Title: As the 'Gate Turns: Aftershocks
Author: Annerb
Email: P-13, Violence, language
Summary: Daniel begins to unravel Haley's secrets, but unfortunately for the SGC, he's not the only one
Classifications: Series, Angst, Drama, Action
Season: Mid-season 8, up through End Game, diverges from there
Archive: Yes, SJD and Heliopolis
DisclaimerThe characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.
Author's Note: Here's part 4! I hope you liked Haley, though now I'm gonna whump her a little bit, sorry:) Triptnx and Montage: you are awesome, thanks for your help!
Feedback: Always appreciated! (Plus, it keeps me going on the next parts:)
Part 4: Aftershocks
Sam looked up as Daniel entered the briefing room with Teal'c right on his heels. Daniel's brow was creased in the way Sam knew meant he was either suffering a nasty headache or feeling the weight of a great injustice. Considering what they had all witnessed in the last few days, Sam imagined it was a bit of both. Sam still felt a burning anger in the pit of her stomach whenever she thought of the small child they had all had to watch die. Some days she wasn't sure she could really handle this job and this was one of those days. She found it hard to believe that even the Goa'uld could stoop so low as to use children, but then she remembered that Jonathan was not the first, nor unfortunately the last, to suffer such a fate. Sam made a mental note to call Cassie as soon as she got a chance. She just needed to hear her voice.
Daniel collapsed into a chair next to Sam, releasing a deep sigh, his thoughts no doubt as dark as Sam's. Teal'c merely looked sideways at Daniel before reporting to Sam. "ColonelCarter, Haley has been comfortably settled in guest quarters and I have assigned two guards."
Sam nodded absently at him, her mind still on the woman now being carefully guarded. She understood the necessity of security, but still felt a little duplicitous. She had promised Haley safety, not jail.
Teal'c settled himself in a chair across from Sam and looked carefully around the room. "Where is GeneralO'Neill?"
Sam gestured towards his office where he had been closed up for the last twenty minutes. "He's on the phone with the Pentagon, I think."
"Talking about Haley?" Daniel asked.
Sam shrugged, "Probably." Rubbing her temples absently, Sam turned to Daniel. "How is she, anyway?"
It was Daniel's turn to shrug. "Pretty much how you would expect. She didn't say anything to us; she just looked around the room and lay down on the bed. She is trying hard to put on a brave face."
"I can't imagine what that would be like. Seeing that once was already too much for me, but to see it over and over again…" Sam shivered as her voice trailed off.
Daniel put a reassuring hand on Sam's arm, but was interrupted before he got a chance to say anything by Jack entering the room.
Without preamble, Jack said, "The Pentagon is offering to take over the care of Haley. Though 'offering' may not be quite the word I am looking for."
"What? She's only been here two days and they are already pressuring for us to hand her over? How did they even find out already?"
"Oh, you know, Daniel, good news travels fast," said Jack sarcastically.
"I can imagine. There are probably tons of people out there already, tripping over themselves to get a look at the Goa'uld 'weapon,'" Daniel nearly growled in disgust.
Sam closed her eyes in exhaustion. She knew that there were many people who would do anything to get their hands on Haley. "We don't even know what the Goa'uld did to her yet. There may be nothing more extraordinary to her than simply having naquadah in her blood."
"We need to get those lab notes decrypted so I can start translating them."
"Unfortunately, Daniel, I don't think we have enough time for that. The Pentagon is sending a representative to pick up Haley day after tomorrow."
"We have to fight this," Daniel said vehemently.
"Do we?" asked Jack quietly, not looking him in the eye.
"Jack! You can't be serious!"
"Yes, Daniel," Jack replied dryly, "I am completely serious."
"You have no right to just ship her off like that!"
"Daniel! This is the front line defense of the planet, not some alien boardinghouse!" Daniel's eyes automatically darted towards Teal'c and Jack raised his hand to forestall anything more from Daniel. "Teal'c is different and you know it. We didn't let Cassie stay on the base forever either."
"Yeah, but she was adopted and still lives in the region!"
"I think Haley is a little old for foster parents, Daniel."
