Chapter Fifteen - Nicole

"We're ready to go." Trevor leaned in close as if to whisper something more intimate in Nicole's ear. Most likely, he wanted any onlookers to think it was a sweet nothing so they wouldn't follow when Nicole, Trevor, and Grace slipped away. At least, that's what she hoped. The last thing this trip needed was a love triangle between Grace, Trevor, and Nicole.

Not that he wasn't good looking. With his chiseled jaw, his wavy brown hair, and those eyes that seemed to cut right to the heart of a woman, she didn't blame Grace for falling head over heels. In fact, if Grace hadn't dated him, Nicole wouldn't have thought twice about making a move.

She just refused to be sloppy seconds. Especially since Trevor was clearly still in love with Grace.

No, thank you. If she was going to get a boyfriend out of this trip to 1928, it was going to be Jacob.

Heat radiated from her cheeks as she realized what her brain had just suggested. Jacob?

She stopped, just trying to wrap her head around that. Jacob was the closest thing she had to a brother, right? Except for the fact that they'd had different parents and had been born in different months, they were practically twins.

The idea that her brain had suggested he be her only choice for a boyfriend was just the result of getting stranded in a different time than the one she'd been born into. That had to be it. It was just the logical non-Trevor male choice.

"What's wrong with you?" Trevor's voice was agitated from where he and Grace walked out of the professor's tent, his arm around her waist as he half-carried her to where Nicole stood, stunned.

Nicole shook the thought from her mind. It had come out of nowhere. It didn't mean a thing. It couldn't. "Nothing. Just waiting for you."

Trevor waved her ahead. "Tell Jake that we'll catch up in a bit, okay?"

Grace pulled out of Trevor's embrace. "I can walk on my own."

Though she was too far away to help, Nicole instinctively reached for Grace when she faltered and almost fell.

Trevor's embrace stabilized her before she did, however. "You don't have to like me right now, Grace O'Neill, but even you have to admit that I'm the one most prepared to help someone else under these conditions."

Grace batted him away, or tried to, anyway. "Yes, but I should still get a say in who touches me."

Nicole eyed the lovebirds. "Trouble in paradise?"

"What paradise?" Grace's voice was filled with anger and pain as she reached for Nicole.

Trevor's eyes seemed to beg Nicole not to interfere, but Grace was so determined not to have Trevor's help that Nicole offered him an apologetic smile. Then, she took Grace's other side.

Instantly, Grace let go of Trevor.

He looked away, and Nicole suspected he was trying to hide how hurt he was by the exchange. "Fine. I'll go tell Jacob that you're coming."

Grace sighed in relief, leaning closer to Nicole as Trevor stepped away.

Nicole waited a few steps for Grace to say something, but when they'd walked almost all the way to the ridge and Grace remained silent, Nicole stopped. "Okay, what's going on between you two? You were practically making out before you got stung, and now you can't stand to look at him."

Grace frowned at Nicole. "We weren't making out. It was just a kiss."

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "Girl, you can't lie to me. You're still in love with him. He's in love with you. It's plain as the nose on your face."

Grace started to pull away. "If you're going to be like that, you can go on ahead like everyone else."

Nicole didn't move from Grace's side. Just held onto her waist so the woman couldn't slip out of Nicole's grasp. "Is this what the rest of this adventure is going to be like? You putting yourself in harm's way so you can avoid Trevor? Then, him rescuing you, and you resenting it?"

Grace stiffened. "I don't resent Trevor saving my life. I thanked him for that in the tent. Specifically."

Nicole gave her friend a slightly saucy look. "My, my... Is that the source of the tension?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Nicole."

Nicole couldn't help the smug grin that tugged at the side of her mouth. "Seriously. What's the deal?"

Grace was quiet for a few moments before she waved ahead of them as if gesturing to Trevor. "Is it too much to ask for someone who knows what I am and accepts it?"

"Depends on whether you mean if he knows you're a neurotic reporter with control issues or if you mean the other thing."

Grace glared at her. "The other thing, but thanks—the rest of that sentence really took the edge off it all."

Nicole grinned, basking in her own cleverness for a moment. "I'm here for you, Grace. All you have to do is say the word."

They walked a few more steps in silence. Then, Nicole grew more somber. "Look, Grace, the other stuff's a lot to process. I've known you my whole life, and there are still moments when I forget that you and Cassie have more in common with my mom in some ways that she and I do."

Grace stopped mid-step, forcing Nicole to look back at her. "I don't have more in common with your mom than you do."

Nicole just pressed on, the emotions releasing faster than she could control. "Hell, even Dad lived on Abydos for a year. Meanwhile, I'm just excited that I finally did something exciting. I always thought I'd go through the gate before anything else, but at least I time traveled. That's something."

Grace caught and squeezed Nicole's hand. "Your parents love you. I remember the look on your dad's face when your parents introduced you to us. He was absolutely smitten. So was your mom."

Nicole stared at her friend. "You never think it's the tiniest bit intimidating to try to live up to the legacy of SG-1? Great explorers. Peace brokers. Fierce warriors. Saviors of the universe."

Grace tried to hide a smile. "Well, if you think of them like that, then yeah. Anyone would be a little intimidated, but you know them. I mean, think about my dad. Sure, to the rest of the world, he's General Jack O'Neill, the infamous, irreverent leader of SG-1. To me, he's the guy who carried me on his shoulders at the zoo. Said the monkeys only smiled at me because they recognized one of their own."

