A/N: Mascara/tissue alert!
The Principle of Existence
Chapter 13
Laura carried her cup of herbal tea to an empty table smiling when she saw Nick and Carolyn sitting together. They seemed to be deep in conversation and she didn't want to intrude but Nick waved her over.
"Laura, my dear, please join us."
"Thanks." She sat down across from Carolyn giving them both a smile of greeting. "How you feeling, Nick? Ready for another dancing lesson?"
"Indeed I am. When would be good for you?"
"The team's going offworld tomorrow. We're only scheduled to be gone 48 hours, if everything goes according to plan. How about when I get back?"
"Splendid." Nick glanced inquiringly at Carolyn and she nodded. "Carolyn and I have plans to go into town for dinner this coming weekend and were wondering if you and Daniel would care to join us."
Laura mentally checked her schedule. "General Carter has drills scheduled for the end of the week then the team has a training session." She shrugged and took a sip of her tea. "If Daniel's free, I don't see why not. As long as he's not weirded out by going on a double date with his grandfather." She gave Nick a sweet smile to let him know she was okay with it.
"Ah, yes. There is that."
Carolyn added, "He's already a little unnerved by the fact that Nick and I are dating." She reached out and took Nick's hand. He smiled and gave her a squeeze.
"I'm not sure what we're doing can be considered dating." Nick responded with a sardonic grin. Laura choked on the tea she'd just swallowed at Nick's response. "Are you alright, my dear?"
When she stopped coughing, she nodded and gave them both a sheepish glance. "Sorry. I, uh, just never expected you to be quite so up-front about the two of you sleeping together."
Nick looked down at his lap in embarrassment and a snort escaped from Carolyn. "Oh, Laura, that's not what he meant." The medical doctor's eyes were filled with amusement. "I'm giving him driving lessons."
"Can you believe I haven't driven a car since Daniel was a child?"
"Oh." She covered her eyes with one hand, the other arm folded across her stomach. "I am so, so sorry. On the, uh, upside, I can skip tomorrow's workout."
Nick's eyebrows came together. "Oh? Why is that?"
"I had more than enough exercise just now jumping to conclusions."
Sam yanked the Bluetooth from her ear when loud static burst out of it. She switched to the handset, the noise now at a more manageable level. "Mal? Hello?" There was one last loud crackle then silence. Biting her lip, she hit redial but got a recording telling her "We're sorry. All circuits are busy. Please try your call again later." Growling deep in her throat, she told the phone, "But I want to call now!"
Laying aside the cell, she quickly dialed Malcolm's landline but got the same message. She hung up and tried his cell with the same results. Debating for just a moment, she dialed again and was relieved when it rang.
"O'Neill."
"Sir, it's Carter." Sam tried to keep the relief out of her voice. "I know this is going to sound, uh, what's the weather where you are?"
Jack paused at the odd request. "In general or right now?"
"Now, please."
"Tornado watch. Why?"
"Well, I was talking to…someone and the line went dead. Lives in Clinton." Sam was pacing the floor to keep calm.
There was another pause and she heard a television come on in the background. "Tornado touched down in that area. Probably knocked out a bunch of towers."
"Oh, okay. Thank you, sir."
"I'm sure you'll be hearing back soon."
Sam sat in her chair to stop pacing. "Me too, sir. Thanks."
"Glad I could help."
Biting her lip, Sam thought hard then put the phone back in its cradle as she powered up her workstation. The call from Malcolm was temporarily forgotten as work once more took over.
The Next Day
0832 Hours
Papers in hand, Sam walked out to the Gate Room observation area that served as Walter's office. He was hard at work as always. She took the opportunity to watch him without his knowledge trying to picture him and Vala as a couple and not able to without seeing him injured or dead.
"Something I can do for you, Ma'am?"
Sam started at being caught staring. "I need these reports completed by 1600, please." She handed him a stack of papers and a flash drive. "And requisition these supplies. There's a list there for Atlantis as well."
"I'll take care of it, Ma'am." She continued watching him pensively. "Ma'am?"
"Sorry. I…uh…" Sam turned away.
"Yes."
She faced him again, her forehead creased in confusion. "Yes?"
"The answer to the question you're not asking is yes."
"Oh. Um, okay. Uh…"
"Since shortly after she was injured offworld." Walter watched her, curious as to her view of his relationship with Vala but her eyes were unreadable. He'd learned that meant she was undecided or didn't approve. Either way, she wouldn't venture her opinion unless he asked nor would she gossip. If she really wanted to know the truth, she'd come right to the source. It was one of the many things about her he admired.
