Sam's head pounded as she slowly started to wake up. She didn't remember going to bed last night. She moved to sit up, but had to bite back a gasp of pain.
Ow.
She finally cracked one eye open. One eye that caught her dad walking in the dark, quiet room. His attention fixed on Mom. "I came as soon as I heard. How is she?"
Mom stood, her hands going straight to Dad's chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "The neighborhood kids said it was an accident. They were playing space shuttle or something like that, and since she was the mission commander, and they had to make repairs... Oh, God, Jacob. When she was lying there on the ground..."
Sam's mother drew in a shuddering breath. Then, pressed her hands together as if she was praying.
Dad kissed her temple. "Hey, hey, she's safe. She's going to be okay."
She bit her bottom lip as she bobbed her head rapidly. "Yeah. That's what the doctor—"
"Mom?" Sam finally managed to force both eyes open. Finally got enough of a presence of mind to be able to speak that one word.
Mom turned toward her, letting her fear fade instantly. "Samantha?"
"Sammy?" Dad was only a step behind Mom as they walked to the bed, Dad's hand still clutching Mom's arm.
Sam tried to muster a smile even though her whole body ached. "How's the rest of my crew?"
Dad couldn't help but return her smile, even though Mom frowned. "When we get home, we're having a serious chat about that treehouse and what acrobatics you're allowed to do up there, young lady. And until you're an actual astronaut, you're not allowed to make repairs on a space shuttle... Real or imagined."
Sam didn't care how badly she hurt. She tried to sit up. "But Mom—"
"I mean it, young lady, if you want to live to make it to space, you need to be more careful."
Tears stung Sam's eyes. "I thought I was supposed to be your brave girl. How am I supposed to show that I'm brave if I don't take risks?"
Before Mom could answer, Dad's grip seemed to tighten on her arm. "Sharon, I think you've made your point. Maybe ease up a bit."
She turned a look to him that almost seemed to express a sense of betrayal. "Jacob, a word?" Her mother's blue eyes grew steely. "Outside."
Dad hung his head, and Sam reached out for her mom. "Mom, please—"
Sam groaned and pressed a hand to her side as a sharp pain cut through her thoughts. Effectively forced her back onto the bed.
"Sammy?"
Mom's eyes grew concerned again and pressed Sam's hair back from her face. "That's probably the bruised rib."
Dad's eyes bulged. "Bruised rib?"
The pain seemed to take all of Sam's focus, but Mom's blue eyes caught hers. "Samantha, listen to me. Dad's going to get the doctor, okay? You and I are just going to breathe. Sweetheart, can you do that for me?"
Dad hurried out of the hospital room, flagging down one of the nurses or doctors outside.
Sam tried to breathe, but the pressure in her chest and the stitch in her side made it hard to try.
Mom's smile was sad as she brushed the remnants of Sam's braid out of her face. "You are very brave, Samantha. Maybe even fearless, which isn't always a good thing. But that's a problem for another day. Just breathe, baby, okay? Just inhale. Then, exhale."
"Hurts..."
Mom had tears shining in her eyes. "I know, Sammy, just try to relax for me, okay? Remember that song I used to sing you when you were a kid."
Sam's brain felt fuzzy. "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star?"
Mom's hand brushed her cheek again as she sang the nursery rhyme under her breath.
Sam's fear melted away as she closed her eyes. The pain eased as Sam breathed in. Then, out. "I'm okay now, Mom."
Mom kissed her forehead. "I know you are, Sammy."
"You don't have to be worried about me anymore, Mom."
Mom's smile was sad. "I'm never not going to worry about you, Sam. You're my baby."
Sam's instinct was to fight against the words, but Mom raised her finger. "I know you don't like it when I call you that, and I'll try to respect that, but—"
Sam frowned at her mother. "But?"
"But someday, you're going to be a mother, Samantha, and you're going to know exactly what I mean. There's not a moment when I don't think about you. Not a moment when I don't worry about you."
Sam grew quiet. She was only nine, but she could tell there was something in her mother's expression that was bigger than this accident. "You don't want me to go to space, do you?"
Her mom hesitated as the doctor came in with her dad.
She answered his questions about her pain. Got some sort of pain medication that made her body grow warm and heavy.
Mom sat on the bed beside her and stroked her hair back as the doctor left. As dad said thank you. "Sam, I want you to be just who you are. Not who I want you to be. Not who Dad wants you to be. If that means you go to space, then I'll admit that I'm going to worry about you. But I'll also be proud of you. You could never make me anything less than proud of you, my brave girl."
The words twisted and shifted in her brain as she went to sleep. For a minute, she could almost see herself in a ship. Studying interesting stars and things. Just like she'd always wanted to.
She could almost see a man with a crooked grin and gray hair that almost stuck straight up as he waved down the corridor. "Come on, Carter. Chow time. I think it's meatloaf today."
Except... He was walking on the ground like he was on earth. In a ship. Not floating in space like they would in a shuttle.
Her head pounded. She must have hit her head harder than she thought.
You're very brave, Samantha. Maybe even fearless...
She drifted back to sleep, a smile on her lips. At least in her dreams, she'd gotten a chance to be Mission Commander Samantha Carter. And she'd saved her crew. Maybe that scared her mom, but for Sam, it would always be worth it.
Inspiration - Based loosely on a couple ideas we saw in Children of the Gods and Continuum:
"Mitchell, I don't know what you're doing in the Arctic with a dead astronaut, but I am going to need some answers." -Colonel Jack O'Neill, Stargate: Continuum
"It's common knowledge that four years ago a computer failure forced the space shuttle Intrepid's main engines to shut down before it could reach a safe orbit or a secondary landing site. When the autopilot also failed, Mission Commander Samantha Carter stayed behind to fly it, while her crew bailed out of the escape hatch. The orbiter went down over the Atlantic, and her body was never recovered." - Air Force Interrogator, Stargate: Continuum
Carter: Don't worry, major, I played with dolls when I was a kid.
Kawalsky: Oh, GI: Joe?
Carter: No. Major Matt Mason.
Kawalsky: Oh... Who?
Ferretti: Major Matt Mason, astronaut doll. Did you have that cool little backpack that made him fly?
-Carter and Kawalsky, 1x1Children of the Gods