"I know that, but shipping her off to the other side of country to live with strangers is insane!" He looked desperately over at Sam. "Right, Sam?"
Sam had tried her best to stay out of this discussion-turned-shouting match. She saw merit to both sides, but didn't really want to get in to it. She sighed when both men continued to stare at her. "I don't like the idea of sending her away, but I also see the need to do it. This is hardly the place for a woman of unknown allegiance or background to hang out. Plus, far away from all this, she might actually have a chance at a real life. I think she deserves that, at the very least."
Daniel seemed to deflate as he lost his last hope for support. "They'll take care of her," Sam said softly. Now she just needed to believe it herself.
Daniel reached the surface to find Haley standing by the check-in point. She had been given some generic 'Earth' clothes and had a small backpack in one hand. She stood with her eyes closed and her face turned up towards the sun. There was the slightest smile on her face. Daniel saw her take a deep breath before opening her eyes and looking straight at Daniel.
"Your world is beautiful," Haley said softly when Daniel reached her side. Daniel almost laughed at that, considering she was standing in the middle of a paved parking lot. "I always dreamed of one day feeling sun on my face and breathing open air. I just wish Jonathan could have had the chance to feel this too."
Daniel didn't reply but instead took a moment to close his eyes and try to feel what she felt. He opened his eyes again to find her watching him with a bemused expression. She smiled at him and said, "Sometimes it is hard to appreciate what is always there." She shrugged at Daniel's surprised expression and closed her eyes again. "Maybe I am actually the lucky one in some ways."
Daniel shook his head at the surprising ease with which wisdom seemed to fall from her lips. He had only known her for a week, and yet he knew he would miss her when she was gone. As if summoned by his thought, a dark SUV flanked by two sedans with tinted windows pulled up to the main gate. Daniel sighed heavily. "Haley, I'm sorry this is happening."
Haley smiled bravely at Daniel and shook her head. "I know you did what you could, but there is no reason to worry about me. I will be fine."
Daniel wasn't sure which of them she was trying to reassure. "I am sure that you will be fine, but I still wish there was something more I could do."
"I do not believe that General O'Neill would allow me to go if he did not think I would be cared for." Daniel's face darkened at the mention of Jack's name, still a long way from forgiving him for letting the Pentagon take Haley.
Haley reached out and put her hand on Daniel's. "He is only doing what he thinks is right. Anyway, my only regret is that I will be losing the only friend I have ever had."
"Not losing, Haley. I will be checking up on you to make sure everything is okay. If you ever need anything, or just want to talk, you can call or email me." He handed her a small card. "This is my email and my cell phone number." He shrugged at her slightly perplexed expression. "Someone will be able to show you how this works."
Haley carefully took the card in both hands and looked up at Daniel. "Thank you, Daniel, you have always been so kind, I won't forget it."
The driver came up at the point and looked impatient to get on the road. Haley looked forlorn as she moved to get into the car, steeling herself to being surrounded by strangers again. Daniel noticed her expression and before he stepped away from the car, he impulsively leaned forward and gave Haley a hug. Haley was startled momentarily and then gave Daniel a tremulous smile before closing the door. He wondered briefly if he was the first person to ever hold her. Daniel remained standing in the sun for some time, watching the cars disappear from the mountain.
Daniel threw himself into the translation work after Haley's departure. He locked himself away with the lab notes, desperate to get it done, not only because Haley deserved to know, but also because it was a good way to avoid everyone, namely Jack. Less than a week later, Daniel had all but finished translating the lab notes and what he was uncovering was far worse than anything any of them had imagined.
Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Daniel all met up for a briefing to discuss what Daniel had discovered. They were all curious, mainly because Daniel had been acting very strange lately and now, standing in front of them, he had the look of someone who would rather be anywhere else in the universe. Sam sent him a concerned look and Daniel seemed to flinch under her gaze.
"Okay, Danny-boy. Whatcha got?"
Daniel shuffled nervously through his papers for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I figured out what the Goa'uld were trying to do with Haley and why she is different than Jonathan and the others before him," he let out in a rush.