"I wasn't…um, okay." Once again she headed for her office and this time she made it there. Shaking her head, she went back to work though a portion of her incredible mind still worried about Malcolm. If she didn't hear from him soon, well, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.
52 Hours Later
Training and drills took over giving Sam little time to worry about much of anything. So much so, she jumped when her desk phone beeped. She pressed the speakerphone button and kept working. "Carter."
"Sorry to disturb you, Ma'am, but General O'Neil's on the phone. I told him you didn't want to be disturbed but he's very insistent."
"That's fine, Walter. Put him through." She paused as the phone clicked. "Carter."
"Sam…"
Every nerve in Sam's body went on alert at the tone of his voice. "Here, sir."
"I have bad news." Jack paused and she could hear him taking a deep breath. He'd had to tell people that someone they cared about had died but this was harder than he'd anticipated. "Agent Barrett was killed when the tornado touched down. His unit was one of the hardest hit."
Whatever it was Sam thought he was going to say, that wasn't it. All she could do for a moment was stare at the phone.
"Still there?"
"I…yes, sir." Sam's throat began to tighten and her eyes stung. "How?"
"Sam…"
"Please."
"Impaled by a fireplace poker. He was…killed instantly." Jack waited for her to say something more but she stayed silent. "Sorry, Sam. I'm here, if…"
"Thank you, sir." Her voice quavered just a little and two tears trickled down her cheeks before she could stop them. "I…do you…when is…"
"Next week, Arlington. I'll email the specifics."
There was a knock on the door and Walter stuck his head in. He tapped his watch and gestured seeming not to see her distress. She nodded and waved him out. "I…have to go. Thanks, Jack." Sam hung up the phone, yanked a tissue from the box on the credenza, dabbed her eyes and put on her "Soldier Sam" face.
Walter was waiting to escort her to the conference room. He followed her in, taking the vacant seat to her immediate left. Seated around the table were the leaders of all the SG teams. A stack of folders was in front of the Sergeant. He handed the top one to her then one to each of the others around the table.
At her nod, Cam stood, remote in hand. "Now that our fearless leader's here, let's start this party with the results of the most recent round of drills."
The plasma screen on the far wall came to life. While everyone's attention was on the information displayed, Walter took Sam's hand and pressed several tissues into it. She gave him a silent thank you and tried to pay attention to Cam's presentation.
"As you can see, SG-17 completed the drill in record time, however…"
Washington, DC
Evening
Nancy and Jack exited the elevator together, walked past Jack's apartment, 4F, and came to a stop in front of 4J.
"…awful. How'd she take it?"
"About what I'd expect."
The dark-haired woman nodded sadly. "I didn't know him well but he had a spotless rep with the NID, CIA, FBI and most other acronymic departments." She gave him a sad smile and changed the subject. "Thanks for dinner. I don't think I would've thought of going to a dog park on a date. Especially since I don't have a dog."
Jack's hands were in the pockets of his jeans, the tail of his shirt hanging out. "At least it was original."
She tilted her head to look up at him. "Yes, it was. And thanks for walking me home."
"No problem. I was in the neighborhood." He leaned down to give her a kiss. "'Night."
"'Night."
Stargate Command
A Few Days Later
1030 Local Time
Cam checked his weapon for the third time waiting for Daniel to arrive for the mission to P27-X50. The archaeologist finally walked in and took his place between Brackman and Laura. "Glad you could join us, Danny." He looked up at the observation area. "Dial, please, Walter."
The final chevron engaged and the team passed into the wormhole. On the other side, they descended the steps and took in the surrounding area.
"The largest village is 1.5 klicks southwest. I'm on point. Gunny and Cadman take turns on our six."
Laura and Brackman made a strange pair with him being tall and her not but they also made a good team when it came to fighting. That was one reason Cam put them together. That and he needed a reason to smile and seeing them side by side gave it to him.
The largest building was castle-like in appearance and made completely of stone. Much of the façade, gargoyle-like stone sentries, had been worn away by the elements until all that was left were the feet. The rooms they'd already checked out were devoid of furniture, all of it having turned to dust long ago.
Daniel paced the perimeter of the 200 square meters of the room, a pencil clenched in his teeth, stopping periodically to make notations or sketch a design on his pad. The others took turns guarding him and checking his progress. At the moment, Cam was with him.
"So what's the verdict?" Cam took a bite of his power bar then a drink from his canteen.
"Uh…well, I can tell you the probable origin of the script."
Cam stifled a yawn but Daniel still saw it. "Dramatic pauses are annoying."
"Sorry. It's Mayan. Similar to the dialect on P7X-377."
