Author's Note: Thank you all for all the amazing support. I'm back and ready to continue this journey with all of you. I had to take a hiatus from the internet for my health during my last year of college. I just graduated, yay! Congrats to any other recent grads on here. Shout out to all your hard work. Now that I have time I'm turning my attention back to my stories.
Quick shout out to Lee-All-The-Way, Night69Raven, whose recent reviews gave me to fire to keep going. And of course machala whose been here nearly from the beginning, don't worry this story is not abandoned. Finally shout out to all of the lovelies who have reviews for faved/followed, you are the lifeblood of this story.
I've been working on this story since my sophomore year of high school, and now I just graduated college. Man the time flies, but we'll always have Stargate. Now the long awaited update is here, enjoy.
Chapter 36
It was a few hours past dark by the time we all pulled off the road to camp for the night. We had stopped the day before to speak with Catherine. Seeing her so young was just so strange. Even in her young age she was absolutely committed to figuring out the Stargate.
While Daniel, Skaara, and I had been undercover, Sam, Jack and Teal'c when to the observatory in Manhattan. The note from Hammond didn't just have note to his past self, but the dates of two solar flares that Sam postulated could get us back to our time.
The whole team, minus Skaara and I, were seated close together on the far side of the campfire discussing the previous days findings.
Skaara and I sat together on the other side, the closest we could get to any private time for the last couple of weeks.
Skaara had his arms wrapped around me while I leaned back against his chest. He had been unusually quiet.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked, turning my head so I could see his face in the firelight. Reaching up I brushed my knuckles across his jaw.
"Home." Skaara answered, staring at the crackling flames. "Right now Abydos is somewhere out there still enslaved by Ra. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. And yet two weeks ago my home was free. And now its not, or it will be, or something… This time travel makes my head hurt the more I think about it. I worry for friends and family who haven't been born yet."
"I know what you mean," I replied.
Skaara shifted so he was watching me now.
"I can stop thinking that the longer we're away the more Cassandra will worry. But if this works tomorrow then hardly anytime will have passed for her." Nesting my head in the crock of his neck I continued. "But if it doesn't work…"
He kissed to top of my head to silence me, "It will."
Getting back was always the goal, however now that we had one very slim chance made my all the more anxious. "But it may not. Its not right to leave Cassie without a family again," Sitting up I faced Skaara, "just the thought makes me feel sick."
"Shh, everything will be fine." Skaara's hands running up and down my arms calmed me a bit and warmed me in the frigid night air.
My mouth turned up in a halfhearted smile, "And you know this how?"
"Because if we don't get back tomorrow, we'll just take the long way home." Skaara replied with confidence.
"The long way home?" I asked, raising my eyes brows.
"Yes." He nodded enthusiastically, "We could find an out of the way spot to settle down. Maybe in this Tahiti you always talk about."
"It's a magical place." I bit my bottom lip, "That doesn't sound too bad."
Skaara leaned in close, "Not to bad at all." He closed the distance and placed a quick kiss on my mouth.
"Who are you guys?" Michael meekly came through the trees.
Oh damn. Wonder if he heard anything a little too, extraterrestrial.
Jack held up a mug of canned stew, "Come on. Have something to eat." He said to brush of Michael's question.
Unfortunately Michael wouldn't let it drop. How much had he heard…
"Traveling between the Earth and where? What's that about?"
…Apparently everything.
Michael plopped down around the fire besides Daniel, Jenny stood right behind him.
Sam's face blushed. Quickly she hid away the plans she and Jack had been working on, "When I said that, I was just imagining…"
"Oh, I don't think so, man." Michael was grinning from ear to ear.
"You said…" Jenny's standoffishness was replaced by curiosity, "that you were in trouble with the establishment."
"And…we are." Jack reasoned, his frown deepened if that was possible.
"We are." Daniel blurted out to back up Jack.
"Just not the establishment of this planet." Jack said in a low voice.
Daniel had his moth open to back up Jack's statement. Suddenly it looked like he was chocking, "What!?"
"What my brother means to say is that our uncle has had a little to much LDS." I jumped up.
"You mean LSD?" Daniel retorted.
I frowned, "What?"
Jack groaned, "No I said what I meant. It times we came clean to these good humans." Jack was glaring daggers at Daniel and I, "It's true, Michael. We came to Earth to hide among your people, a long, long time ago."
Teal'c raised his eyebrow and lifted his hat showing them his gold tattoo, "From a galaxy far, far away."
"Woah!" Michael and Jenny said in unison.
"But now it's time to go home, and we need your help."
"How?" Jenny asked, a nervous tremor entered her voice.
"We need to be in a place called Washington DC by tomorrow." Daniel explained.
"I don't know, man." Michael leaned backwards with his hands raised as if in surrender. "This I all just a bit much my dudes."
Jack sent Teal'c a curt nod. Teal'c reached into his waist band. Withdrawing his zat he fired it three times at a large log, instantly disintegrating it.
[O'Neill and Carter exchange looks, and Carter turns back to the fire; they've already taken the fib this far. O'Neill reaches down and picks up the zatnicatel beside him.]
Instead of jumping in fright Michael grinned like he was stoned, which he probably was. "Whoa! That was unreal!"
"It is in fact extremely real." Teal'c told the couple in his matter of fact way and holstered the zat. "As is our need for assistance."
Jenny turned her pleading gaze on her boyfriend, "We have to help them get home, Michael."
Micheal wrapped his arms around Jenny's shoulders, "Okay." He nodded and leaned over the dying fire offering his hand to Jack, "We'll do it."