"Great. So fill us in."
"I…um…" It was unusual to find Daniel stumbling over his words; usually he was just up and running. "It's probably best if I just read the pertinent sections."
Jack and Sam shared a look, silently asking each other 'what the heck is up with him?' Then Jack gestured for Daniel to continue.
Daniel shifted through his papers again, took a deep breath and began reading. "Subject #6 demonstrated the same physical weaknesses as the previous four and expired before being able to provide any information. Subject #1 is still physically strong and shows no deterioration or negative side effects from the treatments. The subject still has made no progress, however, and shows little promise. While she demonstrates some level of fundamental knowledge, such as the ability to speak, read and write Goa'uld and the Tau'ri language, she is unable to provide information regarding the Tau'ri defenses, the location of off-world bases or anything about the Tok'ra. Baal has suggested that more information may be revealed if she is made a host, but I have been granted a bit more time with the subject first. I plan to breed her the next time a Tau'ri prisoner becomes available. I hope that any offspring will show greater promise and may be able to provide the information we seek." Daniel had spoken quickly as if hearing it swiftly would make it less disturbing somehow.
The table was silent as they took in the detached language of the entry and the meanings behind what they heard. After a while, Sam somewhat breathlessly said, "Genetic memory."
Everyone looked around to stare at Sam. "Genetic memory?" Jack parroted.
Sam nodded her head slowly. "Enki was bragging that he found the ultimate weapon to destroy us. We assumed it was an actual weapon, but what if he simply meant information? If he created a human that had the Goa'uld ability to access memories stored in genetic code, then they would theoretically have access to the totality of human experience and knowledge."
"Such experimentation is forbidden, even to the Goa'uld," declared Teal'c.
Sam smiled wryly at Teal'c. "Just because something is forbidden doesn't mean that people don't sometimes try it anyway. Apophis broke the rules easily enough by having a harcesis child. Even the NID tried to blend human and Goa'uld DNA. Remember Dr. Keffler and Anna?"
"But Anna was…well, nuts, wasn't she?" asked Jack.
"Well, it's not an easy thing to do, as demonstrated by the Goa'uld's repeated failure even with advanced technology. Haley did say that she had seen six children die. They were all failed 'experiments.' Even Keffler ran into a problem he didn't foresee. Somehow the Goa'uld's DNA that he used managed to take her over."
"Haley was here for an extended period and showed no signs of a second personality," offered Teal'c.
Sam nodded and looked at Daniel, who had remained silent throughout the conversation. "Did the notes ever mention any emergence of a second personality?"
Daniel shook his head, "There was no reference to anything like that."
"Okay, so the Goa'uld got one over on ol' Doc Keffler. But it still sounds like they didn't manage to get any information out of her, so they failed too, right?"
Sam didn't answer right away, instead she was thinking over what Daniel said again. "In the notes, Enki seemed to think that Haley would be able to know things about us and the Tok'ra. That means he must have used genetic material from someone from the SGC and the Tok'ra. Does it mention anything about that in the notes, Daniel?"
Daniel was doing a good impression of a deer in the headlights. Jack leaned over and poked Daniel. "What is going on with you, Daniel?"
Daniel started at the contact and then shook his head. He just gestured weakly at the papers in his hand. "This is one of the earliest entries we have: 'A great opportunity has offered itself to me today. I will be able to begin my experiments anew and Baal will reward me richly when I am able to hand him detailed information about our enemies! Today three intruders were captured. While the female was interrogated, I scanned her, intending to acquire a genetic sample, but was startled to discover that the female carried an early stage embryo. I was quick to harvest it. The resulting child will be the cornerstone of my new project. It is unfortunate that the intruders later escaped, I know that Baal was especially angry to lose the sholva, he had planned to make an example of him.'"
Sam had always wondered how a room could 'ring' with silence, but now, in the aftermath of Daniel's information, she finally understood. The silence was so complete that her ears seemed vibrate with the emptiness. She stubbornly continued her inane contemplation of the silence, anything rather than think about what that last entry seemed to suggest.