The Colonel huffed because he knew what was coming next. More than once he'd heard Daniel's grandfather expressing his wish to travel offworld again. "So what you're saying is…"
"We need Nick."
The room began to shake, not much, but enough to startle them and send wisps of sand drifting from the ceiling. Cam's boredom was gone before the rumbling stopped. "Brackman, Cadman, you got seismic activity in your locales?" Both indicated in the affirmative. To Daniel, he said, "We better get him here PDQ."
"Yeah. He'd never forgive us if he didn't get to see this firsthand."
Another click of the radio. "Gunny, head to the 'gate. Give 'em a sitrep and have Doctor Ballard sent through. He'll wanna see what we found."
"Aye, sir."
Nick walked into the building escorted by Brackman, his thumbs tucked under the shoulder straps of his pack. He was slightly winded because the village was at the top of a steep hill overlooking a valley. Staring around at everything, his mouth open in wonder, he said, "This is amazing!" His voice echoed slightly.
Daniel was examining glyphs on the far wall. "Yeah, I know but we have work to do and it needs to get done before it falls down around us."
"Yes, of course." Nick took off his backpack and removed his equipment. "You've been doing this for years, my boy. This is only my second alien planet."
"We'll take you along on another mission later but right now…" Daniel waved his grandfather at the walls, returning to what he'd been doing as Nick followed his instructions.
Cam got bored and called Cadman to take over so he could stretch his legs, breathe some fresh air and see the sun. Unfortunately, it was overcast when he got outside. In the distance he could see it was raining on the side of a mountain. It had to have been raining hard for some time because he saw a mudslide dragging rocks and trees as big as redwoods inexorably along until it all disappeared behind the sea level treeline. "And I thought tornadoes were rough on the countryside." Then the rain started to fall. "Oh, perfect." He went inside the building with Brackman on his six. "We got rain, team, so we're gonna hang out here till it stops."
Laura held in a grunt of annoyance but Daniel and Nick didn't bother.
"Great!" Daniel said with sarcasm.
"That's unfortunate. Looks like we'll have to put off our dinner engagement." Nick added.
That piqued Cam's curiosity. "Dinner engagement? You mean a date?"
Daniel answered with a distracted tone. "You could say that. Laura and I were supposed to have dinner with Nick and Carolyn tonight." His head came up when lightning flashed and thunder shook the building. "Whoa. Maybe we should…"
"…stay here so we don't drown on the way home?" Cam deadpanned.
"Um, yeah." He gestured. "I'm just gonna…"
"Good idea." His voice barely above a whisper, Cam said to himself, "How come I'm the only one who can't get a friggin' date around here?"
Eternal Rest Funeral Home
Arlington, VA
1400 Hours
That Same Day
Sam stopped outside the chapel to straighten the jacket of her dress uniform, pulled the door open and slipped into the last pew. Seconds later she was startled to see Jack enter, also in his dress blues. He quietly took the seat next to her. Taking her hand in his, he gave it a squeeze and she returned it without looking at him.
The room was filled to over flowing, a testament to the kind of person Malcolm was. She recognized a few people as fellow agents at the NID but most were strangers. In the front pew she could see his sister and her family. She recognized them from photos he'd shown her. Sitting beside and behind Malcolm's sister were men and women of all ages that she assumed were cousins, aunts and uncles as both his parents were gone.
On a table at the front of the room was a photo of a casually dressed Malcolm slumped in a chair, arms crossed, long legs stretched out in front of him, a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. Flowers and potted plants surrounded a wooden urn. Even from here she could see words etched into the side, his name, date of birth and…death. Tears threatened again and she willed them away just as a solemn-faced man handed her and Jack each a program. On the front cover was the same photo as on the table with the words "In Loving Memory of Malcolm Carter Barrett." Sam couldn't help a small smile of amusement. No wonder he wouldn't tell me his middle name. On the back was the poem, The Road Not Taken. He'd once told her it was his favorite because he considered his job with the NID as the road less traveled. At one time he'd contemplated becoming a history teacher but that got derailed when he was recruited for the NID.
The music softened and an older man walked up to the podium carrying a bible. Though he'd never said anything, Malcolm had always seemed to her to be spiritual, much more so than she. Comforted by Jack's presence, she turned her attention to the words of the minister.
When the service was over, Sam walked to the front, Jack following solemnly in her wake and stopping a discreet distance away. She laid a hand on the wooden box that held the earthly remains of one of the most decent, compassionate and caring human beings she'd ever had the privilege to know. "Good-bye, Malcolm."
"Excuse me. General Carter?" The brown-haired woman from the front pew was beside her, looking at her with a curious gaze.