Nicole snickered. "I'd never heard that one."

Grace's smile was patient. "Listen, the rest of the world is going to make them out to be legends. Take it from their official biographer. There are people who won't believe the stories you tell, like when milk spurted out of Daniel's nose at your birthday party."

Nicole covered her mouth with her hand. "That was a great party."

Grace's brown eyes were serious. "Those are the things you need to hold onto, Nicole. Not the legends. They're always going to be more intimidating than the real people."

Nicole squeezed Grace's arm. "I suspect the same advice applies to who you really are. The nuts and bolts of who you are—where you were born, what race you belong to, the preternatural gifts you've had since birth—will always be more intimidating than the real you."

Grace's eyes swam with tears. "You really think so?"

Nicole grew annoyed with herself and Grace, annoyed that she'd been duped into showing this soft side. Nicole's expression hardened. "If you ever tell anyone we had this little chat, I'll deny it."

Grace broke into a laugh as she wiped at her cheeks.

Nicole let her guard back down again. "Seriously, Grace, give him another shot. Don't write him off because he had to take a little time to get used to the nuts and bolts."

Grace sobered. "I'll keep that in mind."

They walked in silence until they could see the car in the distance. Grace caught hold of the hem of Nicole's sleeve. "Nicole?"

"Hm?"

The warmth on Grace's face strengthened Nicole significantly. "You're a really good friend, and if there's anything we can learn about SG-1, it's the power that teamwork and a common goal have to unite four very different people."

Nicole covered her eyes with one hand. "No offense, but I have no interest in making your brother my new best friend."

Grace cast her gaze over to where Trevor and Jacob were talking by the car. Then, she leaned in closer to Nicole as if reconsidering. "Maybe we take it one step at a time."

Nicole bit back a conspiratorial grin. "Deal."

"I've never been so grateful to hear a car's engine in my life." Nicole practically flung herself onto the hood of the car before she jumped away from the burning metal. "I probably could have thought that through a little better."

Jacob tried to hide his laughter as he tried to remove the grease from his fingers. "Come on, guys, let's go home."

Grace sighed as she turned to her brother. "I hate to say it, but I'm kind of wiped. Think you can drive?"

Jacob's expression was uncertain. "Look, I know I'm about to sound like Mom when I say this, but we probably shouldn't change too much about what we did to get here."

Trevor nodded. "I agree. We're only guessing about the variable that got us here."

Grace's shoulders sagged as she headed to the driver's seat. "Well, in that case—"

Nicole took her spot beside Jacob in the car, though between her random thought about being his girlfriend and Jacob's somewhat surly attitude toward her, it felt more tense than before.

Grace and Trevor took their spots in the front seats, but neither of them looked any more pleased than Nicole or Jacob.

Thank goodness they were headed home.

Grace looked over her shoulder. "Jake, you ready with your wish?"

Trevor seemed reluctant to turn to contradict her. "Grace, if we want things to be as similar as possible, we're going to have to drive the car."

Grace blinked at him as if he had three heads. "There's no road here, Trevor."

"I know that, Grace, but we have to at least try."

Grace didn't argue. Just moved the car's gear into reverse.

They hardly moved, though the engine revved loudly in the desert.

Grace opened her mouth as if she was about to say something over the sound before the same energy pulse they'd felt in DC thrummed through the car, giving Nicole a tingly feeling up her spine.

There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like—

With a pulse of blinding light, they were back on the streets of DC, their car pointed toward the White House. Snow drifts lined the streets.

For the first time since she'd first gotten in the car with the rest of the group, Nicole could breathe normally. She wasn't about to try to get into the White House in her Egyptian robes, but she would be thrilled to hear her parents' voices on the other end of a phone.

Without a word, Grace and Jacob switched places. "Any objections if we blow off this White House thing tonight?"

Grace rested her head on the back of the seat. "I'd kill for a shower."

Trevor swallowed and reached into his dress uniform's pocket for his cell phone. "I'll call General Carter and let her know we're home."

Maybe Nicole was getting soft, but Trevor's voice had a hint of sadness in it. Like he wished they were still on their adventure. Like he thought they'd be able to fix their problems if he got a little more time with Grace.

Nicole pressed the high school sweethearts out of her mind as she leaned forward and played with Jacob's short hair. "Maybe this is out of line, Jake, but I don't think Grace is the only one who could use a shower. You smell like you slept with goats."

Trevor looked up from his phone call. "Uh, guys? I'm getting an error message when I call your mom."

"What kind of error message? Like voicemail box too full?"

Trevor put the call on speakerphone so they could all hear. The phone didn't even dial before an automated message played. "The call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and try again."

Jacob frowned. "What number are you calling?"

Trevor recited the number. Given that the General hadn't switched her phone number in decades, even Nicole could verify that was the correct number.

Fear clenched in Nicole's gut. A feeling she wasn't usually too familiar with. "Uh, guys, what if we changed the timeline?"

The silence reigned between them for almost a full minute.

"Uh, there's one easy way to check."

Everyone looked at Jacob, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"If they don't have our reservation at the hotel, we'll know something changed."

Nicole's excitement about being home waned significantly.