Chapter 19, part 2.

Her mom praised the choice and insisted, the next day, on doing her hair and makeup. Alice's pixie cut didn't leave much to work with, but she still managed to style it into a more elegant version of itself. With mom's silver earrings and a matching necklace, and teetering on black stilettos that took quite some effort to master, when Alice finally looked into the mirror, she barely recognized herself. Mom was quite proud of the final effect, though, so Alice sighed and resigned herself to a night of feeling quite uncomfortable in the high heels and skin-hugging fabric. Eileen, on her part, wore a long-sleeved knee-length burgundy dress that emphasized her figure while being completely age-appropriate.

The party was held in a trendy venue in West Hollywood, complete with a valet service. Alice almost burst out laughing thinking of the face the man would have made if she had come in her beat-up rental—but thankfully they made their way in mom's much more elegant Toyota. After being shown inside, Alice and Eileen gave their coats to a bright young hostess and entered the main room where there was already a number of round tables set with plates. Each space held a little card with the name of the person that was supposed to sit there, so they found theirs—unsurprisingly, it was by the biggest table, where the bride- and groom-to-be were seated along their families. There were already a few people there, including Eileen's own brother, Alastar, and his wife Moira. Their sons were sat at another table with a group of younger kids.

"You look stunning, Allie," Moira said appreciatively as they greeted each other. "And Eileen, as always, you are an example of pure class."

"Oh, you look absolutely beautiful, too, honey," Eileen retorted with a genuine smile. Alastar and Moira were something like ten years younger than Alice's mom, and when standing next to them, it was visible on her face—the crinkles were much more pronounced. Alice knew part of it was the illness's fault, maybe even more than age itself. But there were smile lines there, too, and that was what counted now.

"How are you doing, Allie?" Alastar asked, winking at her significantly.

Alice rolled her eyes and then shrugged. "I cut my hair, that's new?" She quipped, deciding to ignore the intent behind the question.

Alastar laughed, but thankfully he didn't press the issue and Alice and her mom could move on to greet the other guests already sat around the table—Jodie's mom's sisters with their husbands that they had met previously on a few occasions, and Jodie's fiancé's uncle and aunt that they hadn't. After a moment's wait, Jodie herself finally appeared, in a flimsy silver dress that made her look like a model, hanging on her fiancé's arm, followed by their closest families. A moment of chaos followed, when everybody was trying to congratulate the happy couple and say hello to each other in the meantime. Alice and Eileen waited till the end, unwilling to get entangled in the small crowd.

"Congratulations to you both," Alice said after she hugged Jodie and shook hands with her fiancé, whose name was Tyler Van Buren. He was a criminal defense lawyer, from a family of judges and barristers, Alice knew. She noted with surprise that he wasn't particularly handsome—not in the typical way, anyway. Jodie was usually going after the hottest guy in the room. Alice knew that her cousin was a bit superficial, but she also knew that the younger woman was not so superficial to go after a man just for his money, so he must have impressed her in some other way.

"Thank you, Allie. I'm so happy you could make it!" Jodie trilled, her voice raised an octave in excitement. "Boo Boo, did I tell you Alice is also in the military? Air Force, like Tobey."

"Yes, muffin, you told me," Tyler replied steadily. Alice had a distinct impression that he wasn't into the whole party thing as much as his fiancée, and was basically humoring her. She smiled and addressed her cousin.

"Can you show me the ring?"

Jodie was delighted by the request and obliged quickly, showing off the 4-carat diamond with a flourish. Alice acted appropriately impressed and satisfied both her cousin and her fiancé—he seemed proud of the ring, too. Alice didn't want to think how much it cost.

Money didn't seem to be an issue for the young couple, though. The entire party must have cost a small fortune, Alice realized after they all sat down, listened to the obligatory speeches, and the aperitifs and entrées made their way to their plates. The portions were small, but the food extremely sophisticated—the kind that one could find only in really fancy restaurants. It was delicious, though. And it was only the engagement party! How would their wedding look like?

Dinner passed in a nice atmosphere. Alice sat next to her mom on one side, and Tyler's brother on the other. He was much better-looking than the groom-to-be, a few years older, and had the most wonderful, silky smooth baritone of a voice. He was full of anecdotes about Tyler's early years and he smiled and joked a lot. Alice spoke little, and exchanged amused looks with Tobey, who sat on the other side of the table with his girlfriend, looking very dapper in a navy blue suit. He was Second Lieutenant Tobias Boyd by then, just finishing up his Mission Qualification Training at the Los Angeles Air Force Base and Alice couldn't wait to catch him alone to ask how it was going.