The Air Force officer nodded. "Yes?"
"I'm Michelle, Mal's sister." They shook hands.
"Um…I found this in with the personal belongings from his office. It's addressed to you." Michelle passed the box over. "My brother talked about you all the time. These last few months, he was happier than I'd seen him in a long time. Not that he was depressed before that. His job had made him cynical but he'd lost some of that since he began seeing you. He is…was crazy about you."
Sam glanced over her shoulder at Jack then back to Michelle. "I know."
She handed Sam another box but this one was flatter and heavier. "He would have wanted you to have this, too. He kept it on his desk."
"Thanks. I…He…" Sam stopped speaking when the other woman hugged her then abruptly let go and hurried away.
Jack walked Sam to her car. She sat there watching the people talking, hugging and sometimes even laughing. Jack tapped on the window, she gave him a sad smile, mouthed thank you and waited while he got in his own vehicle and drove away. When he was gone, she put her head on the steering wheel, breathed deeply a few times then started the car and pulled into the street headed in the opposite direction.
P27-X50
Dusk
Laura stood in the doorway and watched the rain. It had been coming down for four long hours.
Nick and Daniel were nearly done recording their findings, at least for this room. With nothing to do but watch the two scientists work, she and Cam were already getting cabin fever. More than a few times they'd nearly snapped at each other but were too disciplined to let protocol break down.
Brackman seemed to be handling it better than anyone. At the moment he was in a far corner rubbing the edge of his Marine Corps combat knife over a palm-sized, for him, sharpening stone. Periodically he would stop and test the sharpness of the blade on a blank section of the wall. When he was satisfied, he shoved it back in its sheath and snapped the closure. He looked up when he saw the hilt of an ASEK pass into his line of vision. His eyes followed the arm up to see a grinning Cam. "You mind?"
The Gunnery Sergeant grinned back. "Not at all, Colonel." Cam stayed in place, hands folded together in front of him while his P-90 dangled from its strap. "Something else I can do for you, sir?"
"Just wondering. We've been trapped here most of the day. Why aren't you gettin' antsy?"
The big man shrugged. "Don't worry about things I can't change."
"Huh." And that was the last thing his superior said for almost an hour.
After staring out at the rain for what seemed like forever, Laura noticed something odd. She also realized she'd been seeing it happen for a while without it registering. "Sir. Look." Her tone drew not only Cam but Brackman, Daniel and Nick.
The valley at the bottom of the hill where their refuge stood was flooding. Anything that wasn't planted, and some that were, was being pushed along by the relentless torrent of water. It was way too deep for them to wade through so they were stuck for the time being.
"Looks like we're gonna be here longer than we thought. Brackman, you and me're gonna explore our little prison some more to find a decent place to bunk for the night. We've got at least…" he checked the time, "…ten hours before we're considered overdue. We should be able to catch Earth's signal when we get our wake-up call."
Brackman flicked on a flashlight and led the way down the dark passage that made a sharp left turn out of the room. Soon, the blackness swallowed the light, the stone walls and floor absorbing the sound of their voices.
Arlington, VA
Garden Suites Hotel
Night
Sam handed her keys to the valet and dragged her wheeled duffle bag up to the front desk, a garment bag in the other hand.
The clerk saw her and smiled. "General Carter. Good to see you again. How long will you be with us this time?"
She didn't return the smile as she reached for a pen to sign the register. "Just tonight, Brian. Schedule me a wake-up for 0700."
"Yes, Ma'am." He slid a keycard in a paper sleeve across the desk. "Your usual room, 1802."
Looking at it without picking it up, she said, "I'd like a different room, please. Any room but that one."
Brian was startled at the intensity in her voice. "Of course, General." He tapped at the computer around the corner out of sight, encoded a new keycard and extended it toward her. "916. It has a double bed instead of the king."
"That's fine, thank you." Sam took the card, started to turn away but abruptly turned back. "Never mind. I'll take that one." She picked up the original card and hurried away.
Brian watched Sam walk to the elevator and disappear. Another desk clerk, Angela, came to stand next to him. "What was that all about?"
The young man shrugged. "Not a clue."
"It kinda looks like she's been, you know, crying." His co-worker commented.
"Really? Hmm. I wonder what would make a General cry."
Sam tossed her purse on the dresser and set her duffle in front of it. She hung the garment bag in the closet then took off her jacket, automatically hanging it up. Unzipping a side pocket of the duffle, she took out her travel kit and pj's and went into the bathroom.
