Disclaimer : Haven't had one in a while so….. not mine!
A/N: Ok so you're all spitting feathers and seriously upset. I AM sorry. However I fell over and broke a bone in my hand and pulled all the tendons and ligaments in my thumb when I landed. (Not to mention a monster cheese grater graze right down my leg!). One handed typing is a nightmare so this one comes to you in true sesame street style with the help of my ten year old who has serious typing skills I have discovered. Be patient we are trying …I know very trying!
Chapter 13
Colonel O'Neill walked slowly, down the hallway, deep underground on the medical level of Stargate Command. In his mind he ran over and over the words he wanted; no needed to say to his 2IC. He paused momentarily as he neared his destination and sighing the deep sigh of one resigned to his unpleasant fate he pushed open the swing door of the infirmary ward and sloped in.
It was rare at any time of the day to walk into this section of the base unchallenged, you needed to pass a guard on the door to even gain entry but as the colonel was highly respected and 2IC of the base, that hadn't been a problem.
Once through the doors however you were on different ground, you had entered the domain of the chief medical officer and Jack fully expected to be challenged however innocuously by a member of medical staff soon after he arrived.
Today he had hit the jackpot; Doctor Frasier herself emerged from her office, just at the same moment as he was looking around for a nurse to help him find Carter. He faltered and looked away for a split second before resolutely meeting her stare. Anxiously his deep brown eyes glanced over the smaller woman's face searching her features for a sign that her good opinion remained.
Janet had seen the colonel through the glass in the ward office door and moved out of her seat to go and meet him. He obviously hadn't seen her initially as he gave a tiny start of surprise as she appeared before carefully schooling his features. She looked at him cool and unsmiling, she'd had plenty of practice with this expression with Cassie as her daughter had moved towards her teenage years and Janet's warm brown eyes detected a tiny trace of fear slide over the brown eyes before her and then it was gone.
"Colonel." She stated coldly unwilling to give anything away until she had more fully assessed his state of mind.
"Doctor," the colonel smiled.
"Everything go ok with Thor?" She enquired a frown passing over her face, as he stood motionless in the middle of the entrance. She wondered what could have gone wrong before realising the man was unsure of his welcome.
"Yeah, fine; until Hannah woke up and made her presence felt. We were returned back here shortly after that." Jack grinned ruefully.
Janet smiled and gestured towards her the ward office, "Why don't you come in and tell me what Thor said Sir." As she walked towards the door, she felt rather than heard the release of held breath and when he sat down opposite her he was once again the colonel that she knew.
"He said she had all my best attributes, Jan." The colonel smirked, cocked his head slightly and gave her a boyish grin.
"Poor child!" The doctor sighed momentarily then grimaced slightly and carefully asked, "What about her cellular integrity or her proclivity to DnA degradation?"
"What?"
"Is her body gonna make it to adulthood, colonel?" Janet explained shortly.
The colonel looked uncertainly at the Doctor and she raised her eyebrows, enough to show that his show of stupidity wasn't going to work on her and that she knew he understood. He held her eyes for a few seconds then blushing faintly looked at the floor.
"She's a healthy normal kid Doctor. She won't degrade because she wasn't made in Baal's lab! She was made in my bed." The confession sounded loud to his ears and even as he said them he felt the words seal his court martial papers and bring his long history of disciplinary action to a fairly spectacular close. There was a prolonged and awkward silence during which Jack looked at his hands and attempted to regain control as misery washed over him.
Feeling a warm hand cover his own he jumped slightly and looked up into Janet's warm smiling face.
"I am pleased that you were able to confide the truth in me, Jack."
The Colonel nodded still wholly unable to trust himself to speak.
"And I think you've got some things to say to Sam."
Jack looked with renewed interest at his hands, and nodded miserably.
"What if she doesn't want to listen?" He said quietly, "I've made such a mess of everything."
Janet stood up and moved towards the door, "She will listen, Jack. There's more at risk here than just the two of you now." She raised her eyebrows and gestured towards the door with her head.
"Come on Colonel. I'll show you where I've hidden her."
He smiled and followed her out into the ward and up to a side room. She halted and knocked on the door, "Sam? You awake?"
