Hello, People! I'm writing from Southern Chile, Working travel and lots to do, but I couldn't help and post this before it's too long and you forget all about this one :P
Enjoy!
M.
PS: Merry Christmas (in case I don't get to finish the next one before the holidays!)
On the previous chapter
"You look very young, but your eyes tell that you are wise beyond your years," Teal'c affirmed.
"Your eyes show the same to me." Teal'c raised his eyebrow, and Helen smiled. "I consider myself an observant person. My years in Earth have taught me considerably about how people, humans, and not necessarily humans alike."
"What are you implying Doctor Magnus?" he asked stoically.
"I'm not implying anything, Teal'c, I'm merely stating that you are not a human being." Teal'c eyebrow rose again. "Please, don't think of this as an attack of sorts, we all have our secrets," she added with a knowing smile.
Chapter VIII.
March 20th, 2004.
"I see," Teal'c commented, making her smile.
"Are you agreeing with me then?" She inquired softly.
"I must agree with you, Doctor Magnus. It's the truth that we all have our secrets."
"And some of us have the remarkable ability to keep them quiet," she smirked again.
"Indeed," silence fell for a few minutes, each busy with their thoughts when something occurred to her. She lowered her cup and turning towards Teal'c, she placed a hand over his arm softly, the weight and warmth of Helen's hand, gaining his attention.
"Teal'c," she started, taking her hand away again. "I must ask you to please that you do not react when Will and Henry throw an unusual look towards your Colonel. It's, let's call it, healthy jealousy," he bowed in agreement, "Oh, and if Ashley joins us this morning, her warning glare will be a real one."
"More secrets?" He questioned her comments stoically.
"What else?" She answered, raising her teacup in a toast.
They continued their breakfast quietly for a while until they heard a muffled 'good morning,' followed by the sounds of a chair pulled back and forward.
"Good Morning, Ashley," Helen smiled amusedly at the grumpiness of her daughter.
Ashley was her father's child, equally fond of sleeping in; but also, Magnus enough to wake up early against all the odds. Helen heard a couple of footsteps she didn't recognize as from her team; she sat straighter as if by doing so, she would know them better. But it wasn't until Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were close enough to her hearing range that she managed to put steps and names together.
"Good morning," both said as they entered, their demeanor as opposed as they could be. As Sam grinned, Jack kept a grim expression.
Teal'c saw Jack scanning the room before he walked straight towards the unoccupied end of the table. He raised an eyebrow and bowed slightly to Helen, who nodded in return. The exchange between alien and abnormal lost to the three newcomers.
She heard then Will's softer steps paired with Henry heavier ones; joined the table directing deadly glares towards the foreign crew until they found themselves on the other end of Helen's warning glare and added a quick "morning."
Then the silence became almost deftly only with the sounds of breathing and cutlery, and Helen was grateful it hadn't reached the uncomfortable level. She had decided to spend extra time in that room, instead of excusing herself after having finished her tea as she would typically do. She assessed the exchanges or lack of thereof quietly. And could have grinned when as if they had practiced it, all of them stopped eating and turned their faces towards the direction of the door as voices came closer to them.
"She can't stop herself from being loud, can't she?" Henry whined, and Magnus smiled again.
"I'm sorry to be late," Daniel smiled worriedly, "I got lost in the corridors and couldn't get myself here. Until I found Kate and she was kind enough to get me here."
"She wasn't nice, she was hungry," Henry pointed, and Kate blushed. If the others weren't present, Helen was pretty sure she would have stuck her tongue out. "Anyhow, that's why we gave you a map," he finished.
"Henry, manners," Helen scolded him making him flinch and apologize with a quick 'Sorry.' "Good Morning Doctor Jackson. People tend to get lost. It's a big house; we need plenty of space." She smiled at him, making him blush and consequently, Will glared at him. Kate plopped herself in her seat, loud enough to take the attention back to herself to which she just shrugged.
"The gang is complete!" Jack muttered to himself after that while he surveyed the room. He counted heads again and figured out the other team was missing the one they called Tesla. The one Daniel knew and talked with, the one who supposedly spoke the same language than the Goa'ulds and looked like the real Tesla who died at least 50 something years earlier.
Then, he looked at the other end of the table; the blonde girl was eating almost as much as Teal'c would on any regular day and he remembered her asking about her mother when they were still down there, before the unexpected attack. When SG-1 followed his line of sight, they swallowed hard. They all saw he was about to ask something to her since they all knew how much he cared about young people and kids.