After dinner, the more unofficial part of the evening began: a double-door to the side of the room was opened and Jodie and Tyler invited everybody onto a dance floor. Most of the guests were the couple's friends and acquaintances, and they were happy to follow. The older guests were mostly family and they kept to the dinner room, which was quickly transformed into a banquet hall—the round tables removed swiftly and rectangle ones brought instead to line up the walls, where a buffet with cold cuts, fruit, and other snacks was laid out, alongside a generous amount of various alcohols. Alice got herself a glass of Prosecco and accosted Tobey as he stood talking to his girlfriend and another girl Alice didn't know, each of them sipping a different drink.

He reached out with his hand to shake, but Alice instead pulled him into a hug, trying not to spill her wine or Tobey's beer. He laughed into her ear.

"So little decorum, Captain!" He teased as they stepped back. "Who would have thought?"

Alice stuck out her tongue, eliciting more laughter, now not only from him, but from his two companions, as well. "We're not big on ceremony where I serve," she said light-heartedly. "Besides, I'm off duty, I deserve a hug from my favorite cousin."

Tobey, still chuckling, shook his head. "Don't let Jodie hear you," he joked. Then he seemed to remember himself and finally made the presentation. "This is Samantha Wyatt, my girlfriend."

The girl was only an inch or two shorter than him, with long, wavy blond hair and pretty blue eyes. Alice shook her hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Samantha, I'm Alice. I've heard a lot about you."

"Call me Sammy." The young woman returned the smile. "And me too, about you."

"And this is our friend Serena." Tobey pointed at the other girl; she looked to be about his age, but was taller and bigger, with raven black hair and warm brown eyes. "We met in college. She's technically responsible for Jodie and Tyler getting together."

"Oh, really? How so?" Alice asked, shaking Serena's hand, too.

"Tyler's my second cousin. His family owns a winter house up in Aspen, they're all avid skiers. They graciously allowed me to take a few of my friends there for a week, Tobey and Jodie included. Tyler came by for a weekend… and the rest is history," she finished, laughing.

"Winter house in Aspen, 4-carat diamond ring, and all this?" Alice shook her head. "Not a bad family to marry into." And she winked at Tobey to make sure that he knew she was joking.

"Yeah, she's a clever one." He smirked. "But, say, Allie, what are you doing here anyway? We were all surprised when you called. Your mom said you wouldn't be able to make it."

Alice shrugged. "She didn't know I was coming. Actually, I didn't know I was coming until a day before I did." She rolled her eyes theatrically. "Apparently I don't relax enough, so my superiors sent me off for two weeks vacation."

Tobey puffed. "What else is new? You've always been a workaholic. I could never work as much as you do."

"Aw, don't sell yourself short," Sammy piped up, putting her hand around his shoulders. "You're working very hard. I hardly ever get to see you these days."

"I know, I know. It's almost over, though." He leaned closer, his head almost touching her forehead, in a sweet gesture of intimacy.

"How long till you're fully certified?" Alice asked.

"Another three weeks or so. Then I get to join the crew." He grinned happily. "I'll have more time then," he promised his girlfriend.

"What are you training for?"

"I ask myself this question every day…" He deadpanned, and they both chuckled.

"I meant which position," Alice clarified.

"Space Vehicle Operator," he replied curtly.

"GPS?"

"SYSW."

"Ah." Alice nodded. "Interesting stuff. Very fast-moving."

He smirked. "You have no idea."

She smiled knowingly. "I have an inkling. "

The SYSW was the Space Superiority Systems Wing, Alice knew. They often provided intel to Stargate Command, though very few people knew what it was really being used for.

"Dude, you're speaking in code or what?" Serena interrupted with a shake of her head. "What the hell?"

"Sorry," Alice mitigated herself. "We'll try to stay away from uncommon abbreviations." Although GPS wasn't uncommon, maybe the girl didn't get that it was the GPS, the context being somewhat unfamiliar to her. "Anyways, how are you liking the military life, Tobey?"

"I don't love the early mornings," he said, amusement in his voice. "But the rest is pretty sweet. I mean—you know, there are things that could be better. I absolutely loathe the squadron PT. It's literally the worst two hours of my week."

Alice laughed. "I forgot that was a thing! You poor boy."

"Oy, how come you don't have group PT?" He was dismayed at the news.

"If it makes it any better, I do individual PT every single day."

"Well, you can, you've always been fit, but me?" He shook his head. "I'm rubbish at anything physical."

"I'm not the best at it either," Alice admitted. "I mean, I can run and work out to my heart's content, but part of my training is close combat, and that is no fun."

