Emma sat down at the laboratory bench and looked over the spare parts scattered on the table. She had seen Sam off in the gate room, then went to the lab like she had promised her.
She picked up a spare computer chip and some smaller metal pieces. She picked up the screwdriver and began to work.
Emma hardly noticed the time had passed until she heard the lab door open. "What're you working on?" She jumped and saw Colonel O'Neill standing in the doorway.
"I…built something," she stammered out.
"What'd you build?" He walked closer to her and saw her eyes grow wide. "I won't hurt you, you know." She nodded her head slowly, looking down. "I know those guards were men, but no one will hurt you here. Do you understand that?"
She nodded and held up the small machine she had built. "You made this," he asked, taking it from her.
She nodded, watching as he examined it. "Flutter, fly," she commanded. O'Neill jumped as the small bug moved its wings and lifted off from his hand. "Come to me." She held her hand out as the small bug turned and flew across the lab to land in the palm of her hand.
"Nice," he said, crossing his arms.
"Thanks," Emma said, setting the tiny mechanical bug on the table. "Where's Sam?"
"She'll be here in a few. She was talking to the admiral about uses for the naquadah we brought back," O'Neill said.
"So, you managed to get it," Emma said.
"Yeah," O'Neill said, sitting down on the lab stool. "So, what'd you do today?"
"I built Flutter," Emma replied.
"No wonder you and Carter get along so well," O'Neill muttered under his breath.
"What was that, sir?" Emma had a broad grin as she looked up at Sam.
"Hey Carter, we were just wondering where you were," O'Neill said, standing up.
"Sorry. I got caught up with the admiral," Carter said.
"It's okay," Emma said, hopping off the stool she had been sitting on. "I was just showing the colonel what I made."
"What'd you make," Carter asked.
"Flutter, fly to Sam." The bug lifted off the table and flew to Sam. "Hold your hand out," Emma said with a smile. Sam held her hand out and the small bug landed in her hand.
"Emma, this is amazing. How did you program it to your voice? And it's all mechanical. Sir, you should really look at this," Carter said. Emma stifled a laugh as O'Neill rolled his eyes.
"Are you ready to go," Sam asked, setting Flutter back on the table.
"Yeah. Can we get something to eat? I'm starving," Emma said.
"Sure," Sam said, "Sir, would you like to join us?"
"Sure," O'Neill said, "Meet you at O'Malley's?"
"Sounds good to me," Carter said. "Let's go."
They arrived at the crowded restaurant and Carter lead the way in. They sat down at a table and Emma was able to order something with Sam's help. "So Emma, will you be starting school soon," O'Neill asked.
"School," she asked, cocking her head.
"It's where children go to learn," Sam explained, "You'll probably go to the same school as Cassie."
"Oh," Emma said, "What do you do at…school?"
"Well, there's subjects like math, english, science…and there's other things to do to," Sam explained.
"And there'll be others my age there?"
"Yeah," O'Neill said, "Trust me…school is loads of fun."
"Why do I sense that you're lying," Emma asked. Carter hid a laugh as O'Neill tried to explain himself.
After dinner, O'Neill walked Emma and Carter out to her car. "What're you two going to do this weekend," he asked, shutting the door after Emma had climbed in.
"Probably get her some clothes and redecorate her room," Sam said, "I may be late on Monday. I want to get her registered for classes."
"Okay," he said, "Call me if you need help painting or something."
"Thank you sir," she said, "Have a good weekend."
"You too," he said, shutting the door as she climbed in the car. He patted the hood of the car and watched as she drove off with Emma.
"Are you sure this is how it fits," Emma asked, tugging the jeans into place. They were shopping in Old Navy for clothes that fit her better.
"Yeah," Sam said, pushing the door to the dressing room open. "They look good. They're just tighter than what you're used to." The jeans weren't tight on the girl; they finally fit her.
"Okay," Emma said, lifting her hair out of the collar of her shirt, "If you say so. Let me finish trying these other things on, then we can go."
"Okay," Sam said, shutting the door.
She waited until Emma walked back out, carrying pants, shirts, a few sweaters for when it got colder and a variety of other clothing. "Is it alright if I wear some of the new clothes out of here," she asked, chewing her lip.
"Yeah," Sam said, "Go put on what you want, then give me the tags." Emma nodded with a grin and pulled out a pair of camel colored corduroys, and a white graphic t-shirt. She snapped the tags off and handed them to Sam before running to get changed.
Emma joined her at the check-out, then they went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick out things for Emma's room. She chose purple and silver for her room colors. She picked out a light violet colored comforter with silver flowers and darker purple sheets. They bought new paint for her bedroom and other things she would need.
When they arrived home, it was too late to start painting, so they played chess on the kitchen table.
