"Senator Grayson! Do come in." George held the door open as the Senator walked in. Grayson had been a long time supporter of the Stargate program and was one of the ones who had often stood in opposition to Senator Kinsey. George considered him a friend, not only of the program, but a personal one as well.
"It's good to see you George. How's it feel to be back in Washington?" When O'Neill had resigned Hammond had had to come back until they could find a replacement to head up Homeworld Security.
"Oh you know – not terribly thrilled to be back into the viper pit of DC politics. I was enjoying my retirement and wasn't really looking to come back, but it's only temporary so I guess I can handle it. Can I get you a drink?"
As he returned carrying a couple of bottles of beer he noticed the Senator staring out of the window, deep in thought.
"So, any ideas as to who's going to replace O'Neill?" he turned and looked at George.
"No, not really. The President hasn't been happy with any of the names put forward." He indicated that Grayson should take a seat and sat opposite him. "Personally I think he hopes Jack comes back. He relied on O'Neill more than just about anyone I think. Knew he could always count on Jack to be honest and to look at things a bit differently. Jack always had a skill at pulling rabbits out of his hat." George smiled in remembrance.
"Any chance of that happening?" the Senator sat forward.
"I doubt it. I think he's had enough. Too bad really, he was brilliant even though he'd never admit it."
"Yeah. I remember the heartburn he used to give our dear Senator Kinsey." Both men laughed, remembering how Jack had managed to get the better of the dearly departed Senator from Hell.
"So, where is Jack now? Taking it easy at his cabin I suppose." Grayson intentially spoke casually, as if he really wasn't that interested.
"No, he decided not to go there right away. I think he needed a break from everything. He was feeling pretty rough." George didn't go on to say anymore, much to the Senator's dismay.
"Really? I had heard rumors but didn't know anything in particular had happened. Was he ill?"
"Hmmm? Oh, no. No, I think he was just tired. He'd been fighting the Goa'uld and then the replicators for years. Now there was the threat of the Ori. I think he just had had enough."
"I must say I'm surprised. I thought as long as there was a threat to earth Jack would remain at the helm. Unless there were more …. personal …. reasons for him to leave?"
George looked at him and frowned. Where was this coming from? "I'm sure he had lots of personal reasons but none that he shared with me."
Grayson laughed and winked. "Come on George, you and I both know about the rumors." When Hammond continued to look blank he continued. "You know, about him and Colonel Carter. There were bets on the part of all the committee members as to how long it would take for the two of them to get together."
Hammond could feel himself starting to become angry. What was Grayson doing? This wasn't like the man, to indulge in scurrilous gossip.
"Senator, you know very well that General O'Neill and Colonel Carter always behaved in a thoroughly professional manner. There were never any actions on their part that were inappropriate and I'll kindly ask you to refrain from even suggesting such a thing!"
"Whoa George! Don't get me wrong. I wasn't implying that they'd done anything wrong. I know that both of them are fine, upstanding officers. I simply meant that we thought they might get together after they were out of a direct chain of command. I swear, that's all I meant. I was just wondering if Jack had decided he wanted a 'real' life away from the front lines, that's all. No insult intended."
Hammond calmed down although he was still confused by Grayson's conversation. For some reason the man seemed a bit 'off'. Deciding to change the subject he asked after the Senator's family. George knew his wife Pat and had met two or three of his children. He knew the man took great pride in his family.
"I guess you didn't hear. Pat and I got a divorce last year. She said she'd had enough. I guess the life of a political wife finally got to her." Of course he'd never tell George that it was the prostitutes and drugs that were what really got to her. She'd finally gotten tired of his promises to do better and had refused to forgive him one more time. He'd been devastated, especially when his children had sided with their mother. He'd lost touch with them and with his grandchildren. His son had told him they didn't want him around until he cleaned up his life.
"Oh, I'm sorry Senator. I hadn't heard. I've been out of touch since my retirement." The two men chatted for a little while longer and then Grayson stood up, saying he had to get back to work. He shook George's hand and said how much he'd enjoyed the visit.
