SpitefulHope – your comments amuse me (in a good way), especially those ickle words you put in :D Thanks

Captain Space Monkey – with the dolphins…um…nice conspiracy :S

Thank you to all the rest of you who reviewed and I'm sorry that I've been such a long time posting. I have lots of artwork due in for my exam in a few weeks….life is hectic. It may be a little short but here it is…

Chapter 6

Tara was slightly stunned by what the Doctor revealed to her, they decided that the best course of action was to send another military escort to fetch Dawn. Janet had immediately volunteered Cassie to accompany her seeing as how they had formed a bond during the short time that Dawn had been in Colorado.

"Is there anybody else that you'd like to call?" Inquired the General gently, Tara quietly shook her head no. She considered that the remaining 'Scoobies' would want to fly out to Colorado and as much as she might need their support right now their lives had only just regained some sense of normality. She didn't think that she could go and disrupt things all over again.

"If you need anything I'll be in my office." Janet added before disappearing to warn Cassie about what was going on. After a few seconds General Hammond too left asking to be notified when the girls arrived. Jonas went back over to his bed and tentatively pulled himself onto it and, resting his head back against the pillows he closed his eyes. Jack left Sam's side and went to the bed next to her, he sat on the edge and swung his legs in the manner of a small child and watched over his team. She wasn't sure how much time had passed between first seeing her girlfriend and the moment in which she sat right now. Whenever something pivotal happened time never seemed to matter quite so much as it did normally. She heard footsteps in the corridor and felt three people step into the room. Jack shifted and stood to greet them. One of the teenagers was easily identified as Dawn with her long hair and wide brown eyes, the other she assumed was Cassandra. She had wavy cinnamon hair and eyes. Both girls were clad in pyjama tops and jeans, as if they had run out of time when getting dressed, they each wore a coat over their mismatched clothing. Dawn crossed the room and embraced Tara before observing the pale young woman in the bed. She took in the traces of black on the pillows and coverlet and stepped away as if in fright.

"What happened?" she asked in a trembling voice. A memory stirred inside, something her sister had told her about Willow's brief flirtation with black magick. A tremor ran through her body as she heard a voice in her head telling her to be brave and live. Glory had already destroyed the life of her sister and in doing so caused the world to come spiralling down for the people who knew her. "She…she used…" the word choked her and refused to move beyond her throat.

"Black magick." Tara filled in for her, she hated that this had happened so soon after losing Buffy, she glanced at the teen to gauge her reaction. Thankfully she seemed nothing more than a little shaken although she couldn't tell for sure.

"Ladies?" The General had returned. At once Cassie ran across the room and hugged him emphatically as she had done to the other members of SG1 moments before. He ruffled her hair affectionately and the tension was broken. With a slight smile on his rough features and Cassie hanging round his waist he proceeded into the room. "I think we have a little something to discuss."

"I…I don't think…maybe we shouldn't…" Tara wasn't stuttering out of nervousness now but out of indecision.

"Perhaps we should let you know exactly what your partner was recruited for." Jack looked like he might protest but was silenced by a gesture from the General. He decided to start his speech the way he always did. "Have you ever heard of a Stargate?" In the corner Jack snorted as he realised that, once again, General Hammond would use the same speech.

"J…just rumours…I never though it existed." Jack stopped laughing. General Hammond frowned leaving his question unspoken but leaving it to hang heavily in the air non-the-less. Tara avoided his eyes and they all tucked the question away for later answering. He continued to explain about the Stargate and about Willow's involvement due to her incredible skills as both a scientist and a computer technician.

"We sent Miss Rosenburg on her first mission to an uninhabited planet to aid Major Carter with the collection of samples…"

"Only it wasn't uninhabited," Jack broke, his voice carrying a bitter edge, "We were attacked by these creepy looking…creatures. That's when your girlfriend here went all wicked witch of the west on us." His pop culture reference did not go un-noticed by Dawn who giggled a little.

"Miss Maclay, I'd like to know how you know about the Stargate."

"Um…General, I think Teal'c should be here for this." Jack said from his perch. The heavy set Jaffa had been in his quarters performing kel'no'reem since their arrival back on Earth. In a few minutes he had arrived in the infirmary and once they were all settled Tara began to explain about the world she and the rest of the scoobies had inhabited for the past few years.    

Thanks for reading, please review? :)

Coffee Bean

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