"Hey, kid!" He called Ashley and got no answer from her. Kate noticed the older adult trying to establish some conversation with the younger Magnus.
"Hey, Ash! The guy is talking to you," Kate nodded towards O'Neill. Ashley's eyes widened, and she swallowed what she was eating.
"Oh, sorry, Colonel O'Neill, right?" she asked, and he nodded, "I suppose I'm not used to be called kid anymore." She shrugged, he snorted.
"You got to be 17? 18? You are a kid," Ashley looked at him, amused.
"Yeah, sure," she answered and got a disapproving look from Helen.
"I'm just curious; I thought I heard you ask about your mom when we were down there, is she joining us late or something?" Ashley shook her head no, "did you leave her behind?"
"Oh no, the first rule of hunting: nothing gets left behind… well, no one," Henry said. Jack liked that rule.
"Then?"
"Then what?" Ashley replied.
"Where is she? Is she okay?"
"Well, taking away the fact that you spoke to her already, yeah, she is safe. But since your question was is she 'okay,' I need to add the way she's sitting to the mix. Well, I'll say she is a bit worse for wear and with the chance of a mild concussion, and maybe a few cracked or bruised ribs. So, I'll go with she is 'good' but 'not quite okay,'" she finished with a grin, making Helen roll her eyes.
"I've spoken to her?" Jack and the rest of his team showed signs of being very confused. The Sanctuary team exchanged amused looks.
"Well, yes, you have done so, Colonel," Helen interrupted. "May I ask why do you have a sudden interest in Ashley's mother?" she asked, taking a sip of her new cup of tea.
"Well, for one," Jack started lowering his spoon at the table. "She is way too young to be chasing whatever that thing was; she should be at school. Two, which kind of mother leaves her kid playing with those types of weapons! And three, I'll come back with that one later," everyone went silent.
The members of SG-1 exchanged a knowing look; they knew how and why kids and guns had always been a sensible spot for Jack. At the same time, the members of the Sanctuary team exchanged a glance, a mix of sadness and understanding, they had lost not only many friends over the years, but they had also lost Ashley.
Even if losing her was a dark point in all of their mixed-up family history, they all knew that Ashley's disappearance was far more complicated than 'just holding a gun,' and they all knew she was far more dangerous on the field if she wasn't holding them.
Confusing all of them at the same time, Helen smiled widely.
"I like you, Colonel O'Neill," she told him. "You are an overprotecting military hero," she finished. Jack groaned
"Oh! For crying out loud! I only want to meet the damn mother!" Jack huffed. Ashley frowned.
"Haven't I just told you that you have?" she asked out loud. Helen raised her hand to stop any other comments.
"Well, Colonel O'Neill, as Ashley's mother, I believe I have the right to reply to your accusations." Jack snorted and was about to interrupt her, but she didn't give him a chance. "For your first point, I must confess Ashley's officially an adult. I can't forbid her to do what she wants any longer. It's sweet of you to care about her education, and I believe I've managed to give her the best one she could have. If you need more information on it, I can confirm to you she finished school at 15 and got her Ph.D. in Social Sciences at 18, from Oxford, if name matters to you. She also speaks four languages as native and two others on an advanced level, and at least ten different dialects on a basic to intermediate level. And she plays a few instruments of her preference; I can't ask her to keep studying if she doesn't want to. Even if I believe she can go back to it if she feels ready to do so." Ashley smiled thankfully to the last part. SG1, Will, and Kate looked astonished.
"On your second point, I'm a different type of mother, I suppose. Ashley trains in every single martial art you can think. She's been training since age five. She has enough discipline on her to contain things you can't even start to imagine. "
"Martial arts, we agree. Guns…" He commented, she sighed.
"Oh, I wish it was as easy as you believe it is, Colonel. Not all of us have a chance to provide a perfect childhood. I haven't heard Ashley complain about the one she got. Even if for her, childhood time included learning to use a gun at a very young age. She was four when she went to her first shooting range training and got her first official gun for her fifth birthday. For 'this' kind of mother," she said, pointing to herself, "the fact that her daughter learned how to hold and use a gun was crucial to keep her alive. Hence, I provided all the tools she needed to learn how to protect herself, and it has served her well. You might not like it, but that is the set of skills she needs to coexist in her world, just like you need the expertise that you have been taught in your boot camps to exist in yours. Therefore, you have to excuse 'this mother' for being a different type of protective."
"Oh, Come on! Have you gotten a look at your house? She probably should be painting and be famous for over drinking and get a bodyguard around, and she would be safe!"