"We'll have to get together again while you're still in DC George. Keep in touch now!" Waving he'd walked out to his car and drove off.
Hammond stood in the doorway for a few minutes, wondering what that had been about. He heard a noise behind him and turned. "Hi Teal'c. You doing okay in there?" Teal'c had stayed in the library during the Senator's visit, figuring it was easier than trying to explain his presence.
"I'm fine General Hammond. How was the Senator?" Teal'c and the rest of SG1 had met him on a few occasions when he'd visited the SGC.
"I guess he's okay but that was a very strange conversation. There's something suspicious here Teal'c."
Teal'c looked at him, his eyebrow raised in inquiry.
"He seemed too interested in Jack. I think this was a fishing expedition."
"I do not understand. Why would he be interested in fish? Is he desirous of going to O'Neill's cabin?"
"No Teal'c, I simply meant he was looking for information. I think he wants to know where O'Neill has gone."
"May I ask what you told him General?"
"Just that I didn't know where he was, that Jack wanted some time on his own." He took a deep breath and looked up. "Teal'c, I'm going to go talk to the President. I think we need to keep an eye on the Senator. Can you let Thor and Sam and Daniel know?"
"Of course General. I will tell Commander Thor when he communicates with me." Thor had arranged to keep in touch with General Hammond on a regular basis. "I will also inform Colonel Carter."
"Good. Let's see what we can find."
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Ta da!" O'Neill unveiled the project to Molly, who they had dragged into the basement.
"My goodness!" she said, looking at the mysterious shapes in front of her and the 'planets' hanging from the ceiling. It was very obvious that, while Jack had helped, he'd let Chris do the majority of the actual building. On the table was a model 'spaceship' – which looked pretty much like a spider, as far as she could tell. The middle body had a door which dropped down and little aliens coming out of it. In front of the ship, and to a totally different scale, was another alien. He was grey with a large head and eyes and a small skinny body. He had a tiny mouth with two long fangs sticking out from it.
Of the two planets, one was clearly earth – although the continents were a bit misshapen. On top of it were teeny tiny 'people'. The other planet was a swirl of discordant colors and it sported some more of the aliens.
"Well", she looked over at her grandson with a fierce expression. He looked extremely worried. "Well" she started again, "this is the most marvelous project I've ever seen. Don't tell me that you did this young man? This must have been done by someone at least in Grade 4!"
Chris grinned and ran over to his Grandma when she opened her arms. "I'm so proud of you Christopher and I know your Mom and Dad would be proud too." If three pairs of eyes were filled with tears no one was going to tell.
"And you", she looked over at Jack. "I suspect you're behind some of this, aren't you?"
"The alien was his idea Grandma. I wanted an alien with eight legs but he said this was more realistic." Molly looked at the alien again and then back at Jack.
"Realistic, eh?" he grinned. He so wished he could introduce her to Thor!
"Well, I can see that both of you have some very overactive imaginations! I think that calls for only one thing!" They both looked at her; Chris with worry, Jack with humor.
"Yes indeed. I believe this calls for cake – a very big piece of chocolate cake with icing and a glass of milk!"
"Yeah!" Chris shouted.
"Yeah!" Jack shouted too, a grin on his face.
"And what makes you think you're getting any Jack my boy?" Molly frowned at him.
"Because you love me so much Molly?"
She swatted him and then sent the two boys up to the kitchen to wait for the cake. It took a while for Jack to get up on his crutches although he was getting pretty proficient with them.
By the time they'd all had a piece of cake, Chris chattering the whole time, Molly could tell that Jack was coming down again with one of his headaches. She was extremely worried about him because it was clear they were coming more and more often. She'd begged him to go get them checked out but he'd refused, saying that they'd given him all sorts of tests already when he was in hospital and they hadn't found anything! She was seriously tempted to call Susanna but didn't want to go behind Jack's back after all he'd done for them.
Chris was like a new child. Oh, he still grieved for his parents and would for a long time. But at least now there was some joy in his life. He loved his grandmother and she loved him dearly as well, but she knew that he needed more in his life than an elderly woman.