Wasn't it, though? She paused for a moment, not hearing Tobey's retort, trying to examine her own emotions as Doctor Borden taught her to do whenever she was confused by a mixture of feelings. She hadn't been doing the combat training since the castle—at first she was too weak, and then she sort of… didn't. Why? Was it because her sparring partner was unavailable? It was something they did together—Karim and her. It would feel a bit like betrayal if she found someone else to train with. Alice had been getting progressively better, though of course she'd never be able to take Karim, not in a million years. But more than that, she had come to appreciate those hours spent on the mat… and she knew it wasn't because she started to like the exercise.

"Hallo, Earth to Alice!" Tobey repeated and waved his hand in front of her face, effectively pulling her out of her reverie.

"Sorry, I got caught up in my own thoughts." She took a deep breath to try and purge the feelings out of her mind. "What were you saying?"

"I asked why would you need close combat training." He looked at her with his eyebrows raised. "You're expecting to wrestle enemy MiGs?"

Alice smiled. "MiGs are not the enemy," she hedged. "At least, not the Russian ones, not since quite a while."

"Yeah, but many other countries operate them." Tobey paused for a moment. "Don't think I've lost the train of thoughts. Why are you doing combat training? And what's this?" He pointed to her right upper arm.

She looked reflexively and then shrugged nonchalantly. "Not my first, and probably not the last scar. Things happen even when you stand on the ground. It's good to be prepared."

"Uh huh." He didn't sound convinced, but he dropped the subject, partially because Sammy and Serena looked bored. "Anyone fancy a dance?" He proposed and both girls agreed with much enthusiasm. Alice declined politely and watched them go out onto the dance floor, finishing her Prosecco. She stood to the side of the room, but nevertheless she was soon spotted and joined by none other than her Uncle Alastar.

"Hey, Allie. How are you doing?" He asked, and immediately followed in a conspiratorial whisper: "How's things in the Pegasus?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, thank you," she replied, but Alastar's expectant expression didn't let her end with that. "Things are… not getting better."

"These creatures… Wraiths… they're still a problem?"

Alice nodded, but didn't respond.

"You're not very forthcoming this time," he complained.

"It's not a good place to discuss such things," she countered.

"I'm in town for a couple more days. Come by the house before I go back to Washington, we'll talk more."

She sighed, but unless she was prepared to completely eschew that part of the family, she would have to deal with Alastar's curiosity sooner or later. "Sure."

"Great." He grinned and then looked at the dance floor, where everybody was currently doing the Macarena. "Jodie looks positively radiant today, doesn't she?" And, without waiting for a reply, he continued: "She's very lucky. Tyler's family is high breed. She won't have to work a day in her life."

"I thought she liked her job?" She was an admissions clerk at a posh private school.

Alastar huffed. "What does it matter? After they're married, I'm sure she'll stay at home to take care of the kids."

Alice resisted the urge to swear. She had almost forgotten how old-fashioned Alastar was in his worldview.

"Oh, look, here's Simon. And how's the proud papa?"

Alice's other uncle joined them, a glass of whisky in hand, the crescent scar on his cheek shining eerily in the pulsating blue-silver-and-purple light.

"Getting drunk-ier by the minute," he joked, toasting them with his whisky. "What are you two consorting about?"

"We were just saying that Jodie looks really happy," Alice replied quickly, before Alastar could say something inappropriate again. Though, of course, Simon was a man after his own taste; they shared many of the same political positions and general beliefs and were really good friends. Simon helped Alastar get elected to Congress by making some key introductions, and Alastar paid it back by expediting Simon's promotion to the rank of brigadier general. Alice wondered if Alastar didn't impart some of his knowledge about the Stargate Program on Simon after all; he wasn't allowed to, of course, but he was also a civilian and might not have been too concerned about keeping state secrets secret, especially that Simon did have a high security clearance and showed a keen interest in the matter. He wasn't a bad man—neither of them were—but he didn't like being outshined. They both had healthy egos and bore opposition badly.

"Yes, she lucked out with Tyler." Simon nodded thoughtfully, staring at his daughter whirling on the dance floor. For a moment, Alice feared he meant Van Buren's fortune, too, but he continued: "He is really a good guy. He takes care of her well, you know? She's always been a little harebrained, and he is a good counterbalance to that. Did you know that he takes twice as many pro bono cases as the ABA recommends? And he charges half of his hourly rate to anyone who has ever served in the uniform."

"That's kind of him," Alice admitted. "Is that your influence, Uncle?"