Jack's half smirk half smile was probably the most badass thing he'd done that week, "Okay." He said shaking Michael's hand.
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The next day we pulled up to the old warehouse where the Stargate was stored. Briefly I was angry at the naiveite of the US government. If the Goa'uld had decided to come knocking on our gate just a decade earlier we'd have been defenseless.
Michael parked the van a good mile down the road and out of sight, the rest of the way would have to be on foot.
Jack and Sam finished unloading our weapons and equipment when Michael and Jenny, holding hands, came up to say farewell.
"Listen, I really have to say this. The two of you have been unbelievably…" Jack paused.
"Groovy." I offered.
Jack smirked, "Groovy, I think, is the word."
"The people of our world will be extremely grateful." Skaara spoke up and held out his arm to Michael. Michael went to shake his hand but was momentarily startled when Skaara clasped his forearm tightly.
We'd already begun to walk away when Michael came running to catch up with us."We want you to take us with you."
"We can't do that." Jack knew very well that we couldn't.
Michael deflated, "But you owe us."
"Yes, we do. We owe you a lot. But you belong here." Jack clasped the younger man's shoulder, patting it firmly and stepping back, "And you have to trust me on this. This is a great time."
Jenny started to cry, "Michael got drafted." She blurted.
Her declaration sucked to air out of my lungs. Oh Michael.
He stuffed his hands in his oversized jacket, "We're just goin' to the concert first. You know, one last blast. But if we went with you…" his face fell even further, "I don't wanna…kill anybody."
The expression of Jack's face showed that his resolve was crumbling, "Michael…"
"Sir, you can't say anything." Sam snapped as gently as she could, "He has to make up his own mind." Her smile was sad as she squeezed Jenny's hands, "We can walk the rest of the way from here."
"Your secret's safe with us." Michael said again holding onto Jenny's hand tightly.
"We know," I softy embraced the two of them, "Than you. Take care."
Jenny brushed a few tears off her cheeks, "You to. Go on and keep the galaxy safe."
"Bye." I felt a heavy weight on my chest when I took Skaara hands and walked away.
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After a flurry of smoke and gunfire the Stargate whooshed open, incinerating two perfect holes in the steel container holding it.
Sam called out the seconds we had until our window to go home was gone.
5
Sam jumped from her hideout, firing her zat up at the railing running along the second level. Two soldiers fell to the ground stunned.
4
Jack and Daniel ran from their cover by the jeep we used to boost the gate.
3
Teal'c dodged a bullet that passed far to close to his head and pinged off the edge of the gate.
2
Skaara grabbed my hand. We surged to our feet, as more bullets rained down around us.
1
We all passed simultaneously through the event horizon.
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The ride was more tumultuous than I ever remembered before. Finally it ended and the gate spit us out in a dark room. It was the gate room, no doubt about that. However, something was off. I just couldn't quite put my finger on it.
Jack jumped to his feet and slapped at the dust that had been kicked up in our wake like it'd personally offended him, "Auntie Em? I'm home! Auntie Em?"
Sam helped Daniel to his feet, "Where is everyone?" she asked.
The blast doors to the right of the embarkation area opened. An elder woman, maybe in her late sixties, glided through. She wore a white silky dress that flowed around her like water. "Hello." The woman said looking right at me. Walking closer she examined more of my team, "Teal'c? Daniel?" Her laugh was light like a bell and very familiar, I hardly recognized you with hair." She came to Skaara, "Its really good to see you again." She placed her hand n his shoulder and squeezed gently.
Jack was uncomfortable and cleared his throat, "Do…do we know you?"
The woman came to a stop no more than from me, "She will recognize me." Her smile was knowing and full of mirth. "Come closer."
I squinted. There was something I was missing. Maybe take a few decades away, darker hair and… "Oh my God." I wrapped her in my arms. Despite how strong her personality was, I was frightened by how frail she felt, "I'm so sorry." I sobbed, holding her head I stepped back, "I'm sorry I took to long."
Jack nudged my side, still very confused, "Excuse me. Who is this?"
"Cassandra," I said stepping back. Her was a little out of place so I soothed it down just like I did when she was little.
"Cassie's ten years old." Jack said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Not anymore, Jack." Cassandra laughed at the sudden look of astonishment on his face. She continued, "I've been expecting you…my whole life, in fact. You entered the Stargate a few seconds too soon, so the flare threw you far into the future. I've come to send you back where you belong."
"So you mean…?" I sobbed again.
"Yes you come back to me." Cassandra was the one now to wrap me in a hug, "When I was old enough to understand, Sam explained what happened, and that I'd be the one to send you home."
"Like a self-fulfilling prophecy." Sam said.
"Mm-hmm. As much as I would love to spend more time with you, the timing must be precise. You have to go." She pulled up a small device around her wrist and input something.
"Wait." I said holding her hand. "Can't we…"
"You of all people know I can't." Tears were streaming from her old blue eyes.
I nodded and stepped away. Cassandra lifted her hand towards the gate. A green stone on the back of her device glowed and the Stargate activated, only this time the event horizon fanned up from the bottom of the gate without the typical whoosh. I wanted to ask Cassandra how that was possible, I'm sure Sam wanted to as well, but we just didn't have the time.
Sam took her GDO out from her pocket and put out IDC through.
We were nearly to the event horizon when Cassandra gave us one last parting farewell, "I will tell you this…your journey's just beginning."
She made eye contact with every member of our team. However when she got to me her smile saddened.
As we turned and stepped through I couldn't get something Cassandra said out of my head. She had said that Sam had explained that she would see us in the future. Why hadn't I been the one to do that? Maybe it was nothing.
Maybe I was something.