A/N: It's been a while since I've updated this story about life on Beta after Earth is destroyed by the Goa'uld.. Grace is now about four years old and keeping her parents busy. She's about to get in the worst trouble of her young life, however...

The rows of ancient spaceships stretched through the newly discovered underground cavern, following the twists and turns of the underground passage. Daniel and one of the scientists assisting him walked along the lineup, counting. Daniel had counted to 21 when the other man shouted excitedly from his side of the cavern.

"Daniel, there is another chamber here!"

"Coming, Ray," Daniel answered, abandoning his task and quickly going to join his colleague. He found him standing in the archway of another previously hidden chamber, the lights within already mysteriously glowing.

"Ray, how did you find this?" Daniel asked, already anticipating his answer.

"I don't know what I did, I just touched this symbol on the wall here and everything opened and the lights began to glow," Ray explained with amazement.

"So you're one, too," Daniel said dryly.

"One what?"

"An Ancient."

Daniel explained what little he, Sam and Jack knew about the Ancient gene and how the technology of the Ancients had been programmed to only respond to those in possession of the right genes. Ray began to puff up proudly and smile.

"Well, don't get a big head over it," Daniel ribbed him. "You may be one of the few with the right genes, but an instruction manual would be a whole lot more useful right now."

The two men walked slowly into the newly opened room, wonder mounting on their features as they surveyed the furnishings of the smaller cavern. A chair similar to the chair found in Antarctica was situated in the center of the rocky cave and dominated the small chamber.

"Jack, come in," Daniel hailed O'Neill over his radio. "We've found something you're going to want to see."

"Have you seen Sam?" Jack asked through the doorway of her lab, Grace firmly held by the hand as he scanned his wife's favorite haunts looking for her.

"I wait here, Daddy," Grace suggested brightly.

"Yeah, right," Jack growled at her. "You are glued to my hand with superglue, do you understand?"

"What's superglue?"

"Forget it, squirt. Let's go find your Mom."

"She said she was going out on the surface for some fresh air," one of Sam's coworkers volunteered.

Jack turned and headed for the outside of the Ancient city, towing Grace behind him, her every three steps matching one of his. Her brown curls bounced along with the effort of keeping up with her Daddy.

The weather had been warming up for the past month and the outside was irresistibly beautiful. Jack scanned around the entrance, dominated by the permanently parked Prometheus which continued to serve both as a central meeting place for the colonists and as makeshift quarters for a few of the Betans who preferred to not live underground. Ruling out the Prometheus as a possible destination of Sam's, Jack skirted around the huge ship and carried Grace on his shoulders up the mountain trail to one of his wife's favorite thinking spots.

His knowledge of her habits was rewarded. Sam was reclined on a flat rock near the top of the trail, sunning herself. Jack smiled widely and Grace squealed, startling the scantily dressed woman.

"Sam, I've been looking all over for you. There's been a new discovery down in the tunnels. Hey, Sam. Is everything okay?" The concern in his voice made Sam smile fondly.

"I'm fine, I just wanted some time to think."

"About Earth?" Jack demanded harshly.

"I can't help it, Jack, I'm sorry. I just can't stop wondering what's left there now. I need to know if anything—anyone—survived. I don't think I'm the only one on Beta who wants to know, either."

Jack was silent. His face darkened and he turned away, scanning the horizon pensively. Grace began to make a fort out of the little rocks she found lying all over.

"Jack, with the new ships we've found we could go back to Earth and see what happened. The Goa'uld may not recognize this technology as T'auri. We could fly through Goa'uld space without arousing suspicion."

"I highly doubt that," Jack countered. "Why take a risk? We are safe here. We all have a chance to rebuild and recover here, in secret. Nothing can jeopardize that, Sam. I want to find out what happened on Earth, too, we all do. But I think it would be devastating to return. I don't think we'll find anyone still alive. Why not just leave it?"

"I can't. I can't stop thinking about it."

"Sam. These past few years have been hard work, but I'm happier right now than I've ever been. I don't want anything to change. I don't want to risk losing you or Grace over what is probably a dead planet. Just forget it. We're on Beta now, and we have a good life."

"Jack, don't you think I've tried? I love Beta, and our life together. It's everything I ever wanted. But I just have to know what is left back there, if anything. What if someone did survive, and needs our help?"

Jack sat up suddenly. "Where's Grace?"

"Not again," Sam groused. "Grace! Grace!"

The little girl came out sheepishly from a rock. "Here I am, Mommy."

"Give me your hand, squirt. Superglue."

Jack grabbed her tiny hand and made her sit next to him on the warm rock face.

"Superglue," Grace echoed.

"It wouldn't take long, Jack. Beta isn't that far from Earth, and those ships have hyperspace technology. As soon as we learn how to use them it would be a simple matter of flying through hyperspace to Earth and scanning the planet from orbit. We could turn around and come right back if we don't find anything worth investigating."

"I just don't think it's worth the risk. I don't want you put at risk. Please, Sam."

Sam glowered and turned away. Jack let go of Grace's hand and went to Sam, sitting behind her and enveloping her in a warm hug.

"Sam, I know how you feel-"

"If you knew how I felt, you'd be down in that chamber right now, figuring out how to work those ships so we could go back to Earth."

"Okay, maybe I don't know exactly how you feel. But what about how I feel? Isn't it important to you to do whatever it takes to keep Beta safe? To keep us, our family, out of danger? You know how much the Goa'uld would love to find us and wipe us out for good."

"Jack, if we went back and found even one person still alive, and we were able to rescue them, it would be worth the risk."