Simon shook his head emphatically. "He was doing it before they'd met, it's not a stunt to curry favor with his in-laws. I'm not saying he's a saint, I'm sure he defends guilty people all the time, but it's nice to know that there are still kids interested in giving back."

It was a pretty profound statement for Simon and Alice had to remind herself that ego and conservative worldview were not all that he was.

"But enough of that!" He wheeled around to look at her. "You better tell me how you've been! We haven't heard from you in a while. Your mom said you wouldn't be coming!"

Alice sighed. Figures that this question would reappear, but she was getting tired of it. "Yeah, I wasn't supposed to, but I was ordered to take some leave, so here I am."

"That sounds familiar," he noted. "It's not the first time this happens, right?"

Alice shrugged, but didn't reply. It wasn't a big deal, was it?

"You aren't overworking yourself, are you? It's not worth it, trust me," Simon assured her in the patronizing manner he often employed with her, which never failed to rile her up. Sometimes she thought he did it on purpose just to play with her.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm doing fine. We're in such a remote location, there's not much to do but work, to be honest. And I enjoy my work anyway."

"Yeah? And how is life in Misawa Air Base?" There was an unmistakable undertone of amusement in Simon's voice. "Learn any Japanese yet?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Everyone speaks English at the base." None of what she said was untrue, but it seemed that Simon wasn't buying it. Or, at the very least, he knew she wasn't posted at Misawa.

"We have a couple units at that base, you know, and I have a buddy who's been there recently," he announced nonchalantly. Misawa was technically a joint service installation—it hosted not only American Air Force units, but also Japan Air Self Defense Force, U.S Navy and U.S. Army. "Funnily enough, he said he never saw you there, even though I specifically asked him to look for you."

Alice sighed. "I wish you didn't, Uncle." Her voice was unintentionally brusque. Of course, it was an overkill on his part, but Alice couldn't really blame him—she was lying to him, and nearly everyone else. Although of all the people, he should have understood the concept of a cover story and why it was necessary to maintain it. Surely, he did—he just didn't appreciate keeping the secret from him.

"Jake isn't at Twentynine Palms, either. I checked," he went on as if he didn't hear her. "You are both hiding the truth!"

"Oh, give her a break, Simon, will you?" Alastar decided to finally step in. Alice raised her eyes at him in a silent thank you. "Trust me, it's nothing personal."

This didn't go over well with the general. "You could say!" He puffed, annoyed. "I still can't believe that you know and I don't!"

So Alastar actually kept his mouth shut! Alice had underestimated him.

"I told you, you gotta lose the uniform and join me in Congress! With my help, you could easily win over your district. Trent is so old I wouldn't be surprised if he dropped dead before the next election. I'm sure he's not gonna run again. You'd be a great candidate to replace him. And then you could know what I know."

Alice felt her eyebrows go all the way up. This sounded like a well thought out plan, not something Alastar had just come up with. So he wanted to bring Simon into politics! But Simon was resistant to the idea.

"And I told you I have my sights set for a different job," the general insisted.

Alastar waved his hand dismissively. "It'll take you years. I don't have enough pull to get it for you, not yet at least. It would be easier if we had a Republican president, but alas!" He shook his head. "Bummer that Hayes didn't manage to get a second term, maybe you'd be a major general by now under him."

"Yeah, well, we may have a shot next year to rectify the situation." Simon put down his glass, now empty, on a nearby table, and looked around as if he was searching for something. "We didn't have much luck in the last few elections, hopefully it might change now?"

Alice knew he was referring to the Republicans when he said "we". The President before Hayes was nearly forced out of office after one term due to a scandal, and Hayes himself failed to win over the nation during his one term and lost to the current President, a Democrat.

"At least we've won back the House." Alastar found and handed Simon another bottle of whisky and two glasses. He looked at Alice questioningly, but she shook her head. She didn't have to drive—mom couldn't drink anyway, so she was the designated driver—but Alice didn't like whisky. "Gotta take a stab at the Senate now, once we have that, the President will be of little consequence, in a grand scheme of things."

"I'll drink to that." Simon raised his glass and they toasted.

Alice rolled her eyes and decided she had enough of the political talk. She excused herself and fled to the other corner of the room, pretending that she wanted to eat something. She got a plate and stood there, nibbling on a bit of fruit, but she wasn't alone for long. She saw that Jodie and Tyler had finally come off the dance floor to mingle a bit and, after a moment, her cousin appeared right beside her. Tyler was nowhere to be seen.

"How are you doing, Allie? Are you having fun?" Jodie asked anxiously. Her hair, which had been so meticulously styled, was looking a bit disheveled, and her strapless dress seemed to have shifted a little.