She worried about what was going to happen to him. She was 81 this year and knew she wouldn't be able to keep going for the years it would take for him to grow up. She'd considered finding someone to take him after her daughter and son-in-law had been killed but couldn't do it. Both of them had needed each other then – both dealing with the tragic loss and the grief that ensued. But now, she wondered if it wouldn't be for the best. Maybe she could find him a family with other children?
As she went to bed that night she worried again about her grandson. She had been feeling poorly and it just brought home how vulnerable they both were.
It must have been in the middle of the night when Jack heard a sound that woke him from a restless sleep. At first he couldn't tell what it was or where it had come from. Then he heard it again. It was a sound half-way between a choke and a groan. In a second he realized that it was coming from down the hall. He quickly threw off the covers and jumped out of bed – or at least he tried to jump – he'd forgotten the damn cast. He almost fell but managed to grab the bed and hold on. Once he'd regained his balance he grabbed the crutches and hurried down the hall as fast as he could.
Oh God! When he walked into Molly's room he could see that she was on the floor, tangled in the blankets. He heard a horrible sort of 'rasp' coming from her, although it was sounding weaker with every breath. Hitting the light he threw his crutches to the side and hobbled over to her. To hell with what the doctor said about not walking on his leg!
"Molly." He got down on the floor and gently tried to untangle her from the covers, making sure her face was free of the material. Dear God! Her face was grey, her lips blue. She was struggling to breath but was still conscious. She looked up at Jack and tried to speak.
"llkk ccccr" She gasped again.
"It's okay Molly. I'm gonna call an ambulance and I'll be right back. Just hang on."
"Nnn" she weakly clutched his shirt. "nnnnno" the horrible rasping continued. Jack had seen many people die in his life and he recognized the sound. No! he shouted to himself. This can't happen – not to Molly!
"Loo …k Chrsss" she was struggling to get a message to him. Listening to her he knew exactly what she was worried about.
"Molly, don't worry. I'll look after Christopher. I promise you that he'll be fine. I love him too and I'll make sure he's okay." She relaxed as soon as she heard him speak, although the rattling breath continued. Her eyes soon closed and the breathing grew softer and shallower.
Jack held her in his arms, just the way he'd held a dying child so many years ago. He rocked her gently, trying to give her comfort in her last moments. He could feel the tears dropping from his eyes and let them fall, they didn't matter.
"No, Molly. Not you too", he whispered. He closed his eyes and wished, with all his soul, that this wasn't happening. As he continued to hold her, praying for a miracle, he didn't see the light begin to form – the light that was coming from him and that reached out and circled around the tiny little woman, bathing her in a warm glow." All he knew was that he began to feel very tired; very tired and very warm, as if he was being wrapped in a cocoon which got tighter and tighter. Eventually his body relaxed and the two of them fell softly to the ground.
"Jack. Jack" he heard his name being called but he was just too tired to wake up. "Jack, why are you hugging Grandma?" What? What was going on? With all his energy he finally managed to open his eyes, just a slit. He looked and saw that he was on the floor, the old woman beside him.
Oh no. He suddenly remembered what had happened and knew he had to shield Chris from this new tragedy. He didn't want the boy to see his Grandmother lying dead in front of him.
"Uh Chris. Why don't you go to your room and get dressed. I'll uh, see to your grandma."
"Okay, but I think you're squishing her."
"Uh – she wasn't feeling well and we both fell."
"Is she okay now?"
"Chris, just get dressed. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay Jack." he could hear the little boy walking down the hall. He pulled his arm from under Molly and tried to sit up. It was almost impossible, however, as he felt so weak. He looked down at the older woman. "I'm sorry Molly!"
As he stared at this woman who, in such a short time, had brought healing to him he was startled to realize she looked not too bad. He saw that she had color in her cheeks and – oh my God! She was breathing. She hadn't died!