"Haley lacks the flaws the boy had because she is a human child who's DNA has been tampered with, rather than something made in a lab," Teal'c paraphrased.
Daniel nodded. "From the notes, it seems that they used a type of gene therapy to add certain strings of Goa'uld DNA. Then they used nanocytes to accelerate the aging process. She said she had spent her entire life with the Goa'uld, we just didn't realize how young she really is."
"And you believe that Enki's entry suggests that Haley is ColonelCarter's child," Teal'c stated bluntly.
Daniel merely nodded, looking carefully at the still-silent Sam.
"Are the entries time-stamped?" Jack inquired calmly of Daniel.
Daniel mutely nodded and began shuffling through his sheaf of papers. "The first entry is from about a year ago. I compared the date to our mission reports. It matches up with our run in with Baal."
"We were his prisoners for nearly twenty-four hours. Colonel Carter was taken from our cell to be interrogated by Baal," confirmed Teal'c.
"You can't actually be suggesting..." Everyone turned to look at Sam, who had finally been brought out of her shock by the guys' conversation. "I would have known!"
When they all continued to stare at her with a combination of pity and understanding, Sam just got angrier. "You can't possibly be trying to say that I not only was pregnant without knowing it, but that they also managed to remove my unborn child without any of us ever finding out!" She looked frantically around at her friends, but none of them had anything to offer her. Her anger quickly fled and she found herself staring at her hands in numb disbelief.
Jack startled them all by abruptly leaving the table and ducking into his office. They could hear his voice speaking to someone on the phone. "Have Dr. Warner report the briefing room as soon as possible." It wasn't more than five minutes until the doctor appeared. Jack went straight up to him, his voice brisk. "Dr. Warner, I need you to run a paternity test on Haley. Do you have whatever samples you would need to do that still available?"
Dr. Warner looked slightly startled by the question, but taking in Jack's no-nonsense attitude, he simply replied, "Yes, General. I will, of course, need a sample from the other party as well."
"You will be comparing Haley's sample with Colonel Carter. Do you need her to accompany you or do you already have what you need on file?"
"I already have all that I need to run the test."
Jack nodded. "How long?"
"I could have it done by the end of today, sir."
"Good, get to it."
Taking that as his dismissal, Dr. Warner headed out of the briefing room, only to be stopped by Jack's voice. "Doctor, I expect you to run the tests yourself. This is not to be shared with anyone else."
The doctor nodded his understanding and exited the room, doing his best to tamp down his instinctual curiosity. He was smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut and keep his musings to a minimum. And now was certainly one of those times if the expression on the General's face was anything to judge by.
Jack didn't stay in the room long after the Doctor left. He glanced at Sam for a moment, taking in her glazed look before he retreated back to his office. His voice could once again be heard talking to someone on the phone. "Get me Major Davis."
The conversation started out softly and the three figures still sitting in the briefing room, completely shell-shocked, were unable to make out much of it. That all changed a few moments into the conversation. Jack's voice suddenly rose dangerously and his tone was one that he usually reserved for dirty politicians and pompous Goa'uld.
"She WHAT!" came the explosion from the office, causing everyone in the briefing room to jump. "And you didn't feel the need to inform us why!" A few moments of silence were followed by a string of very creative curses. "Frankly, Major, I don't give a damn about jurisdiction. You have a report of everything you have to me with in the hour or so help me…" The vague threat seemed to have been enough because soon after, Jack slammed down the phone. He took a moment to lean on his desk and take control of his emotions as much as possible before facing the people in the briefing room.
They would have to be stupid, or deaf not to know that something was wrong and yet Sam and Daniel still looked questioningly up at Jack as he finally made his way back to the briefing room. He shook his head wearily at them. "I'm sorry. Haley never made it to the Pentagon."
"What do you mean, Jack?" asked Daniel tremulously, exhausted by the emotional strain of the last few weeks.
"Her convoy was hit outside of Washington."
Sam was staring at Jack as if the words coming out of his mouth were Ancient. "I don't understand."
Jack sighed heavily and looked Sam straight in the eye. "Haley was kidnapped and they suspect that it was the NID."