A disembodied voice answered, "Yes." The Doctor turned and winked at the apprehensive man and pushed open the door.
"Look what I found lurking about out here!"
Jack took a deep breath, pasted a smirk on his face and slid through he doorway, just in time to witness a flurry of facial expressions flow across the Major's face finally settling upon a smooth mask of professional indifference. Armour up, he thought well once more into the breach…
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Under the muted lights in isolation room three, Hannah stirred in her sleep. The little girl rolled onto her back kicking off the blankets that had been carefully tucked around her, one arm flung carelessly across her pillow over her head. The bright blue eyes fluttered restlessly before opening suddenly and glanced expectantly around the room before focussing on the figure crouching by the wall adjacent to the bed.
"Daniel!" The little girl exclaimed in surprise before her eyes narrowed dangerously and she glanced apprehensively towards the door.
"Hannah," the man replied his mouth quirking into a lopsided smile.
"Where have you been?" The child hissed irritably in Goa'uld.
"Oh, I've haven't been far away," he replied vaguely.
"You left me alone!" She accused pointing a skinny finger at him viciously, her voice beginning to rise shrilly.
Daniel winced and straightened up folding his arms across his chest. The accusation betrayed much of the little girl's sense of abandonment and it was a sensation he could easily empathise with; she had placed her trust in him and he had let her down.
"I'm sorry." He stated sadly, unable to placate her further and unwilling to make more promises. 'Anyway' he thought to himself she was safe at the SGC and would soon know a family full of love and acceptance, just as in his time there, he had.
His apology took the wind out of her sails, she was still thoroughly unaccustomed to anyone feeling sorry for her never mind speaking the words and it left her feeling uncomfortable and unsettled.
"It's ok," she mumbled feeling a sharp pang of grief that she had made her 'friend' look so sad.
Daniel in turn was bemused by the rapid changes of the child's mercurial moods. His face then broke into a sunny smile as slow recognition dawned upon him.
"You're very like your Daddy," he mused in some surprise, "Considering how like your mommy you look."
"Mommy is the beautiful lady with the sparkly eyes," Hannah reflected seriously. "She likes to read the book with the pictures in it with me."
"That's right," Daniel agreed smiling at this apt description of his friend, "Beautiful like you are!"
"Who do I belong to now?" She enquired turning her intelligent blue eyes upon him. The sudden change of pace disarmed him momentarily.
"You don't belong to anyone."
"What?"
Recognizing the panic in her eyes and the fear in her voice Daniel continued quickly, "Amongst the Tau'ri people do not own one another or consider individuals as property. We do not have slaves."
"Then where will I go if no one will own me here?" She started miserably before raising her huge blue eyes to search Daniel's face.
He in turn searched hers. He could still sense a vestige of insecurity but as she had appeared much more settled and contented before his appearance Daniel had assumed she was adjusting nicely to her new life.
"Do you want to go back?" He asked uncertainly, unwilling to believe that the girl would choose slavery over a childhood loved and cherished by two of his best friends.
"I know I should," She began and then gesturing for him to come closer she whispered, " I would prefer to stay here. But, Daniel, I'm scared the master will come for me."
The child began to sniffle quietly overwhelmed once more by hunger and fatigue.
"He won't find you, you're safe here in the SGC," Daniel stated confidently as he sat down next to her on the bed.
The little girl had drawn her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face tightly within their embrace. Daniel wanted to comfort her but he knew that initiating further intimacy would surely draw the attention of the others, so he sighed in frustration, torn between his observance of the rules and his protective instincts.
"The one called O'Neill," She suddenly stated jolting him from his thoughts, "I must belong to him since the jaffa told me I would bear his name."
"Hmm," Daniel mused carefully not wishing to alarm her. "Yes and no."
"Hannah O'Neill, he named me," she reiterated belligerently.
"Yes that is your name, but it is because that is your family name not because you are owned by them. In a sense you belong with them but you are not their possession. You belong to noone but yourself."
Seeing this made no sense to her he tried a new tack. "The ones who guarded you were all Jaffa?"
"Yes," she replied uncertainly.
"But they fought against other Jaffa who were in service to other 'gods'." Daniel continued, feeling pleased as she followed his explanation with a slight nod of her head.