Jack was silent for a time, holding Sam tightly. "I guess. But why does it have to be you and me? Let someone else go."

"Well, so far nobody but you and Grace have been able to turn on the things."

"Grace!" Jack exclaimed, looking at the now empty rock behind them. "Not again. Grace!"

The two distraught parents jumped up and retraced their steps, calling out over and over again for the unpredictable little girl.


"Let's see," Grace whispered to herself. "We puts our hands here," she laid her hands on the outside of the sturdy little craft, "…and everfing lights up! Wheee!"

As the back of the craft lowered its ramp in silent invitation, Grace scampered aboard and ran to the console which she had previously managed to bring to life and had been so frightened as a result. This time, she knew what to expect. She purposefully laid her hands on either side of the controls and squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of what was about to happen.

The ship burst into colorful life, but this time Grace did not cringe. "Go to Earf, Go to Earf," she chanted intently. "Fly!"

Above her, the ceiling of the chamber shimmered and grew translucent before disappearing altogether, opening the cavern up to the bare sky above. The ship rose and flew smoothly up and out with Grace squealing happily as she stood on tiptoe behind the console.


Jack had made it back to the clearing where the Prometheus was parked and Sam was right behind him when they saw the ship fly over their heads and out towards space. They both knew instinctively what had happened. Their genius daughter was at it again.

"Oh Jack!" Sam burst into tears. She had no idea what they would do now.

"I'm going after her," Jack called out. He ran towards the chamber where the ships were berthed.

He had to find a way to save his daughter.

She and Sam meant everything to him.


"Go to Earf, go to Earf," Grace chanted with her hands on the controls of the tiny craft. If she had been watching, she would have seen the blue sky around her darken into the blackness of space, but her eyes were still closed as she concentrated on her task as she understood it. She didn't like listening to her Mommy and Daddy argue and sound sad. She wanted to do whatever would make them happy, and from what she'd heard her Mommy say, this was it. She remembered what her Mommy had said about hyperspace and began to think about flying the ship through the superfast hyperspace window.

"Fly, fly, go real, real, real, fast!" Grace cried out happily.

"Grace!"

The little girl's eyes popped open at the unexpected sound of her father's voice.

"Daddy?" She answered hesitantly, looking all around.

"Grace, I'm flying out to meet you. You can't go any farther, do you understand?"

"Goin' to Earf, Daddy!"

"No!"

Jack's voice sounded desperately urgent. "No, Grace, we'll go to Earth together. Not now, not like this. You're all by yourself, Grace, you can't go by yourself."

For the first time since leaving the cavern, Grace looked out the cockpit window, and became suddenly alarmed by the black void all around her with the occasional star shining. She began to sob.

"Daddy, help me!" She called out to his disembodied voice over the coms. If only he was right here beside her! Grace's heart began to pound with fear.

"I will, Grace, but you have to do just what I say."

Jack was flying right next to her ship now, with both of their ships in orbit around Beta. He had been briefed by Daniel before he'd taken off about Ray, the technician on the ground with Ancient powers. Ray was now using his newly found power by holding the spiral door in the roof of the cave open for them.

"Okay, baby, can you see me?" Jack flew past her line of sight.

"Yes!"

"Okay, stop crying, squirt, because this will be fun. I'm going to fly up and then turn to the right. See if you can do exactly what I do."

Jack executed a quick maneuver and then held his breath. He was gratified to see that Grace was able to parrot his movement exactly.

"Okay, good job, Grace. Now follow me and do everything I do. Can you do that?"

"Okay, Daddy," she sniffed. Her tears were almost forgotten now. This was a fun new game that Daddy was playing with her. She followed Jack's ship through the atmosphere, back into the blue and the brightness of the Betan sky, and down into the cavern with little trouble. Jack was pleasantly surprised to discover that she was a natural pilot and had quickly mastered the Ancient ability to easily control the alien technology with her mind.

The two ships landed as lightly as two flies lighting on a countertop. Jack was out of his ship and up the ramp into Grace's in no time. He caught her up and wrapped his arms around her, not sure yet if he would ever be able to let her go.

"Gracie, I'm sorry. So sorry. I shouldn't have talked about Earth in front of you. You don't have to make it better, Gracie. Mommy and I will be okay, understand? I was so worried for you, honey. You could have been killed. Never, never do that again, do you hear me? You hear, Grace?"

Jack continued to waffle back and forth between outrage and tearful thankfulness as he held her tightly.

"Grace!" Sam was now in the spacecraft with them, for Jack and Grace had not yet bothered to walk down the ramp and leave the craft.

"Oh, you're okay! You're okay!" Sam was crying hard, causing Grace to begin wailing herself.

"Okay, O'Neills, let's all calm down. You're all okay. Come on, let's get you guys home." Daniel was now with them, gently escorting the emotionally wasted threesome down the ramp and back towards the inhabited part of the city.

"My hungry!" Grace announced dramatically, as if it was a tragedy of the highest proportions.

"Me too!" Jack echoed.

"Come on, I'll find you all a snack," Daniel laughed.

"Yay, Uncle Daniel!" Grace enthused.

As they arrived at the central city square, Jacob and another scientist met them, having just come inside from the Prometheus.

"Gran'Pa!" Grace yelled. The older Tok'Ra picked up his granddaughter and enveloped her in an embrace. He spoke over her head to the others.

"We have a problem," Jacob said grimly. "Long-range scanners on the Prometheus have detected alien ships approaching Beta. We're reasonably sure they're Goa'uld. Apparently, your daughter's little space flight adventure did not go unnoticed. I'm afraid Beta may have just attracted the wrong kind of attention to itself."

TBC!