A couple of hours later, Jack ended up outside Sam's lab. She had abruptly fled the briefing room earlier and they had let her, knowing she had a lot of painful information to process. Jack stood outside her door, really dreading the coming conversation. With a final glance at the non-descript manila folder that Dr. Warner had given him, Jack knocked on the door and pushed open the door.
Sam heard him enter, but didn't look up from the naquadah reactor she was working on. Jack let her ignore him for almost five minutes before he sighed heavily. "Carter. You can ignore me all you like, but that's not going to make any of this go away."
After another minute or so, she finally looked up; her eyes darting from his quietly resigned face to the folder in his hand. "So," she finally said with false levity as she turned back to the machine on her desk, "Haley looks pretty fully grown to be a three-month old infant."
"We're going to get her back, Carter. I promise."
Sam ignored the accolade and continued to try and absorb the information she knew was now confirmed in that damningly everyday manila envelope. "I can't believe I never knew. I always thought that a woman would just know, somehow. I should never have gone through the 'gate, if I'd known…"
"You can't possibly blame yourself for this."
"Why can't I?" Sam demanded, her voice beginning to rise. "If this is really all true, I let them take my child from me! And then, once she was finally free of the Goa'uld and their damn experiments, we practically hand her over to the heartless, self-serving NID bastards to do god knows what to her!"
"That was my call, Carter. If you need someone to blame, it should be me."
Sam didn't want to listen to Jack anymore and made a move for the exit. As she crossed to the door, Jack grabbed her arm. "Carter, I know it sounds like an empty cliché, but I swear we will get her back, no matter what it takes."
Sam looked up at Jack and had to work to smother the urge to just lean into him for a moment. To let herself feel his arms around her just once more. As her mind drifted to long-suppressed memories, she jerked her arm from Jack's grasp and stepped quickly away from him.
"Carter?" Jack asked, confusion clear in his voice.
Sam just rubbed her eyes in exhaustion and shook her head. "I'm fine, Sir. I am sure we will find a way to get Haley back. I just…need some time alone right now."
Jack knew this was his cue to get out, but he couldn't help but think that Carter was just telling him what he wanted to hear so he would leave her alone. Deciding to let her win this round, Jack gave her one last long look before leaving her to the quiet solitude of her lab.
Daniel looked up from the ancient tablet he was trying to distract himself with to find Sam standing in his doorway. There was a manila envelope clutched in her hand.
Daniel gestured at the folder, "Is that…"
Sam just nodded. After a moment, she said in a broken voice, "She's my daughter."
"God, Sam. I'm so sorry."
"Not your fault, Daniel."
"It's not your fault either, Sam."
She didn't acknowledge his words, instead, she gestured towards his crowded desk. "I need a copy of the complete translation of Enki's notes. I need to know…"
Daniel thought it a cruel punishment to force herself to read everything that had been done to her child, but he understood the need. He handed them to her and before she could leave he said, "Sam. You know you can talk to me about this, right?"
She turned back at the door and looked at him with a ghost of a smile. "Not yet, Daniel. Not until we have her back." And then she was gone.
Major Paul Davis charged into the briefing room with a videocassette tape in his hand. Without any preamble, he strode up to the VCR and said, "You guys are going to want to see this."
"Welcome to the Mountain, Major. Permission to barge in granted."
Major Davis chose to ignore the General's ever-present sarcasm and simply nodded at him and said "Sir," in acknowledgement of his comment. "Agents just raided a NID safe house in Chicago." At Sam's hopeful look, he shook his head. "No, we didn't find Haley, but we did find three rogue agents in various levels of pain. And this tape." He pushed the tape into the player and footage from a sort of security camera came up on the screen.
In the black and white footage, they could clearly see Haley strapped to a bed in a dank, lab-like room. Along the back wall were computers and monitors, while a table next to Haley held surgical-looking instruments, syringes and what looked like tasers. At the moment, Haley seemed to be unconscious. After only a few minutes, however, two men entered the room wearing non-descript dark suits. They were apparently talking to each other, though the tape had no sound. Their discussion was interrupted when Haley began to have a sort of seizure.