"Oh, yes. Ashley could, but she chose not. She is free to do anything she sets her mind into, for now, she had chosen this. And I'm very proud of her and of her decision to stay and take part in the family business," Helen finished leaving Jack without anything to say.
"As my mom pointed, I need the weapons, Colonel O'Neill, to control the creatures we work with and I'm excellent at it; if you don't believe me, well, I don't know. Care to arm wrestle, maybe?" Ashley said to O'Neill with a smile, which made him remember of the first woman who told him that.
"Wait! I do have a question here," Will interrupted. "You are a Ph.D.?" Ashley just shrugged it off, and Helen nodded, "So, is there a 'Secrets 101' dictated for Magnus women or something?" he asked, and both Magnus laughed.
"How old are you again?" Sam asked in curiosity.
"I'm turning 25 in December." Her records said she was turning 27 at the end of the year. But her mom had explained that she didn't exist for almost three years, and her body remained at the same age she had when she was gone.
"I can't believe that it cannot be possible," Daniel commented frowning. "If you have 25. You had her at what? 10?" Sanctuary team laughed hard.
"That's very flattering; I think you are the first to lower the age difference that much."
"Good morning! I'm here to cheer up the things. May I ask who is flattering you again, Helen?" Tesla sauntered, followed by Janet
"Tesla, how old was Dr. Magnus when she had Ashley?" Daniel asked, not noticing Janet.
"127," He said without thinking, then realizing his 'mistake.' He laughed, "Actually, I wasn't around when Ashley was born, I wouldn't know. James knew for sure, but, he passed away". Sanctuary members exchanged glances at each other. Helen looked at the woman by the door and rose to meet her. "Besides, even if I knew, Helen would kill me if I reveal her age," he grinned charmingly.
"You must be Dr. Janet Frasier; it is a pleasure to finally meet the person who was trying her best to find me," Janet raised an eyebrow. "I believe you were looking around for a Dr. Magnus?" Janet cheeks went pink and nodded. "Well, I'm Dr. Helen Magnus"
"Then, it is a pleasure to meet you too. I guess you have a huge family legacy," Ashley and Will snorted.
"Oh, SHE has a tremendous legacy," Ashley smirked. "If you know what I mean."
"Janet! I'm so glad you made it. We weren't sure you'd be coming," Sam said.
"I didn't know I was coming to meet you either, but let's talk about that later," she said with a strange smile. She looked to the other people at the table.
"I'm Will Zimmerman; this is Henry Foss."
"Kate Freelander and…"
"I'm Ashley Magnus. You can call me Ash." She smiled brightly at the petite woman. Then turned around, "Mom, I got a meeting to supervise the purchase of new weaponry from, eh, for, New York and Virginia Sanctuaries. I leave in half an hour."
"Be careful; will you?"
"Always."
"Sanctuary? Which kind of Sanctuary is this anyhow? A place for those lizard creatures?" Daniel started; his curiosity was getting the best of him.
"The Sanctuary is for all," Will explained.
"For all? May I ask, who is all?"
"Or what is all?" All Sanctuary team replied at once, and then they all busted in a laugh, making Helen roll her eyes at the blatant mockery for what she was subject with such simple comment.
"Ah, Helen's Sanctuaries are here for all the lovely creatures who live on Earth, or under," Nikola explained using a sarcastic tone when saying lovely.
"Bloody Hell!" Helen swore to herself when she checked her tablet, "please forgive my language. I have just realized I have forgotten a network meeting," she added as an explanation.
"Want to reschedule it?" Will jumped in checking his tablet.
"I can't; I did it twice this week." She sighed, "Well, you are off the hook from the morning team meeting. I shall cross my fingers with the hope you all know what you must do today. I do expect your reports sometime before dinner. I hope you enjoy our breakfast, and Doctor Frasier, please join them. Colonel, Major, Doctors, Teal'c, please make yourselves at home, regretfully I have a couple of business meetings to attend. Will? Can I leave them in your hands?"
"Yes, go…"
"Walk with me, William. Nikola, you too." They started to walk away from the dining room.
"What is it, Helen?"
"I believe Doctor Frasier will want to check up I didn't do anything strange to her patients, show her the infirmary. Make sure they don't catch a real glance to the outside." Will nodded. "Also, let them be but keep them checked. I don't want them finding anything out of the ordinary. If we can let them go without disclosing the reality," she trailed.
"Will do." He said, noticing he wasn't needed any longer. He turned around and walked back towards the dining room.
