Thank you so much for your patience! Putting a new book out in the world takes a lot of creative effort and energy. In other news, SWEETHEARTS OLD is officially available from Amazon. It's available in paperback and e-book form, and available on Kindle Unlimited. It's gotten nothing but five-star reviews so far, and it's probably my best original fic story so far. Hope you enjoy!

Also, there were some worries that I knew from firsthand experience what COVID-19 is like. I have had some distant acquaintances write lengthy posts about the experience on Facebook, but neither I (nor my family) have contracted it (to our knowledge). So, this is just the product of research and secondhand accounts. Thank you for the caring thoughts you've sent my direction.


Sunday, April 12, 2020

Vala pulled a linen scarf over her nose and mouth as she watched the group of traders in the town watering hole. Mitchell would have wanted to do something more direct, but this was more her speed. Besides, she didn't have the backup Mitchell usually had.

She shook off the feelings of loss which came as she contemplated how unwelcome she would be when her mission was through. And just when things were starting to get interesting with Daniel, too. . .

She downed the last of the ale in her glass before she righted her face covering and sauntered over to the group of men laughing and talking over their meals.

"Hello, boys." Vala turned on the charm as the table stopped, and every eye fixed on her.

One of the tall, burly men turned back to his stew and ale. "Look, lady, this is a private party."

"Oh, I can see that. I was just wondering if you were up for a little wager."

Half of the men's ears perked up. "Wager?"

She dropped a single computer chip on the table, and the rest of the men eyed it hungrily.

The man with his back to Vala, apparently the group's leader, didn't seem to even give the chip a second glance. "Is that supposed to impress me?"

She shrugged. "All you need to know is that there's a lot more where that came from. Your crew already can tell it's from one of the earth vessels."

"So?"

She picked up the chip and worked it through her fingers, pretending to watch the chip when she was really watching her audience. "So, that brings me back to my wager. I guess who you work for, and you guess what's on this chip. If you win, you get this chip. If I win, I get an introduction to the people you work for."

"What if you're both right?"

The leader sneered at the shrimpy man to his left. That, more than the smaller man's greed, made her sure of her plan's imminent success. After all, everyone knew that negotiations were over the moment the seller knew just how eager the buyer was.

Vala pretended to be just as disinterested as the leader had tried to appear. "There's no reason we can't both get what we want."

"What makes you think that information about the Earth vessels is relevant any more? Rumor has it, they're not going to be such big players in the galaxy now there's a virus killing them at home."

Laughter rippled through the guests at the table, like they were all in on a private joke.

A chill ran down Vala's spine. Had they been wrong? Was the COVID-19 pandemic an attempt at intergalactic biological warfare? She had to admit that though the thought was terrifying, it was brilliant. Experts on Earth suggested that it would take a year or two to gain enough of an immunity through vaccinations and exposure to really see things return to some sense of normalcy.

And that was assuming that the virus didn't mutate quickly enough to become something more like the cold and flu viruses which cycled through the population each year, rendering herd immunity relatively useless.

But how could they possibly—

Vala didn't let the smile drop from her lips as she rested a hand on one of the patron's shoulders. She even managed to set the questions running through her mind at dizzying speeds aside for a moment. "Nobody thought they could take down the system lords or the Ori, yet here we are."

The statement seemed to intrigue the man in front of her. "What makes you think that our—employers—as you call them, care anything for the information you possess?"

Vala pretended to open her mouth before she coyly shut it again. "Oh, you sneaky devil. You almost got me to invalidate our wager."

She shook her finger at him and clucked her tongue. "Uh-uh. If you want to know who I think you work for, you're going to have to play my little game."

"I presume you have a way we can both make sure we're not being played."

Vala tapped the chip against her chin. "Hm...come to think of it, I was afraid I was forgetting something."

She hadn't forgotten, but from the way the men's eyes glinted with greed, she had hooked them with her helpless female routine.

Without warning, Daniel's face appeared in her mind, and she felt a sick sense of wrongdoing twist in her belly. She'd betrayed his trust. She was flirting with other men.

She'd gone back to her old tricks. She was sure to have lost his respect.

Not now.

She'd wallow when she was through and running from the SGC or sitting in a prison cell.

For now, she had a job to do.

"How about this, boys? We write our answers on slips of paper here in the pub, which we fold and exchange. Then, we go to your ship to verify our findings?"

She flashed a dazzling smile at them all.

Their hungry faces told her all she needed to know. Her plan was working.


Jack turned on the video chat app Sam had installed on the tablet at the beginning of this quarantine. It was only a second before his wife's face filled the screen, her blond hair without its usual volume and sheen. Even her blue eyes looked dull, almost lifeless.

His heart squeezed as much in relief as in worry. Still, he forced a smile to his lips. "I have never been so glad to see you."

Though her face was tired and wan, Sam's eyes brightened at his attempt at humor. "Oh, sure you have."

He might have been able to relax at the memory if he hadn't noticed she couldn't quite look him in the eye. "Sam?"

She took a slow, deliberate breath, the plastic mask on her face reminding him that she needed the extra oxygen support. "How are you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm not the one who's been in the ICU for the last couple days. How are you?"

She shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it. He didn't blame her. What little he remembered of being sick with the Ancient plague gave him a tiny window into how she was feeling. More than that, he'd scoured the internet for statistics on this new virus. Every account he'd read mentioned the mental toll this virus was taking on its victims. Apparently, even Sam hadn't been immune to that. Perhaps she'd even been more susceptible given how many strange experiences she'd lived through. "I'm fine. Doctor says if I keep making progress, I could be home in a week."

Frankly, he'd expected her to say it would be at least two weeks before she'd be home again, and Jack couldn't wait for her to get the all-clear. They might be pros at the whole long-distance thing, but that didn't mean he didn't feel a little cheated by the time coronavirus had stolen from them. Doubly so if she was just going to ship out the moment she started getting back on her feet.

"How long does he think your at-home recovery will take?"

Sam shrugged. "From what I hear, it could be another four or six weeks. They'd likely have to launch the ship without me."

Jack tensed. "About the ship. . ."

Though Sam had been showing signs again of getting tired, her blue eyes focused in on him. "What about the ship?"

"It's fine, but Vala took it on a little joy ride."

Her brow furrowed as if she didn't believe what she was hearing. "What?"

Jack scratched his chin. "Apparently, she didn't like the plan we came up with to deal with the Lucian Alliance. Seems she might have been right, but I'm gonna deny ever saying that."

"So, the threat's been neutralized?"

He shook his head. "I mean, the one we were worried about is over and done with, but it seems that was a distraction from whatever they're actually planning."

"Oh, good." She leaned her head back against the pillows and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Carter, are you okay?"

She cracked an eye open. "Didn't I already answer that question?"

"No, I mean—there's something else going on with you."

Her chest lifted as if she'd taken a deep breath. "Let's just say I can't quite shake those fever dreams. I know it sounds cliché, but you were there. And at the same time, you weren't there."

"Okay. . ."

"My subconscious decided to play out a scenario in which Fifth didn't try to convince me to stay with him by using Pete."

Jack grimaced. "Oh. That explains things, I guess."

Her face was grave as she nodded, but she still avoided meeting his gaze. He wished he could reach for her hand, pull her close, anything to show her that this was real. That he was real.

"Doesn't help that this is what I wake up to. Away from you again."

Jack cocked his head to the side. "You don't want to go back to work?"

Another painfully long inhale.

"Maybe I'm just tired."

"Or?"

"Or maybe I'd rather spend more than six weeks at home before I'm off on another assignment."

Jack studied her for a moment. "Well, if you want me to make some calls, let me know. I hate to say it, but this would be the perfect time to make a transition."

She made an attempt at a smile, or what he thought was a smile. It was hard to tell with the mask. "I should probably wait a few days when I feel stronger before I make any big decisions."

He bobbed his head. "Get some rest. The rest of SG-1 might be otherwise occupied, but I know that Cassie and Mark were hoping to get a chance to video chat with you sometime. They were really worried about you."

There it was again, that melancholy look that made him wonder just how badly this imaginary Fifth had messed with her head.

She lay back against the pillows. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I'm getting kind of tired. We'll talk later, okay?"

"I love you."

Her eyes had already drifted closed when she responded. "I love you, too."


Daniel stared down at the gate from the window in the briefing room, his thoughts churning.

Though he knew it was silly, he couldn't help but wonder if she was safe, if she was ever planning to come back.

She had her reasons. He'd known that the moment she'd pressed the button and beamed them down to the SGC. So, why didn't she just include me in the plan?

Mitchell, Hailey, and Daniel all turned their attention to Landry's office as the door opened. "Stand down, SG-1. Your mission's been scrubbed."

Daniel sighed as he fidgeted with the mask covering his nose and mouth, accessories which were mirrored by the rest of the team who were also standing with ample space between them. "Because of COVID?"

The General set a manilla envelope on the long conference table in the center of the room. "Carolyn wants us to send a team from the Alpha Site instead. Someone who hasn't been exposed to this new virus."

It made sense. In fact, that was one of the reasons he was angry with Vala. She was planet-hopping like she didn't have a care in the world, and yet there was always the chance that she was spreading coronavirus like European settlers brought smallpox and other diseases.

They'd managed, somehow, not to make the same mistakes in their early forays into the galaxy, but that didn't mean they hadn't had some near misses.

Cameron stood. "I'm sorry, sir, but she's a member of my team."

Landry nodded. "And she is a unique member at that."

Even though his emotions aligned themselves more with Mitchell than with Landry, Daniel stifled a chuckle. That was putting it mildly.

"What I'm saying, sir, is that Jackson and I know how she thinks. Reynolds and his guys won't have that advantage."

Daniel took a step forward. "He's right."

"Which is why you'll be working with Reynolds and his team remotely. Congratulations, you've just become essential."

Daniel let his eyes drift closed, wondering why he'd hitched himself to the military when so many of their procedures seemed to rub against his instincts. "Oh good, because there's no way that's going to end badly."

Landry raised one of his bushy eyebrows in Daniel's direction, but the archaeologist could hardly manage a single regret.

Just as long as they didn't bring Vala back in handcuffs.