind the kidnap of JJ and Olivia, he severely doubted that they were in the house across the road, knowing them well enough to realize that they would have kicked up sufficient fuss to gain their attention, which led to even more questions in the midst of the predicament he was in the middle of. Still, they had a lead, and that was more than they had half an hour.
When Elizabeth found her way into the living room, with damp hair and wearing her pyjamas, her attention was immediately taken by the book in John's hands and she raised her eyebrow.
"You're reading up on monkeys?" Elizabeth asked, bemused.
John looked up at the wide-eyed confusion in Elizabeth's eyes, and briefly toyed with the possibility of keeping his suspicions from her, knowing how devastated she would be if they proved to be incorrect, but knew that he couldn't. Parenthood, so far, for him had been tainted by lies and secrets and he knew that, if they stood a chance of making whatever this was work, this had to stop, starting now.
"Err, yes. Elizabeth, I think you should sit down." John said.
Narrowing her eyes, Elizabeth eased herself into the chair and facing John, and laughed nervously, "What is it John?"
"Tonight, when I was in the garden, I noticed something...someone in the house opposite..."
"That house has been empty since we moved here." Elizabeth said.
"It wasn't tonight, and I recognized the woman. She was at the hotel." John said, meeting Elizabeth's eyes.
"Dani?" Elizabeth demanded.
"No, don't be ridiculous. You probably didn't even notice her; she passed me my wallet back in the lobby, and I'm pretty sure that it was her in the house."
Instinctively, Elizabeth turned her head to the window, but John grasped her arm, causing her to turn back, "If she's watching us, the last thing we need is for her to know we're onto her."
"And you expect me to sit here, knowing that a person who may have taken my children could be right across the road?" Elizabeth demanded.
"For now, yes. We need to know what we're dealing with first." John stressed.
"Dealing with?" Jack asked, walking into the living room.
"We've got a lead."
Hearing this Rodney marched into the room, "We need to get after them."
"For Christ's sake Rodney." Carson muttered, with a roll of the eyes.
"Wait up. Lead?" Jack asked John.
"We're being watched from the house opposite – Rodney don't you dare turn around – and I remembered seeing the woman at the hotel." John said, earnestly.
"Trust you to notice a woman. I bet she's hot, isn't she?" Rodney said, cynically.
Each person in their room rolled their eyes, but nevertheless, Elizabeth, Jack and Carson turned their eyes to John expectantly, suspecting that Rodney was correct.
"She's...attractive, I guess, but that isn't the point." John said, defensively.
"No, it isn't," Elizabeth said, "We need to work out some sort of plan of action."
"Involving our little friends?" Jack said, nodding at the trailer.
Guiltily, they each looked around the room at each other, simultaneously having the same thought; a thought that didn't involve informing the IOA.
"That answers that question. I think we need to keep a watch on her tonight and follow her, before she figures out we're onto her. John and I will gear up, and wait in the car. Carson, Rodney and Elizabeth, you guys keep a watch out from here and call us when you see her leave the house. As soon as you make that call, Carson I want you to distract the guys in the trailer so we can get away without being noticed." Jack said.
"No way are you leaving me here. I'm coming with you guys."
'Rodney, this could very quickly turn dangerous...' John began.
"And how many times have I saved your ass in dangerous situations? You should be begging me to come with you." Rodney said, smugly.
"He has a point John." Elizabeth said.
"Fine, you can come with us." John said.
'Great, I brought my old Atlantis tactical vest, just in case.' Rodney said, positively grinning.
While John, Jack and Rodney snuck through the garden and prepared for their 'mission', as Rodney had so eagerly named it, Elizabeth and Carson took up their position on the sofa, pretending to watch the television, each with their eyes firmly on the house opposite. After about five minutes of neck ache from holding their heads so rigidly, both jumped as Carson's phone vibrated into life with a message from Rodney that they managed to get past the IOA trailer without being noticed. Exchanging a relieved smile, both Carson and Elizabeth resumed their watches.
Although they had all hoped that their new 'neighbor' would leave the house soon, after two hours there hadn't been a hint of any movement from the house and, becoming increasingly frustrated, John decided on a new tactic. With the clock approaching midnight, he called Elizabeth with instructions to turn off all the lights in the house, but remain on watch from the living room, hoping that their 'neighbor' would be tricked into believing that they had all gone to bed and that was nothing for her to watch. Elizabeth and Carson assented to this and turned off the lights in the house, before tiptoeing across the living room floor to watch through the slight crack they had left in the curtains, joking about their 'stakeout' to cover both their fears.
The time continued to tick by, and Elizabeth was close to giving up hope when she saw a reflection light from the street light on the numbers of the door opposite as it was opened, revealing the silhouette of a woman. Immediately, she picked up the phone, whilst ushering Carson to the IOA trailer, and urgently told the men that their target had finally appeared, ending the call with an anxious 'good luck'.
From inside the car, both John and Jack gritted their teeth as Rodney began a frantic stream of panicked whispers as the woman walked from the house to a car about fifty yards along the side-walk, not once turning in their direction. As the engine of her car revved, Jack eased his own car forward to gage the direction she took when she reached the end of the road. Witnessing her take a left turn, Jack hit the accelerator and followed her through the darkened roads of Sedona, carefully maintaining a safe distance between the two cars. Following the car through to the outskirts of the town, Jack was relieved when he was the car pull into the car park of an abandoned warehouse, and immediately parked the car on the road, knowing that it couldn't be seen from the warehouse.
The three men gently ran down the side of the road, Rodney holding his hand pistol in front of him, making their way to the warehouse. Coming closer to the dimly lit building, in the darkness, they were irritated as they lost view of the woman, but they continued towards the building. When they reached the perimeter of the building, O'Neill motioned for them to crouch under the cover of a bush where he harshly whispered orders to follow him to find an entrance to the building. Yet, as they circled the perimeter of the building, they were perplexed as they discovered that there wasn't an entrance to the building. Not one that was accessible anyway, with all of the rusted doors to facility fused to their frames.
"Looks like we're going to have to blow the doors." Jack said, reaching into his vest for C4.
"No, wait. I brought this with me." Rodney said, reaching into his rucksack, and pulling out a small extendable periscope.
"Aren't you quite the prepared little adventurer?" Jack said, with an amused look at Rodney.
Ignoring Jack and pushing up onto his tiptoes, Rodney lifted the periscope to the edge of the window and put his eye to it. Immediately, he stumbled back, dropping the periscope and bringing about concerned looks from Jack and John who reached to steady him.
"This can't be right. My plan should have wiped them out for good!" Rodney stuttered.
"What are you talking about?" John asked, urgently.
"They're replicators."
A/N 2: Now you know who's kidnapped the twins. What could replicators possibly want with two six year olds?