"Oh! And Will?" He stopped, and she walked towards him, "Tell Henry to give them radios, they need to be able to talk with each other."
"Are we giving them radio privacy?"
"What do you think?"
"It will make them feel safer, even if it leaves us somewhat vulnerable. However, if we don't and they find out, we will lose all their trust."
"I presume you already know the answer," she winked at him, before placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "Go now. And yes, I'm alright. Oh, and William, do find me later?"
"Sure," he told loud enough for her to hear, even if she was now walking faster with Nikola hot on her heels.
"What's wrong, Helen?" he asked when she turned around for the fifth time, and he followed her movement, and again there was no one on their backs. She pointed to the conference room, and they both entered.
"Well, nothing is wrong, per se."
"Then, why am I here? Have you finally chosen to kick that boy and give me another chance?" He wriggled his eyebrows; she raised her eyebrow unamused.
"I brought you here because I need you to keep your eyes open. I believe they will try to find out the truth about what we do, and I don't want to scare them. Not yet, at least."
"Are you seriously saying you made me walk all the way here just to tell me you want me to babysit them?" She turned around, chewing her lower lip. His eyes widened. "Oh, there's something more, and I will like this, hmmm before you tell me, I have a question."
"By all means, go ahead," she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Dr. Concubine knows about whatever you are going to tell me?"
"Not yet," she answered, and he couldn't avoid the smirk, "I want to be sure, before talking to him."
"Oh, hell! Your relationship with him is serious…" he huffed, "Well, I guess I must wait until he dies. What're another 25-40 years when you are immortal?" He added dramatically, "Don't look at me that way, it is the truth. But we digress, let's get back in business. What is it?"
"Major Carter…"
"Your look alike."
"Her DNA has four strands."
"Oh! Dear Lord. You are saying that she is?" Nikola trailed, unable to utter those words.
"Well, I'm not sure. Major Carter age and DNA points that she is. And she is smart, brilliant I'll dare say. On the other hand, she heals at almost the same rate than I do. I'm willing to bet that, if we manage to obtain her medical file, she will have many broken bones recorded and not a single one looking at a fixed bone if we scan her."
"Then, you want me to stick around her, to see if she knows or something?"
"No, I just want you to keep her entertained because otherwise, she will access the sanctuary network by herself, and."
"I know as well as you what learning without help can do to a person," he finished before she could.
"Yes, now go." she downloaded the monitors and smiled, "Good Morning all, sorry for the late…"
At the same time
Will guided them to the infirmary, and always the observing one; he quickly noted they wanted to talk in private. He showed to Janet where everything was and left.
"Ok, spill it out," Sam said, "What are you doing here, and how did you get here?"
"Well, I got a call yesterday."
June 19th, 2004
Colorado Springs
Janet's POV
It is a warm day in Colorado Springs, Cassie and I are having a nice dinner, that was interrupted by the phone.
"Let it go to the answering machine," I say, and she gives me those puppy eyes. At this point, she knows it can only be Sam to let us know they were back and okay. I see her face change to a sad look, and then she handles the tube to me.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Frasier, It's General Hammond, "I can't help but worry, the General never calls unless there's an emergency.
"General, Sir? Did anything happen? Do you need me at the SGC?"
"No, Dr.," he sighs. "Doctor Frasier... Janet, I got a call from the President. Someone is going to pick you up in half an hour. I already told Cassie I'm on my way to get her. No worries she will be in good hands at my home."
"Sorry, Sir … I don't understand; why would the President want me for?" I ask frowning.
"There's not much for me to say, Janet. As I told you, I got a call from the President himself, and he passed orders for you to be ready in half an hour to be picked up. He also announced that you are going to be out for two or three days, week tops." I clench my jaw.
"Cassie will be with you, but what about SG1, sir?" They had a mission on Earth; you would expect them to avoid trouble at least on Earth. Then again, I am thinking about SG1
"I got a call from Teal'c, all I know is that all others resulted injured and they are now recovering. He said that Dr. treating them mentioned they would be free to go as soon as they are healthy. And he confirmed he would be calling again. As for you, I don't know where are you going or who is going to take you. Sorry, Janet. I have to go; I'll be at your home to pick Cassie in 20."
"Ok, see you then," I paced, the whole conversation was unusual, but there was nothing I could do about it. If those were orders, I had to take them.
Half an hour later, Cassie, the General and I jumped slightly at the sound of the doorbell. I open the door to find a young woman dressed in a dark suit.