"It's quite a party," Alice replied noncommittally, but she smiled warmly. "I can see that you're having lots of fun!"

"Oh, yes, I could dance all night!" Jodie trilled, her face lighting up with enthusiasm. "This DJ is the best, you have no idea how hard it was to book her—Tyler's dad got her for us eventually, I think he had to cash in a favor from someone. Isn't it exciting!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Jodie."

The young woman grinned and nodded. "You should come and dance with us, Allie!"

Alice's face fell, but she worked to quickly change the expression into something more positive. "Oh, I don't know. I'm not really one for dancing. And these shoes would probably kill me if I tried!" She stuck out her foot to show the stilettos through the dress's thigh-length slit. Tyler chose this precise moment to come up to them with his brother, Max.

"Oh wow, I didn't know we'd have such a show," Max teased, but Alice saw his eyes slid up appreciatively from her shoe through her leg up to her waist and, finally all the way to her face. "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?"

Alice rolled her eyes and pulled back her leg, letting the fabric cover it again.

"Muffin, your mother would like a word with you," Tyler said to Jodie, ignoring his brother and only perfunctorily glancing at Alice.

"Uh oh, looks like I'm in trouble!" Jodie giggled. "I better go check what she wants! Come with me, Boo Boo?"

Tyler nodded assent and they both walked away, leaving Alice with Max.

"You're not enjoying the party?" He asked as soon as they were alone—well, as alone as two people can be in a crowded room.

"What makes you say that?"

"You're in the corner by yourself. Doesn't spell out I'm having fun to me." He stopped a waiter who was walking by with a plate full of wine glasses. He took one for himself and handed another to Alice. She accepted.

"I'm not really into the party scene myself," she admitted. "I'm just here for Jodie."

"You two are close?"

Alice pondered the question for a moment. Were they? They were friendly, for sure, but they didn't have all that much in common. Jodie was a polar opposite of Alice—popular, extraverted, a true volcano of energy, but she wasn't very good at keeping in contact. Alice wrote e-mails to all of her family regularly, and never tarried to respond (unless, of course, she was on a mission or otherwise unavailable); Jodie often replied with days' or weeks' delay, and her e-mails were very rarely structured and never too long. It was quite ironic—Alice, with her oral reticence, wrote long notes akin to essays, while Jodie, who could talk her ear off, only sent short messages without real beginning or end, as if she was just jutting down her thoughts at random.

"I am very fond of her," Alice replied finally. "And I know she cares about me, too. But we're such different people—I get along with Tobey better."

"Really? He's younger than both of you, though, isn't he?" He wondered, sipping at his wine.

"Yeah, but we have much more in common." And then she added, after a short pause: "Besides, Jodie is younger than me, too. Only two years, but it seems like more."

He cocked his head to the side. "And why is that?"

She shrugged. "It's a… we've had very different paths in life." She decided they talked about her enough for a while, and followed up with a question of her own: "And you and Tyler? There's some age difference, too, isn't there?"

"Yeah, I'm four years older," Max confirmed, and then winked at her. "And smarter, but don't tell him. Let him live in ignorance."

Alice snickered. "I'll keep your secret, don't worry. So are you a lawyer, too?"

"Yeah, business litigator. Not as interesting as what Ty does, but at least I don't have to defend crooks in court." And then he laughed. "Oh, sorry, actually that's all I do."

Alice shook her head with a smile. "I'm sure that's not true," she said politely, though she suspected, if Max was hired by big corporations, that statement might have been one hundred percent correct. "Is this particular branch of law interesting?"

"Oh, god, no!" He laughed. "But it pays well and isn't particularly difficult." He shrugged with a grin. "I like an easy life."

"I see." Alice took a step towards the table to put her empty wine glass there, but teetered on her high heels. "Oops!" He grabbed her arm to help her steady herself. "Thanks. This probably means I should stop drinking now!"

"Oh, come on. This is a party, what else is there to do than drink?" He joked, his hand still on Alice's arm.

She patted his palm and he let go, understanding the message. "I'm an alcohol lightweight, I'm afraid. I don't want to embarrass myself."

"You know, you'd feel better if you'd move around some," he suggested, a twinkle in his eye. Then he bowed theatrically. "Care to dance, m'lady?"

Alice laughed, both amused and a bit flustered. "I'm not much for dancing in the best of circumstances," she replied, working to keep her tone light. "Drunk and wearing those stilettos? No, thanks, I'd rather live through the night."

"A stroll, then. Night air might be good for you!" He wasn't put off.

She sighed and shook her head slightly. "I'm good, thank you." She saw his expression and couldn't help but chuckle. "Not getting turned down often, are you?"