"Oh, god," said Sam softly. She was being torn apart by what she was seeing and yet at the same time was strangely unable to look away. Jack unconsciously moved closer to Sam and put a reassuring hand on her arm.
On the tape, one of the men leaned over Haley. Haley immediately stopped seizing and the next thing anyone knew, she had grabbed his sidearm and efficiently knocked him unconscious with the butt of his own gun. Before the other man in the room could even react, Haley had freed her other hand and was pointing the gun at him. She was speaking to him and waving the gun threateningly. With her free hand, she made quick work of the restraints at her ankles. Free of the bed, she warily circled the man, who, seemingly at Haley's order, kneeled down and put his hands behind his head.
Haley was just reaching over to relieve the man of his gun when the door to the room opened and a woman in a white lab coat entered. The man at Haley's feet took advantage of the momentary distraction to knock the gun from Haley's hand. He took a swing at her, but she was ready. She ducked his blow and landed a solid hit to the man's solar plexus, momentarily stunning him. Haley pressed her advantage and efficiently cold-cocked him with one hit. He slumped to the ground, and now Haley was left facing one opponent.
The woman, upon taking in the scene in the lab, had quickly grabbed a baton-like taser from the table and now stood her ground in front of the only exit. She was making it clear that there was no way she was going to allow Haley to leave that room. Haley seemed slightly wary at the sight of the taser in the woman's hand. Haley dove for the gun on the floor to her left, but the other woman was faster and she lunged out to hit Haley squarely in the back with the taser.
The observers were thankful for the lack of sound as Haley fell to her knees; her mouth stretched wide open, obviously releasing an agonizing scream. Rather than debilitating her, though, the woman and her taser seemed to just make Haley even angrier. Haley spun quickly back to her feet, her hand making firm contact across the woman's face and was followed by a quick, ruthless kick to her chest that sent the woman flying against the back wall where she crumpled limply.
Haley stood for a moment, her chest heaving with exertion and anger before she began methodically sweeping the room, picking up all weapons. Haley carefully checked the pulse of the agents before tying each of them up securely. Before tying the woman up, Haley removed her lab coat and outer clothing. Haley discarded her own pajama-like clothing and quickly donned the other woman's clothing. She even took the woman's glasses. She then searched each body for wallets and cell phones. She took the money and credit cards from each.
Glancing up at the camera for the first time, Haley flipped open one of the cell phones and placed a call before leaving the room.
"She called 911 to complain that she heard screaming and what might be gunshots from the building, pretending to be a concerned neighbor," supplied Major Davis to the silent room after pausing the tape.
"She didn't want the NID guys to go free," hypothesized Jack.
Major Davis nodded his agreement.
"So where is she now?" asked Daniel.
"She is turning out to be a lot more resourceful than we thought. Our sweeps of the area revealed nothing, but we were able to trace some activity on the credit cards taken from the rogue agents. She purchased four train tickets and three bus tickets, each traveling to different major cities."
"She's trying to cover her tracks," observed Jack.
"Which means she doesn't want to be found," commented Daniel. "We convinced her she was safe and then we let her end up a lab experiment just like the Goa'uld! Of course she would want to get as far away from us as possible."
"Damn it, Daniel, now is not the time," Jack growled, looking pointedly at Sam, who was still staring at the television screen.
"How did she know to do that?" came the soft question from Sam.
"What?" Jack asked distractedly.
"She not only effectively escaped but also knew to dial 911 and to purchase bus and train tickets. She'd never even been outside this base or Baal's mothership before any of this. How could she possibly have been able to do any of that?"
They all stared at the screen, processing Sam's questions, but none of them had any answers.
Daniel sat on a small hill outside the Mountain. He tried to imagine what Haley would think of the trees that surrounded him. Taking a deep breath, he tried to relax into the moment. He had escaped the Mountain to find a few moments of peace. In the tunnels below this serene forest, people were running here and there, coordinating the search for Haley. They had checked out all of the destinations she had purchased tickets to, but no one was surprised when all they turned up were empty seats and dead ends. She was out there, somewhere, and they had no idea how to find her.
