The announcement of "Unscheduled off-world activation," echoed throughout the SGC. This caused Major Carter to look up from her work, 'well this is probably it,' she thought.
'Let's go face the music,' she mused, 'I guess I could be lucky and it could be Teal'C checking in from his meeting with the rebel Jaffa.'
Then with a snort she shook her head while she stood up, "not with my luck, come on little one lets go see if this is Grandpa or if the world is coming to an end." As she locked down the lab and jogged down the corridor she wasn't sure which eventuality she would be more concerned about.
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Beneath the Surface . . . of the Mind
By: Verse12
Email: Verse12 at Hotmail dot com
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Disclaimer:
I do not own these characters nor do I claim too, this is a simple fan based homage. Their creators and the companies they work for and with own the characters and all that pertains to them. (I.E. MGM, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Film) This is just fans of the shows expressing their love for it for fun, no profit is involved or expected thank you.
(A.N. this chapter contains some spoilers and lines from the episode "The Serpent's Venom." Also I know that Jacob was already at the SGC when the mission came for him but...that's something that has already changed in this world.)
(Also if you have never seen this episode, during this time Teal'C has been captured by Heru-ur and is tortured.)
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Chapter Seventeen
Grandpa Part One
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The Gate shut down behind Jacob Carter as he strolled down the embarkation ramp. "Hey George, Jack," the Tok'Ra operative said to the two men that waited for him at the bottom of the ramp.
"Hello Jacob, we're glad you could make it," General Hammond said while he shook his friends hand.
"Me too George, I just wish I could have been under better circumstances," Jacob replied. "Jack how's it going," he said while he shook the Colonel's hand."
"Things have been better Jacob," Colonel O'Neill said as he grasped the older Carter's hand.
Selmak took control of their shared body at this point and with a rumbling voice spoke, "I understand from your transmission, that Osiris has returned and is somewhere on earth. As troubling as that is though we actually have something even more urgent to discuss with everyone."
At this statement General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill shared a concerned look before they decided that this would be better off continued in the briefing room.
As they walked to the stairs, Jacob asked as to where his daughter was, and while the reply was that she should be here soon...he noticed that they both seemed very nervous about discussing Sam.
This concerned him, but with Selmak's urging he decided to hold his peace, at least until Sam showed up and he could see for himself if anything was amiss.
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General Hammond and Jack sat at their usual places at the Briefing room table; Daniel had been called to the briefing room at Jacob's urging. Jacob himself paced in front of the window overlooking the gate room. He had a very impatient look on his face as he waited for Sam, occasionally he would stop and fiddle with a laptop that had been brought in for the meeting.
"George? Where is she?" the Tok'Ra asked worried over how long it is taking his daughter to arrive.
"I'm not sure Jacob, I had her paged as soon as we knew it was you coming, but I usually don't even need to do that. She usually comes running whenever we have an unscheduled gate activation," the bald Texan said with confusion. "Colonel, do you have any idea what could be keeping her?" he asked turning to Jack.
Jack opened his mouth to reply but shut it, because at that moment the object of their discussion burst through the door.
"I'm sorry sir," she said, her face was flushed and she was slightly out of breath, "I, was...in...the, um, lavatory."
(A.N. she had to throw up again on the way to the Gate Room)
Hammond coughed in his hand with a hint of embarrassment, "that's understandable Major. Why don't you take a seat so we can get on with whatever Jacob has for us."
"Yes sir," she said as she headed for her seat, only stopping to give her father a quick hug, "hey dad."
"Hey Sammy," he said and returned her hug, "how goes it?"
"I'm fine Dad," she said as she pulled back and headed over to her seat, "I...do want to talk to you later, alone, okay?"
"Sure Sammy," he said with a confused expression.
Hammond coughed as he tried to get the meeting under control, "Major?"
"Sorry sir, go ahead," she responded with a slight blush.
"As I said earlier," General Carter began, after Hammond indicated he had the floor, "the Tok'Ra realize that Osiris represents a clear and present danger to earth."
"Why do I sense a 'BUT' in there," Jack interjected wryly.
"Because Colonel," Selmak said as her eyes glowed slightly, "there is one. We will help you with this problem but we have a larger issue more pressing issue that we are dealing with currently."
"And that is," Daniel asked with some ire, since he was worried about Osiris's host Sarah Kane.
"Just a couple of hours ago we intercepted a communication from Apophis to Heru'ur proposing an alliance between them to overthrow the other system lords."
"And, that would be...bad?" Jack questioned with a tilt of his head.
"Yes, an alliance between Heru'ur and Apophis could over through all the other system lords combined," Selmak replied, "one enemy is easier to target than many. We believe that Apophis will use this alliance to topple the other system lords, then he will deal with Heru'ur himself."
"Of Course," Jack interjected, "galactic badness, huge."
"We have to find a way to sabotage the alliance," Sam jumped in with a thoughtful frown.
Selmak pressed a couple of keys on the laptop before he turned it around to show to Daniel, "Doctor Jackson have you seen symbols like these?"