"Not really, no," he admitted good-naturedly. "But I'm not salty about it." Nevertheless, the twinkle in his eye was gone.

"It's not personal," she assured him. "I'm just not looking for a hookup tonight."

"Who says I am?" He perked right back up. "Could be the first date. I can be a gentleman." He flashed his set of perfectly white teeth at her.

"Sorry, it's just not meant to be," she countered, her tone still good-humored. "I'm only here for a week and then it's back to work." It wasn't the real reason, but he didn't need to know that.

"You don't live in L.A.?" He seemed genuinely surprised.

"No, your brother didn't tell you what I do?"

"Didn't have a chance, no. So what is it that you do?"

"I'm a fighter pilot in the Air Force." She noted his expression of disbelief—it gave her a bit of perverse satisfaction. She liked dropping that bomb on unsuspecting people, just because it was something they never expected. "I'm currently posted at Misawa Air Base, Japan."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Wow." He shook his head. "Wow. I mean… fighter pilot?"

"Yeah, I fly a Fighting Falcon, an F-16, though we call 'em Vipers." It was still her official occupation and cover story, and for once she didn't feel bad about it. Max was nice, but nothing more; he would never be a friend, she knew. "Don't look at me like that, I'm telling the truth!" She raised her hands in a stop gesture, smiling.

"It's just that it's really hard to believe. I mean, you don't look like someone who could be in the military, let alone a fighter pilot…"

"I don't know what that means." She rolled her eyes. She knew perfectly well, of course, but the remark always annoyed her; it was sexist on many levels.

"I just meant that you look so small and fragile, more like a ballet dancer… I'm having trouble imagining you in a uniform, or with a gun…"

Alice laughed out loud. "Trust me, I'm no ballet dancer! And this getup—" she waved at her dress "—is very unlike me. I hardly ever wear dresses or skirts at all, much less fancy things like this. I dressed up because I know Jodie cares about such things. Me, I feel best in my FDU or ABU."

He huffed. "I don't know what these acronyms mean."

"FDU is Flight Duty Uniform, or simply flight suit, what we wear anytime we're anywhere around aircraft. ABU is Airman Battle Uniform—what we usually wear while on duty when not near planes. There's also service dress uniform—in two versions, Class A and B, which is worn usually by administration staff who don't do any field work, and during events… and the mess dress uniform which is for like, white tie events." Of course, Alice was currently wearing Atlantis uniform when on duty, which was formally designated as miscellaneous uniform, but not mentioned in the official Air Force Instruction. She found it amusing that even such things had to be classified.

"Trying to school my future son-in-law's brother, are you, Allie?" Simon appeared at Alice's side out of nowhere, the inseparable whisky glass in his hand. "She isn't boring you, Max, is she?"

"No, Mr. Boyd, in fact I find the conversation fascinating." Max grinned at Simon and then winked at Alice. She rolled her eyes. "I knew of course that you and your son were in the military, but I had no idea the disease has spread further in your family!"

Simon huffed. "Disease! How rude!" But he was smiling benevolently, so they knew he wasn't in earnest. "Our family has always felt the call of duty, hasn't it, Allie? It all started with my father, he was one of our brave boys storming the coast of Normandy in '44—and when I say boys, I mean it, he was barely nineteen at the time. He served until the end of the war, and when it ended he came home to become a policeman and later join the FBI. He was a true American hero, in every aspect. I am proud to be his son and I am sure he is proud of us all for following into his footsteps." Simon was already slurring his words a little, but the little speech was given with such a fiery flare that Alice didn't have a shred of doubt that it was genuine.

"I wish I could have met him," she said, sighing. He had died before she was born; he was only fifty-five at the time. "Dad never talked about him much, and Grandma got upset whenever anyone mentioned him, so we avoided it."

"Your dad and grandfather had a very tense relationship," Simon revealed in a conspiratorial tone. Alice assumed it was the booze talking. "Dad never accepted Eric's choice to join the Navy; he thought it was a cop-out, because sailors don't get into the nitty-gritty the way infantry does. But they had it out for each other ever since we were kids… Eric always spoke up and defended us in front of dad, even took the blame for stuff I'd fucked up. Dad didn't like people stepping out of line and Eric could be real mouthy."

Alice was looking at Simon with her eyebrows raised way up high. She'd never heard him speak about his and her dad's childhood like this—nobody ever said anything remotely like this. Her dad, mouthy? He was always so quiet and thoughtful, and considerate. But then again, he somehow managed to become an aviator and that was no small feat for the little freckled red-headed guy from California. There must have been more to him than what he chose to show his kids.