"C'me on sleepyhead. We need to do your room today." Emma opened her eyes sleepily and saw Sam standing over her, wearing an old t-shirt and jeans with holes.
"Yeah,yeah," Emma said, "Don't get your pants in a wad."
"You've been hanging around the colonel too much," Sam said, "He'll be here in a few minutes to help."
"Jack's coming over," she asked, perking up.
"Yeah. You better be dressed by the time he gets here," Sam said. Emma grinned and threw the covers back before heading to the bedroom.
Sam heard the front doorbell ring from the kitchen, but before she could get it, she heard the sound of Emma running down the stairs. "I'll get it," she shouted.
"Check who it is first," Sam called out, but before she heard it, Emma had opened the door.
"Hey Jack," Emma said, throwing her arms around him.
"Hey kiddo," he said, "Carter said we were going to do some painting today."
"Yeah. My room," Emma said, "She's in the kitchen, making breakfast." She turned around and lead the colonel to the kitchen. She wore a pair of old scrub pants that he assumed came from the infirmary and a white t-shirt slightly too big for her. Her hair fell in braids and covered by an old bandana.
"Good morning, Carter," O'Neill said, "What's for breakfast?"
"How do you like your eggs," she answered.
"Scrambled, of course," he replied. He sat down across from Emma, who was eating her eggs slowly.
"What's wrong," Sam asked, setting the colonel's plate on the table. "Do you not like eggs?"
"I don't think so," Emma said, wrinkling her nose. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Sam said, "Let's try some cereal." She took the plate and scrapped the rest of eggs onto her own plate, then poured some Raisin Bran into a bowl, along with some milk.
"Raisin Bran," the colonel asked, "C'me on, Carter. Don't you keep some good cereal around here?"
"This tastes fine to me," Emma said between mouthfuls.
"That's only because you haven't had Fruit Loops yet," he said, "I'll bring some over for 'ya."
"Sir, we're supposed to building her strength," Carter said, sitting down at the table.
"A little sugar never killed anyone," he replied. Carter rolled her eyes while Emma looked on in amusement.
After breakfast, all of the furniture was cleared out of Emma's room and plastic was spread across the floor. The edges were covered with blue tape, then the paint, a pale violet color was poured into the trays.
"Just stroke along the wall like this," O'Neill explained to Emma, who had been assigned the area beneath her window, while he and Carter took to the walls. "Keep it nice and even." Sam watched with a smile as he helped Emma paint even strokes along the wall. It was difficult with the thick cast on her hand, but she managed. He then took one of the ladders and began to paint the walls.
They worked steadily until lunch, when Sam ran downstairs to make sandwiches. They ate lunch in the middle of the room, while Jack showed Emma a hand slapping game. Afterwards, they went back to painting the room.
"When can I hang my stars," Emma asked, looking up at Sam.
"Not until the paint dries," Sam replied, "Tonight, you'll sleep in my bedroom with me while it dries."
"Okay," Emma said with a shrug.
They finished painting the room around six and while Emma and Sam cleaned up, O'Neill went out to grab dinner. He returned a few minutes later with hamburgers for everyone. "What'd 'ya say about watching a movie after dinner," O'Neill asked as they began to eat.
"What's a movie," Emma asked.
"For Christ's sake, haven't you taught this girl anything yet," he asked. "It's something you'll like. Trust me." Before Sam had a chance to say no, O'Neill was already telling Emma about various movies.
They settled down on the couch, with Emma sitting next to Sam and O'Neill relaxed in one of the chairs. They watched the season series of The Simpsons, which O'Neill had brought with him. Although Emma didn't get most of the humor, she was fascinated by the characters.
Halfway through the third episode, Carter looked down and saw Emma sound asleep, her head resting on her shoulder. "You need help with her," O'Neill asked as he looked over to see the girl sound asleep.
"Sure," Carter said. He stood up and took Emma in his arms. He carried her upstairs to Carter's bedroom. Sam pulled back the covers and stood back as he laid her down and Sam covered her with the covers.
"Thanks for helping today, sir," Carter said as she walked him back downstairs.
"It was fun," he said with a shrug, "She's a good kid."
"Yeah, she is," Sam said, "You and her seem to get along a lot better."
"Yeah, well we have a little talk," O'Neill said.
"Thank you, sir," Carter said, yawning. "I guess I'll see you in the morning. Don't forget that I'll be late."
"Understood," he said, "Night, Carter." She watched as he got into his truck, then closed the door.
Sam drove to the school that Cassie attended on Monday morning and parked. She had left Emma at home, instructing the girl to stay out of trouble. Sam wanted to give the girl more time to adjust to life on Earth and as such, the girl wouldn't be starting until Wednesday.
She registered Emma for classes, using the Social Security number and information she had been given by the admiral. Once Emma was registered, she set off for work.