"These jaffa, did they not always live in the stronghold with you?" He enquired mildly.
"No of course not, they went home to their …." She broke off suddenly perplexed by her own though process.
"Did they talk of their homes to you, Hannah?" Daniel asked quietly.
"They often talked of their wives and their sons. The one called Ren'ai who guarded me often said he would not tolerate behaviour like mine of his son." She confessed flushing guiltily.
"I thought that was just how those who were Jaffa lived. The humans had no one they talked of; they were all owned, like me."
"You have a family now," Daniel smiled at the intelligent face before him, "And your Daddy will never leave you alone again; of that you can be certain."
The little girl nodded uncertainly and yawned widely. Daniel suggested she lie down whilst he told her a story.
"Once upon a time in a far away country," He began softly.
"How far away? Was there a chaapa'ai?" Daniel sighed and waited until she settled down again a look of contrite apology on her face that didn't quite reach the mischievous look in her eyes.
"Ahem," he began again, "As I was saying in this far away country there was a tall tower."
"What's a tower?" A small voice interrupted.
"A tall thin building, like a stronghold but skinny and long, there are usually a lot of stairs." Daniel clarified with a smirk until she nodded her understanding and popped her thumb into her mouth.
"In the tower there was a girl with long pale yellow hair, like spun gold."
"Like mine?" She mumbled through the thumb.
"Uh huh."
"Was she pretty?"
"Very," Daniel chuckled then frowned as she began to sit up again, now her interest had been piqued. She relented and lay down again clutching a corner of the hospital sheet, bringing it up to rub on her face as she sucked her thumb.
"Her name was Rapunzel and when she was little her hair grew so long that she could sit on it and she brushed it every day and it grew more beautiful every day until it was very long, indeed." Daniel paused and peered down at the sleeping child.
Slowly his clothes began to glow and he was engulfed in a brilliant white light, one of the tendrils brushed the child's face as the glowing being rose to the ceiling and disappeared.
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General Hammond blinked twice as the Commander of the Asgard fleet materialised in a brilliant flash of white light directly in front of his desk.
"General Hammond," the serious alien began without any preamble causing the slightly flustered officer to lay down his pen and straighten in his chair, "the tests on the child have been satisfactorily concluded."
"Everything was in order, I hope." The General enquired carefully left uncertain by the evidently ambiguous statement.
"Perfectly. She carries the naquadah and the protein marker left by the goa'uld within her mother and her physiology is considerably more advanced than the average human of her generation. This can be safely attributed to the changes the Ancient's depository affected upon Colonel O'Neill's genetic code; she is going to be a considerable addition to the human gene pool."
"However?" Hammond stated after a long pregnant pause where he received the impression that Thor was waiting for him to make a further enquiry.
"There were some anomalies." The Asgard replied in a pleasant tone.
"Anomalies?" He repeated unsure of what Thor meant, "What kind of anomalies?"
"The Asgard high council were unaware of developments in goa'uld technology that would allow them to affect genetic construction without leaving any evidence of their tampering." Thor ventured with some gravity.
"No evidence?" The general mused his eyebrows climbing skyward, his face grimacing into a fearsome scowl as the ramifications of the alien's statement connected.
"However with the war against the replicators taking most of our attention lately it is possible that developments could have occurred we were unaware of," the words belied the Asgard's true meaning but the general caught on quickly.
"So there is evidence to support the original explanation then?" Hammond enquired mildly attempting to pitch his reply to avoid the alien misunderstanding him.
"There is no evidence to refute it," Thor replied the ghost of a smile playing on his almost expressionless face.
"The Asgard high council would also like to express its opinion that Colonel O'Neill's continuing participation in the stargate program will remind them of their debt to the planet Earth and encourage the active continuation of their participation in the protected planets treaty. Likewise with Major Carter."
"Thankyou for your help Commander Thor," the general smiled reaching over the desk to shake the alien's hand. Thor merely looked at his hand, which was been shaken, removed it carefully and held up his hand to the startled base commander.
"I am pleased we were able to render you assistance, General Hammond. I will be calling in to see your president, after leaving your facility. I believe he would benefit from hearing of the Asgard's thoughts about how young human growth is optimised."