"When Eric decided to go to Annapolis, they had a real big row…" Simon continued, hiccoughing slightly, and tried to cure it with a big gulp of his whisky. "They hardly spoke after that. Eric didn't even invite him to his wedding—he literally sent a card addressed only to our mom. He was real sorry for it afterwards and tried to mend some fences when Jake was born, invited him for the christening and all. But it was too little too late—dad was already suffering from cancer by then and he died the next year."

Alice shook her head. So much new information about her dad! She should get Simon drunk more often.

"So your dad's a sailor?" Max asked, for it seemed that for the moment Simon's well of words had run dry.

"He was a Navy aviator." Alice nodded, and then added: "He was out in the storm and crashed his Tomcat into a carrier deck. I was fourteen."

"I'm sorry to hear that. So is that why you became a pilot? Wanted to follow into his footsteps?"

"Partially." Alice smiled warmly when memories of her dad came to her in a big wave of images and emotions. "I wanted to fly. He took me up once in a Cessna and that was it, I knew I wanted to do that."

"I had always thought you'd go and become a ssscience-tist," Simon put in, stumbling over the words. "Or you'd be building spaceships at the JPL."

"They don't call them spaceships, but spacecraft," Alice amended light-heartedly. They make spaceships at Groom Lake, though. "And I am a scientist and an engineer. There's loads of things you can do in between sorties."

"Sorties?" Max repeated.

"Yeah, sortie is a single flight of a fighter jet, whether that be an actual mission or a combat training," she explained.

"Right. And you're a scientist, too?" He cocked his head. "How do you manage all that?"

"Air Force has graciously allowed me to do my PhD up at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio. And now, when I'm not out on a mission, I'm doing research at the base. All kinds of stuff, but mostly related to new weapons technologies, AI and machine learning, and even some theoretical physics." She shrugged. It wasn't even a lie, broadly speaking. "But I—"

"I wish I knew what you really did," Simon interrupted. "I asked the Chief of Staff of the Army once, you know? And he knew who you were! Whatever it is, it must be big for him to know you personally."

"He probably read some reports." Alice kept her reply short and peeked at Max. His eyes were very wide and she knew they stepped into some very perilous territory. Alcohol was good for loosening her uncle's tongue about his and her dad's childhood, but when it came to national security, it became dangerous. "At any rate, yeah, most of us followed into grandpa's footsteps," she changed the subject quickly. "Uncle Simon's in the Army like he was, Tobey and I are in the Air Force, my dad was in the Navy and my brother's a marine. We have a second cousin in the Coast Guard, though he's on grandma's side of the family."

"So Jodie's the only one who remained a civilian?" Max looked like he wanted to pursue the other topic, but was too polite to go back now.

"That's right. And mom and Aunt Helen, of course," she added as an afterthought. "That must be familiar to you, though, isn't it? You have a family trade, too." She smiled, hoping that it didn't look forced.

"You could say that, but yours is a little more impressive…" He replied with a quirky smile of his own.

"Impressive!" Simon interrupted again. "That's the word he used. He said what you did was impressive. You know?"

For a moment Alice was confused, and then understood and sighed. "I think you shouldn't drink anymore, Uncle," she chastised him and reached out for the bottle he used to keep refilling his glass, but he grabbed it before she did and raised it above her, out of reach. "Oh, yeah, real mature, general," she teased, but just shook her head and let him pour himself another drink.

"It's my daughter's engagement party! I shall drink until I can't see straight!" He announced and then winked at Alice. She rolled her eyes. Thankfully, at that moment they were approached by two women—Alice's mom and Aunt Helen.

"Simon!" His wife castigated him good-naturedly; it was amazing how expressive one word could be.

He immediately threw up his arms—nearly spilling the whisky on himself—and then put down both the glass and the bottle. "Alright, alright. I'll pace myself."

"Just enough not to embarrass yourself," she pleaded with a smile.

Alice decided to interrupt and make the presentation. "Mom, this is Max Van Buren, Tyler's brother. My mom, Eileen Boyd."

"Nice to meet you, Max."

"The pleasure is all mine, ma'am." He shook her hand. "How are you enjoying the party?"

"Oh, it's great, but a little loud," she admitted.

"You wanna go home?" Alice asked quickly. Mom looked up at her and they exchanged significant looks.

She understood. "Yes, I think we'd better go, it's getting late and my head has been a little achy."

All three—Simon, Helen and Max—started protesting loudly, but they gave in soon; Max didn't know it, of course, but Simon and his wife were aware of Eileen's illness and would never do anything to exacerbate her condition.