The peace of the forest was shattered by the shrill ring of Daniel's cell phone. Someone had obviously noticed he was gone. He sighed and picked up the cell on the third ring. "Hello?"
There was protracted silence on the other end, but something kept Daniel from hanging up. "Hello?" He glanced at the caller ID, but it showed an unlisted number. After another few moments of silence, Daniel, on a gut feeling, ventured to ask, "Haley?"
Another long moment passed before he heard the single word, "Why?"
His gut clenched at the accusatory tone. "Haley, we didn't do this, I promise. Please, just come back to Colorado Springs. We can protect you."
She snorted at that. "Obviously you can't," she said harshly.
"Please, Haley, we just want to know that you are okay."
"Okay?" she asked incredulously. "Do you have any idea what they did to me?" Her voice broke off, abruptly. He could hear her take a deep breath and then sigh. Her voice was softer now and laced with sadness. "I just wanted you to know, Daniel, that I can take care of myself. You don't need to worry about me." Before Daniel could say anything else, she said, "Goodbye, Daniel," and hung up. He stared at the inactive phone for long moments, desperately hoping that wasn't the last time he ever heard her voice.
Just as Daniel finished relaying his conversation with Haley to the others, Major Davis burst back into the room. "She used one of the credit cards. She's either getting desperate or getting sloppy."
"Where?" asked Jack.
"A small gas station near Miami Beach in Florida. We have people on their way to search the area. I'm flying out ASAP to coordinate. I think this is it, guys."
"I hope so," mumbled Jack, not quite sounding convinced as he watched the men file out of the room.
Getting in had been easier than Haley expected. It seemed that no one had thought that she would return to the scene of the crime. She abandoned the rusty clunker she had bought with cash in Chicago in a back alley in Colorado Springs and had hiked up the rest of the way to the Mountain. With the supplies she had purchased from a survivalist in Montana, she easily slipped down the access shaft, her mask protecting her from the tear gas. Soon she had stepped into the silent halls and didn't even have to hesitate as she headed for the nearest armory on her way to the security room.
Not much time had passed before Haley stood in the security room watching the various screens before her. She carefully stepped over one of the prone bodies on the floor as she switched one of the monitors to show the control room. There were only two bored looking young men inside. They would be easy to take out. Haley's major problem was in the form of General O'Neill who she could see leaning restlessly on his desk. Haley would have to be quick and quiet if there was any chance for her plan to succeed.
She managed to take out the first soldier with little fuss, but the second heard her coming. Haley managed to cut him off from the alarm, but he still managed to shut out the dialing computer before Haley disabled him with a single blast from her zat. 'Dammit,' she thought to herself, 'there was no way someone didn't hear that.' Haley turned to the computer and knew she would have only moments to get the gate going. Without giving it much conscious thought, her fingers began to fly over the keys.
Jack sat slumped in his chair staring mindlessly at a report in front of him. He really hoped that Davis managed to find Haley in Florida, but his instincts told him that she had already demonstrated far too much wiliness to do something as stupid as using a credit card. His phone ringing startled him, causing him to knock one of his files to the floor. He cursed quietly before picking up the phone, "O'Neill."
"General, sir, this is Major Davis."
"What have you got, Major?"
"Sorry, sir. All we found was a very scared teenager with some stolen credit cards."
Jack closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, Major. Not really unexpected if you ask me."
"We'll keep looking, sir."
"Of course. Report back when you have more." Jack hung up the phone and sighed deeply, leaning back in his chair. He was beginning to realize that they would never find Haley until she was ready to be found.
He had just laid his head down on his desk to catch some quality office sleep when he heard the distinct sound of zat fire. "What the hell?" he muttered before he grabbed his phone to call Security. There was no answer. Just as he jumped up to hit the alarm, the PA system blared, "Unauthorized Gate Activation!" Over the din, Jack could vaguely hear the grinding of the Stargate rotating. He grabbed his gun from his desk drawer and headed down the control room to see what the hell was going on.