Daniel adjusted his glasses as he leaned forward to get a look at the screen, "uh, looks like Phoenician letters but I can't be sure."
"We believe it is a technical manual," Selmak said, "None of our Tok'Ra linguists could translate it."
"I'll need to check a couple of books in my lab but I believe I can translate it," Daniel replied, "General?" He asked as he half stood out of his seat.
"Go ahead Dr. Jackson get what you need," Hammond excused the bespeckled man.
As Daniel quickly went to his lab, Jack spoke up, "uhm excuse my denseness, but as bad as this is how is this more important than a rouge Gould loose on earth? And how does this Phonograph writing figure into anything?"
"The hatred and mistrust between Heru'ur and Apophis goes back a long time," Selmak continued.
"So if we could get them to fight each other?" Sam asked.
"Heru'ur and Apophis have the largest fleets among the Goua'uld, a war among them would decimate both sides, and return the balance of power to the system lords. Which is preferable to one all powerful Goua'uld," Selmak continued, "and as for Osiris, the Tok'Ra high command believe that he is a minimal threat at this time, and in the grand scheme of things he can wait, for now that is. He has no support, and is simply running while he tries to find a way out of the mess he finds himself in."
"Okay can I see that, even if I don't agree with it," Jack said before he help up a finger in warning, "by the way Osiris is inside a woman now not a man."
Jacob's face held a confused look before Selmak replied, "that is indeed unusual, all records we have of Osiris is that he always took a male host, most confusing."
"Well Dr. Kane was the one who opened his stasis chamber," Major Carter said, "that maybe why he took over her. As to why he is still using her body even when he knows we will be after it is anyone's guess."
This is when Daniel came running back into the briefing room with a book in his hand, "I think I got it, three to the blue, four to the orange and three to the blue, that sound like some kind of color coded combination for a lock."
"Excellent," the old Tok'Ra said with a nod of Jacobs head, "we may have a chance now if you will accompany me," he said with a nod toward Sam.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Jack thundered, "there is no way Sam is going on any missions now. Especially not any Tok'Ra missions, and all of your explaining along the way, crap."
"I was going to tell you Jack," Jacob interjected, "but why are you 'forbidding' Sam to go on a mission that is of such vital importance.
"Jacob what Colonel O'Neill was trying to say, in his own way that is, is that Major Carter has been removed from combat status and restricted to base duty," General Hammond replied trying to smooth some ruffled feathers and possibly make things easier for Major Carter. Especially, given the news she still had to share with her father.
"What? Why?" he asked with a frown, before his expression turned into one of desperate fear, "Sammy your okay right? Your not sick or anything, are you?" He said as he rushed over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"What?" she asked, confused by his reaction, but as she realized what his fear must have been she quickly soothed him, "No, no dad I'm not ill at all, well not really," she said as an aside.
"Actually, this is what I wanted to talk to you about Dad," she said, nervous about the coming conversation.
"Okay Sammy," he said as he sat in the seat next to her.
"Gentlemen why don't we leave Major Carter and her father to discuss...what ever it is she wants to discuss," Hammond said with a nervous edge.
"Yes sir," Jack said as he got up from his seat and prepared to follow the others out. He hung back slightly though and rested a hand on Sam's shoulder, as if to give her some comfort with his presence. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, "you want me to stay and help?"
His breath tickled her ear, and sent shivers up and down her spine, as his hand became a soothing balm on her frenzied nerves. "No, no I need to do this by myself," she whispered with a smile, as she looked over her shoulder and into his eyes in a very intimate manner while she rested her own hand on his.
Meanwhile Jacob, had of course, not missed any of that, and gave Jack a dirty look as he left the briefing room; Jack of course pretended he didn't see it.
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Jacob, with Selmak's help mind you, held his tongue over all the confusing things that had just happened. Selmak's advise filled his mind though, as he waited for Sam to gather her thoughts, 'you should let her come to you, let her decide to tell you in her own way, whatever is the matter.'
'If you think so,' Jacob thought with a frown, 'something is going on though and I want to know what it is.'
'Do not forget that we have an important mission to take care of, and if Samantha is not able to accompany us we will have to make alternate plans,' Selmak reminded her partner.
'I haven't forgotten Selmak, but if Sam doesn't say something soon I'll scream,' he thought back.
'She has been silent for quite a time,' Selmak replied, as they looked on Sam where she has sat nervously in front of them for the past five minutes.
Tired of the silence Jacob decided to speak up, "Sammy, talk to me, what's going on? You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Sam took a deep breath and exhaled it 'well might as well jump in with both feet,' she thought with a grimace.
She looked him dead in the eyes and said, "Dad...I'm pregnant."
To be continued:
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Endnotes: Don't hate me for the Cliffhanger, it just felt right to end it there.
Well what do you think? Liked it? Hated it? Let me know, okay? This was a long chapter wasn't it, but I'm please with it and I think it turned out well.
Later,
Signed: Verse12