He forced himself up and tried to figure out how he would get her up off the floor. He'd better call an ambulance. Struggling to his feet he looked around for his crutches. Damn, he had to make his way over to where they'd fallen. He'd only taken one step when,
"What are you doing Jack! You know the doctor said you weren't to walk on that leg yet. And what am I doing on the floor?" He whipped around and there was Molly, looking perfectly fit, trying to disentangle herself from the blankets still wrapped partially around her.
He stared at her, stunned. He was sure she had been dying. What the hell had happened?
"Well don't just stand there. Help an old lady up!" Bemused he reached down and helped her to her feet. She straightened out her nightgown and told him to 'stay still'. Walking over to his crutches she picked them up and handed them to him.
"A cat got your tongue Jack?" She looked at him curiously, wondering what he was doing in her room and why she had been on the floor. As she looked at him it all started to come back to her. The realization had her gasping and going weak at the knees. It was a good thing the bed was behind her because she would have fallen on the floor otherwise. As it was she sat down, hard, and looked at Jack.
"I was dying!" she looked at him as if to ask what this was about. For some reason she was sure he knew something. Just as it looked like he was going to say something she spoke again. "Don't lie to me Jack. You were here, I remember that. I was dying, wasn't I?"
Licking his suddenly dry lips he nodded. "Yes", he whispered.
"Then what happened, because I feel just fine; better than fine actually. I don't remember feeling this good in years. I can't even feel my arthritis. So tell me, what happened?"
Finally Jack was able to pull himself together enough to be able to speak, although he didn't have anything particularly intelligent to say.
"I heard a noise in the middle of the night. When I realized it was coming from your room I came to check on you. I found you on the floor and tried to help. You wouldn't let me call an ambulance and, looking at you I knew you didn't have much time." When she looked at him curiously at this he felt he had to explain. "I've seen people die – I recognized from your breathing you didn't have long. I knew an ambulance wouldn't get here in time."
"So what happened?"
"I don't know!" he cried. "I was holding you – no one should ever die alone – and then I felt so tired. I guess I fell asleep. I woke up a minute ago when Chris came in. I sent him away, expecting to see you dead beside me. That's all I know."
"Jack." She looked at him with a strange look in her eyes. "I remember something else. I remember a feeling as if life was re-entering me. It was so comforting, so peaceful. It was as if I was enveloped in this healing warmth. Do you remember that?"
There was something in him that knew what she was saying but he couldn't actually remember anything. Shrugging, he shook his head.
"No, I don't remember that. I don't know what happened Molly, I swear." As he looked at her he could feel the headache start to return. Within seconds the pain began to get worse and worse. Soon he was clutching his head in agony. The crutches felt to the floor followed by Jack. His world condensed into a ball of pain and suffering. All he could do was groan and rock back and forth on the floor. Molly looked on in horror and then ran to her bedside table to call 911.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"What is it Holler?" Angrboda was not happy and did not appreciate the interruption. Her plans seemed to be going awry and she blamed the humans. This was the Asgard's last hope, their last chance to save their race and she would not let the lives of a few puny aliens stop her!
"We have received a report."
"Well, don't just stand there like a fool. What kind of report."
"There has been some unusual activity on earth."
She sighed. Some days she wondered if they truly were a superior race. Maybe the cloning process had started mental, as well as physical, deterioration in some of her people.
"And what might this 'unusual activity' entail?"
"It appears to be some kind of Ancient energy source. It was not evident for long enough for us to gather complete data. That is all we know."
Angrboda sat up, interested now. "All? Do we have a location?"
"We have the general vicinity but not the exact location."
"So what is the 'general vicinity'?"
"It came from a place called 'British Columbia' in a country called Canada. It is to the north of the United States. They are allies of the Americans."
Hmmm, she thought to herself. Had the American government approached their allies in this? This may signify that they know something is happening. Slightly worried she turned to Holler.
"Find out where exactly in this 'British Columbia'. I will contact the Senator and he can send some of his people there as well. I believe we may soon find O'Neill and then we can solve our problems." She looked at the Asgard standing there. "Well GO! Don't just stand there. We need to find him quickly. He doesn't have long."