"It was lovely to meet you," Max said to Alice as they were saying goodbye. "I hope we'll meet again."

"Well, we're about to become extended family, so I don't doubt it." She smiled, offering her hand and they shook. "It was nice to meet you too."

He nodded. "Thank you for your service," he added. It surprised her—she realized she hadn't met anyone new outside of the Stargate Program for so long that she'd almost forgotten people said that. It was nice—a sort of recognition for all the efforts they betook upon themselves to fulfill their duty—but Alice had never felt that it was deserved, not in her case. She'd never felt like she did anything that directly contributed to the safety or wellbeing of her fellow Americans. She served because she wanted to—how else could she ever get to do the things she did on a daily basis? She didn't really sacrifice anything, except maybe a few ounces of blood, but neither of her injuries was ever in direct consequence of defending Earth or America.

Except this, she thought a while later, as they got into mom's car and drove away. Normal life—going about your day, spending free time with family, helping her best friend raise his kid, grocery shopping, partying, watching TV… She wasn't made for such a life, that was plain; but it didn't mean that she never longed for one. She knew she was lucky: she had Jake with her on Atlantis, and true friends, and colleagues she could respect and admire; and she had her work, as dangerous as it was fascinating. And she's never been one for partying or TV watching… Still, she sometimes wondered how her life would have looked like had she not joined the Air Force, but stayed in California. She'd have probably done her PhD much earlier. Maybe she'd be a research assistant at CalTech, or a teacher; or maybe she'd be building spacecraft at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as Simon had thought she would. She'd see her mom every day, and she could be there for Aaron throughout his many romantic and parental trials; but she'd hardly ever see Jake, and there was no way any job, even at the JPL, could rival the Stargate Program. And now? She wasn't sure if she could switch to a civilian life now. She remembered Aaron asking about it a while back; she had never considered it before, but now… now everything was different. Her priorities shifted overnight and she wasn't sure what to do with it. She felt like there was no way out—not a good one, at least. Nevertheless, she was glad she had come home for this vacation. It helped her remember what life was like outside of the military. She still didn't know what to do, but she gained some much needed perspective and could approach the decision with a calmer head. Although she knew—whatever she did, it would be difficult. It wasn't a matter of what she wanted in life, but rather of what scared her more to give up. And at that moment, she felt like both choices were equally terrifying.


Alice spent the rest of her vacation splitting her days between spending time with her mom and with Aaron. She also fulfilled her promise and visited Alastar before he left to go back to Washington. He attacked her for news of the Stargate Program, but since she wasn't expressly allowed to tell him anything new of substance, she had to maneuver around anything important. He grew frustrated and she found it merciful that Alastar's two sons, Patrick and Lee, came home early from a football game with Aunt Moira, effectively shutting off any conversation about classified subjects that Alastar might have wanted to continue. Alice hadn't seen the boys in a while (she didn't have a chance to talk to them at Jodie's party), and she was stumped that they looked so grown up, though of course that was really nothing strange: Patrick was seventeen and Lee fourteen years old. Patrick was built a bit like Jake—tall and big, with broad shoulders and prominent muscles; he played varsity football at his school and was hoping to continue to play in college, maybe go pro some day. Lee, on the other hand, was preparing to go to high school—a posh private one, of course—but he wasn't very keen on sports. Instead, he wanted to become a veterinarian, as he confessed to Alice after dinner (Aunt Moira insisted that Alice stayed to eat with them) when they were loading the plates into the dishwasher. Alice encouraged him to follow his heart; she didn't think he'd have much support in Alastar. Lee was a delicate boy, smaller and much more withdrawn than his older brother, with an eye for the arts and a compassionate soul. He reminded her of her own mother—after all, they shared some of the same genes.

Alice's last day of vacation was a Sunday. Her mom prepared a great big dinner with all of Alice's favorite things, and they invited Aaron with his parents and Ike to spend the evening together. It was a lovely affair with plenty of laughter and warmth, and after they finally said goodbye (Aaron was going back to his parents' for the night), Alice felt a little bereft, knowing she'd be going away the next morning. There was no denying that she had had a wonderful time during the two weeks; it had hardly seemed possible at the beginning, but she had actually managed to nearly stop thinking about what awaited her when she would go back to Atlantis. And without constantly worrying over it, she felt marvelously free—free to laugh without restraint, to make plans without fear, to forget everything bad that happened. Letting go was not easy, but it gave her much relief. And now she was going back with a broader perspective on what her choices might implicate, and more confidence about the decision which, unbeknownst to her, seemed to have been made in the meantime, almost without any thought or conscious effort on her part. She finally knew what to do.