"Dr. Janet Frasier?" I nod. "I'm Linda, I'll be driving you to the airport, and I'll be your stewardess when on board. Once we land, you will have someone waiting for you. Can we go now?"
March 20th, 2004
Sanctuary Infirmary
"Twenty minutes later, I was at the airport, and when the plane arrived, Nikola was there to welcome me. He told me you were all in decent shape, but that I was requested so I could check for myself."
"That's strange; why would the President call Hammond to get you here?"
"Maybe she called him?" Daniel provided. They exchanged glances.
"Nah..." Then Janet proceeded with her medical examinations, getting to the same conclusion for Jack and Daniel and just a bandage check to Sam.
Two hours later
Helen's POV
"Well?" I say as soon as I find Nikola.
"I caught her playing around with the pad; she was ten or fifteen minutes away from going into the network. She is amazing! Can we keep her?" he grins.
"For the looks, they exchanged this morning, probably no. No matter how much I'll wish the same, even if she is not 'her'..." I sigh, he understands why I'm trying to say and nods. "I still owe her a conversation about her DNA."
"Oh, you already did the test! Can I come?" He gave me the most charming smile in his repertoire, and I answer him with a deathly glare. But as I walk away from him, I know he will find a way to be present.
I cross the building and go down to the infirmary, sometimes having such a massive structure to walk around is painful, especially when you need to talk with two people who are on opposite ends of the same building. Dr. Frasier is still at the infirmary, and Sam's on the "human side" of the library.
"Dr. Frasier, how did you find your patients? Naquadah in the bloodstream is very rare. Therefore, I tried my best."
"Oh… I," Janet stammered. "Well, your treatment was correct. May I ask how did you know about the Naquadah?"
"Well, it is remarkably easy," I grin. "You'll see, Nikola genius is as big as the account that I get after refilling my wine cellar every week. Between Henry and him I get new inventions which come quite handy, like the molecular analysis that starts whenever someone enters the building. As you may imagine, the scan raised an alert on your friend."
"I see."
"It was a big surprise to find that the alert was because Major Carter had a rare heavy metal found in ancient writings, and is supposed extinct on Earth. It will be very illuminating to know how she got it. As far as our expertise with this metal goes; it only gets into the blood, if you get infected by a parasite. We found traces of a marker from this parasite in bloodstream Coronel O'Neill too." Janet opened her mouth and closed it again, there was no point in negating the words, they weren't accusations, and they weren't doubts either.
"We also know there are only two ways for this parasite to leave the body that it has infected," she started after a while. "And that's either you are dead, or your body fights it," but of course, option two would mean that O'Neill was an abnormal too, and nothing weird appeared on his scan. Apart from the Praxian traits, of course, but she wasn't going to disclose that either.
"I… I'm sorry, I can't tell you, Doctor, everything in their files is classified," she answers me, I smile at her. And I can't help but think 'let's see for how long,' but I know she is at a crossroads, wanting to know how I know all these things and not willing to give away her knowledge.
After that, I left her, thinking about calling Henry again and ask him about this team. And I know I must, primarily due to the current situation of me being dead, the Sanctuaries not existent, and all that power we used to have gone. I can only trust now that the abnormals who rule the world are still with me, and be grateful that no one had ever noticed they aren't humans.
I remember when Henry, the USA President, not my favorite HAP, came to me with his family. He was no older than two years, and I took them all under Sanctuary protection. I remember well the pain I felt when he 'betrayed me' to keep his position. Even though I know I caused it myself. I know now, his reaction was due to my visit, before the whole situation exploded, and without leaving trails for me to figure out my plan until I rejoined the timeline. But that's all water under the bridge now, and I need to clear different situations at this very moment.
"I see you like my thinking spot," I interrupt Major Carter, who is comfortably sitting with her legs crossed on a dark corner of the library. She jumped a little.
"You have a beautiful place in here," she tells me softly as if saying it aloud would make everything disappear out of thin air.
"Thank you; you should see the other half of it," I smile, and point to the other side of the sofa. Samantha nods, and I sit on the other end, not quite ready to invade her personal space. "I came to talk to you…"
"You know about my DNA," she whispers, and something in her eyes tells me that she is terrified of what I'm going to do with that knowledge. But I nod, she needs the answer as much as she needs to learn the truth.
"I know about your DNA. Although I'm still waiting for some results about your blood, they should be ready for half an hour or less. Do you mind if we move this conversation to my office?" She doubts a moment, "That way we both are sure the wall doesn't have ears attached," I add. Her eyes widen.
"Sure… lead the way."
I inhale deeply, and that was only the easy part.