A few minutes later she came out and stood looking at the bed. It was turned down on the right, the side she usually slept on. The mint on her pillow was tossed on the bedside table as she turned out the light, lifted the covers and crawled between the sheets. They felt cool against her heated skin. Turning on her left side she thought about the last time she'd been here. Malcolm had been with her and she'd awakened in the morning with his arms around her and his warm breath tickling the side of her neck.
Even knowing it couldn't possibly retain the scent of Malcolm's former presence, and may not even be the same one, she pulled the extra pillow to her and hugged it tight. She sniffed as a single tear escaped and created a trail down her cheek to be absorbed by the white cotton pillowcase.
Moaning restlessly in her sleep, Sam rolled over onto her back, taking the extra pillow with her and kicking the covers to the foot of the bed.
"Sam?"
At the sound of her name she sat up, her feet hitting the floor. The room was gently illuminated by a sliver of light from the street. It peeped in through a gap between the curtains showing the figure of a man standing at the foot of her bed. "Who are you? How'd you get in my room?" She stood, taking an aggressive step forward ready to defend herself. An eerily familiar chuckle reached her ears bringing her up short and forcing her eyes to widen. No, it can't be!
"You invited me, remember?"
The apparition moved to the side of the bed, the light falling on legs, hips, chest and neck, her eyes following its progress until it reached his face. A charming smile came into view then the light hit green eyes topped with short brown hair, making her gasp. "Hello, Sam."
P27-X50
Lights Out
Brackman led the way to the rooms he and Cam had located that would serve their purposes, namely provide a place to sleep with protection from the storm. It had no external walls and no windows, only the one door, which hung from one hinge and would have to be manually fit into place by two people.
"It's close to midnight local time so here's the deal. We'll stand guard in shifts of two hours each in this order: Me, Gunny, Cadman, Daniel. Eat a power bar or an MRE, if you like then get some sleep." The team began making themselves comfortable, stripping down to their T-shirts but keeping their pants and boots on. "Pick a spot and get some rest. There's a, well, sort of a bathroom across the hall though it hasn't been used in a dinosaur's age."
"Excuse me, Cameron." Nick drew his attention. "Why am I not being given a shift? I'm perfectly capable of sounding the alarm as well as anyone."
"Yeah, but you haven't trained with weapons yet. None of us wants to be awakened in the middle of the night because you've shot yourself or someone else in the foot."
Nick nodded acceptance. "You have a point, my boy." He rubbed his hands together, glancing around the room lit only by a pair of flashlights. "I do believe I'll sleep in that corner." He settled down with his jacket as a pillow, turned on his right side and appeared to go immediately to sleep.
Laura chose the corner opposite Nick's on the same wall and Daniel lay down halfway between them. Gunny was already on his back against the other wall, jacket under his head and fingers laced over his stomach. Within in just a few minutes he was out. Daniel and Laura wished each other a good-night and closed their eyes.
Cam watched his teammates for a few heartbeats then carefully stepped past the broken door into the hall to start his patrol. He stepped into the room that had once been a rudimentary indoor bathroom. Any disgusting substances that had been here were long gone leaving a musty, unused-for-centuries smell behind. He wrinkled his nose and continued his patrol.
Nick sat up and growled, glaring at his grandson in the dark. Daniel was snoring loud enough to wake the dead, though Laura and Brackman didn't seem to have a problem sleeping through it. "The hell!" He crawled over and shook Daniel and the snoring stopped for all of five seconds, the interruption disturbing Laura.
"Wass goin' on?" she asked sleepily.
"I can't sleep because Daniel is snoring like a freight train."
"Allergies." She crawled over and whispered in Daniel's ear, "Turn on your side, Daniel. You're snoring again."
The archaeologist mumbled "sorry", rolled onto his side facing Nick and quiet blessedly descended again. Laura lay back down, rolling over to face the wall. Nick grinned and went back to sleep as well.
"Colonel? Wake up, sir!"
"Wha-" Cam sat up, yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Wassup, Gunny?"
"Sir, we need to move to higher ground." In the light from his flashlight, Brackman's face was grave.
The Colonel was instantly awake following the older man from the room as he strapped on his belt. They went across the hall and looked out the window. The rain had finally stopped but it had to still be raining upstream because the valley was now completely flooded. Water, trees, bushes and mud swirled around the foundation of their refuge creeping slowly upward.
"That's not all, sir. The room we started out in is nearly fifteen centimeters deep and climbing. It keeps up like this and the entire first floor will be under water in less than an hour."
TBC
A/N: Thanks to Shadows-of-Realm, LoneRanger1 and DaniWilder for their input. No, none of them gave me the idea to kill off Malcolm Barrett. I came up with that all on my own.
Sandy