Without any further conversation the alien departed in a burst of white light. He held up his hand in a fruitless gesture of farewell and then chuckled, "Oh I believe he would. I believe he would," before shaking his head slightly and reaching for his phone.
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The door closed after the doctor's departure leaving him stranded part way into the body of the room, silence stretched his nerves to nearly breaking point. Jack stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked expectantly at his 2IC, she in turn resolutely stared at her hands wrung together in her lap. He cleared his throat nervously and began to speak.
"Erm, How are you?" The enquiry sounded lame even to his own ears and he groaned inwardly cursing himself for a yellow coward.
"I'm fine," she began then grimacing at her own cliché, she raised wary eyes to his face and stated more confidently, "It was just a shock. I'm over it now, Sir."
"Ya think?" The colonel quipped skilfully taking in her posture, her pale face and her evasive body language. He realised that for the moment, he needed to take the lead here and he knew he could fill that role in her life confidently.
Jack injected a trace of steel into his tone and began again, " Sam, I know I don't deserve it as your friend but as your superior officer I would appreciate your honesty."
"I'm tired, and more than a little shocked, Sir," She stated formally looking directly into his eyes. The hurt and angry blue pair met the guilt and dismay reflected in the brown ones and her stiff posture melted.
"Will you take a seat?" She asked quietly.
He sat and looked at her then taking one of her cold hands and rubbing it between his own he remarked, "you're cold, do you need a blanket?"
"Got one," she replied replacing it around her shoulders from where it had fallen to pool on the bed behind her.
"I'm sorry." The both blurted out simultaneously.
"You've nothing to be sorry for, Sam," he exclaimed his hand brushing her cheek.
"Whereas I …." Jack tailed off stricken.
"You didn't know," Carter returned immediately anxious to assuage his conscience.
"I shouldn't have confronted you like that, in the hallway. I should have believed in you but all I thought about was how my chance was gone, I never thought to consider it was yours too…it was selfish." Tears formed in the corner of his eyes, he looked over her shoulder and tried to blink them away.
"Jack." The sound of his name was intoxicating coming as it did from her lips and he was momentarily unable to respond as she graced him with an uncertain watery smile.
"Jack, It wasn't your fault." Sam whispered her voice choked with the unshed tears of her loss. He swiftly pulled her into his chest, her face buried in his neck as her body shook with rasping sobs. A tear rolled unchecked down his cheek, as he enveloped her in his arms mutely trying to infuse her with strength and comfort he didn't feel were yet his own as he attempted to rein in his own tumultuous emotions.
"I'm sorry. I'm Sorry, I'm sorry" he whispered repeatedly into her hair whilst he gently rocked her and rubbed soothing circles on her back.
"I love you."
Immediately she drew in a deep shuddering breath and pulled back to gaze expectantly into his eyes. He wiped away tears from her face with the side of his thumb and pulled out a hanky from his pocket.
"C'mon," he said holding it up in front of her, "Blow."
Sam giggled and complied, years of obedience winning out in favour of her pride.
Jack looked at her closely, "Samantha, Do you trust me?"
"Yeah sure ya betcha," she quipped with a giggle. He narrowed his eyes in mock seriousness.
"Major," he drawled.
"Yes, sir," she saluted with a twinkle in her eye.
"Everything is gonna be fine. She is here with us and we are going to be a family together," she began to frown slightly even as he spoke his reassurance.
"Ahh!" He remonstrated holding up one finger to halt her reply, "Do you trust me?"
"Yes Jack," she reiterated rolling her eyes.
"Right then. Think no more about it. Now here's how I think we are going to get her to eat…" The colonel put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to a hug whilst settling back against the headboard of the bed.
"Oh you heard about that," Sam replied leaning her head against his shoulder, as she stole glances at him out of the corner of her eye she suddenly realised she felt lighter than she had in a long time; there in the safety of his embrace.
"And let me tell you what happened with Thor…."
"Something happened with Thor?"
"Uh huh."
"Something bad?"
"She woke up."
A/N: Now that I know hoe many of you read these chapters I want to know what ALL of you think please! It makes my day when I get nice reviews honest ! Picture me smiling then hit the button !