Jack entered the Control Room and noted the unconscious airmen just in time to see the Stargate swoosh into life. There was a single figure standing at the base of the ramp, silhouetted against the rippling surface of the gate. Jack slammed his hand down on the iris control, but nothing happened. He looked up to helplessly watch Haley walk up the ramp. She had only made it halfway when one of the blast doors slid open to reveal Carter and Daniel running into the room. They both stopped abruptly at the sight of Haley on the ramp.
Daniel had just reached out an arm and said something to Haley that made her pause for a moment when Teal'c and Walter charged into the Control Room. Teal'c regarded the scene with a raised eyebrow. "You have successfully located Haley," he observed.
Jack ignored him and turned to Walter. "Get that wormhole shut down, now." Walter nodded and began working at the nearest console. 'Just keep her talking a little longer, Daniel,' Jack thought to himself.
Haley abruptly stopped when she heard Daniel call her name. She only needed to take a few more steps and she would finally be free, but she felt her treacherous body turn back to look at Daniel. Colonel Carter stood by his side and looked terrified, though of what, Haley could not say.
"Haley, please. You don't need to do this."
Haley glanced up at the Control Room to see a man working at one of the computers. She didn't have much time left. "I'm sorry, Daniel, but I can't stay here and you can't keep me safe."
"Do you really think it's any safer out there? What about the Goa'uld?"
"Maybe it's not any safer, but I won't stay here, because I finally realized something."
"What?" Colonel Carter asked softly, her eyes beseeching Haley in a way she didn't understand.
"You are no better than the Goa'uld," Haley stated bluntly before turning her back on them and walking the last few steps to the event horizon.
Haley's accusation hit hard on everyone watching, and Sam's eyes actually filled with tears. Daniel gave her a concerned glance and then stepped towards Haley. "Haley, wait." He glanced quickly at Sam before plowing on. "We translated the lab notes we brought back," he blurted desperately as Haley moved to enter the wormhole. This seemed to catch Haley's attention and she turned back towards them. She was careful to leave one arm in the wormhole, making it clear that in order to disengage the wormhole they would have to be willing to amputate her arm.
"I'm listening."
"You're not like Jonathan and the others, Haley."
Haley gave Daniel an impatient glare that seemed to say, 'I already knew that, move on.'
"They were created in that lab. They were made, but you, Haley, you were stolen. They took you from your mother's womb."
This was not something Haley had already known judging by the look of astonishment on her face. She stared at Daniel for a moment. "Are you saying that I…have parents? That I'm not just some experiment?" Her face was so hopeful that it almost broke Daniel's heart. Daniel felt Sam come up beside him.
"I never knew, Haley. I swear."
Haley's eyes snapped onto Sam at the soft words. "What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously.
"He took you from me, Haley, and I never knew. I'm so sorry."
Haley seemed to sway on her feet for long moments before she finally found her voice long enough to say, "What exactly are you saying?"
Daniel watched the two women with his heart in his throat, allowing himself for the first time to catalog the physical similarities between them. He could almost see Haley doing the same thing, finding parts of herself in the woman standing in front of her.
At length, Sam finally confirmed, "I'm your mother, Haley. Please don't walk away."
Haley looked so torn, her face confused, hopeful and suspicious all at the same time. Daniel tried to smile comfortingly as he took one more small step towards Haley and stretched his hand out to her. "You can trust us, Haley."
"I don't know how," came Haley's soft voice.
"Please, Haley. Give us a chance, I can't lose you again," Sam pleaded.
Haley looked back at the woman who was her mother, her actual, natural mother. Someone she had hoped existed for so long. Now she was here, and she was promising to protect her, to take care of her. And Haley found herself desperately wanting to believe her. As she stood, concentrating on the woman that was her mother, a brief image flashed through her mind. Colonel Carter sat in a dark, dank room with a small child in her arms, both of them crying. I won't leave you, the promise echoed through Haley's head and she knew, somehow, that this woman had kept her promise at all costs. Maybe she could trust her to do the same with her own daughter.
Without consciously making the decision, Haley started walking down the ramp. The next thing she knew, her fingers were curled around her mother's outstretched hand and the wormhole behind her disengaged. A new chapter was opening for them both.