A/N: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! A lot more will be answered in this chapter, so just hang on.
After hearing the full story of the Stargate, Sandra was dumbfounded. Sue was just plain angry. "I can't believe you've known about this for eight years and you never told us, Sam! Dad's been living off world for six years and you never told us!"
Sam was at a loss at what to say or do. It happened to be Jack who responded to Sue's outburst. "Actually, she's known about it for eleven years."
His old 2IC glared at him before turning her attention back to her sisters, "I really did want to tell you guys, but … look at how you're reacting now! The Stargate is the single most important project in the world. Only about twenty people who don't work at the SGC know about its existence."
"Who else knows?" Sue demanded, rising to her feet to pace the ship's bridge. "Huh! I'm guessing Pete knows, doesn't he?"
"Peter Shanahan received a near fatal wound in his attempt to determine the true nature of the Stargate," Teal'c said wisely.
Understanding dawned on Sandra, "That's why he had the gun wound when you guys met us for dinner a couple months ago."
Sam nodded, "He followed me when I was going on a stakeout and nearly botched the whole mission."
Sue glared at Sam, "Was that before or after he ran the background check on you?"
Sam looked down at her hands, "After."
"And you're still with this man, why? Because Mark introduced the two of you? Come on, Sam, even I'm not that desperate." Sue's words stung Sam in more ways than one. She was in pain – partly because it was true.
Part of Sam wanted her sister to feel the same pain. With cold determination in her eyes, Sam locked eyes with Sue, "Apparently, Susanna, you are. Or did my boss just imagine seeing you in your old spot?"
Somewhere during the history of the Stargate, Thor had disappeared to take care of the rest of the ship; now, the three men occupying the bridge with the Carter sisters wished they could do the same.
Sue's eyes were wide with poorly contained fury, "At least I deal with loss, Samantha. Last time I checked you're just like Dad, bottling it all up until you explode."
"Spreading your legs for every guy that gives you a smile is not dealing," Sam said, her voice deathly low.
Sandra watched her sisters argue, trying to find a way to break them apart without being subject to their near lethal word blows. "Sammie, Susie, come on you two. Do you really want to rehash all of this with an audience?"
At the mention of her team, Sam turned beet red and made her way over to one of the consoles to hide her embarrassment. Daniel wouldn't understand – and he'd want to talk about it; General O'Neill would act like nothing was wrong – like he always did whenever Sam's façade of perfection slipped; Teal'c … might actually understand. And he wouldn't try to force Sam to talk about it before she was ready. There were days when Teal'c was the only one Sam could stand to be around just for this quality.
Sue, on the other hand, chose to stalk out of the bridge into the unknown compartments of the ship.
Jack watched her go before turning to Daniel, "Danny. Make sure she doesn't get lost or anything, okay?"
"Sure, Jack," Daniel said before running off after Sue before she found a room on the ship she shouldn't look in.
Sandra sighed as she sat down again against one of the walls of the bridge some distance away from Sam. The blonde haired woman looked down at her wedding ring and smiled slightly, remembering when her husband asked her to marry him. It seemed like so long ago, but he was the center of her life – he had grounded her life in so many ways.
A few minutes later she heard Jack O'Neill slide down to sit beside her. "So…" he said, not sure how to start the conversation with his subordinate's sister.
"So?" Sandra mimicked. "I'm sure there are lots of things you're just dying to know, Jack. Just ask me."
Jack shrugged, "Okay … What was that fight earlier really about?"
She shook her head, "It's really not my place to tell you that." Her head turned and her clear blue eyes found his, "But I will tell you that it goes a lot deeper than you could ever imagine. It started when our mom died."
He nodded, accepting that answer for the time being, "I can live with that. So, what do you and Sue do for a living?"
Sandra smirked, "I teach a self defense class at the Air Force Academy that teaches female cadets ways to overpower a man who has more training than she does."
Jack raised his eyebrows, "I'll keep that in mind. And Sue?"
"She works for the Denver field division of the DEA," Sandra said with a sigh, her head rolling back around to look out the 'window'.
"Drug Enforcement Administration? Wow, that must be pretty intense."
"Yeah. All though apparently not as intense as what Sam's been doing." There was a bit of irony and contempt in Sandra's voice that made Jack wonder about her true feelings on the matter.
"You seem to be taking all this pretty well."
"All what?"
"The Stargate, aliens – that stuff."
"Why shouldn't I? Sam doesn't joke around about her work – and it kinda helps that we'd just met an alien right before you explained it to us."
"True." They were silent for a few minutes before Jack spoke again, "So, what's your husband do?"
Sandra smirked again, "I was wondering when you'd be getting back to him. Lt. Colonel Ethan Nelson, United States Marine Corps and currently stationed at Cheyenne Mountain." Her grinning face found Jack's astonished one, "He's the other reason I wasn't shocked to discover what my baby sister does for a living."
"You're husband's the CO of an SG-5?"
A/N: Truthfully, how many of you expected THAT to happen?
