Traveling Daughter
Chapter 3
Based upon Stargate SG-1
- . - - - . - Time in Reality: 00:00
Cassie opened her eyes and looked around. She stood in the middle of an extremely crowded control room. She was a little bummed out that she had taken off her boots and over blouse at Mom's house in the last reality. She would have to borrow some from someone here.
"What is it?" she heard a familiar Texan voice boom. She turned to see Grandpa George coming down the stairs.
"No IDC, but we're getting a radio message," Chief Harriman answered.
"From who?"
Chief Harriman put the message on the main speakers. A hushed voice came over. "Stargate Command, this is Lieutenant Vickers. I'm about thirty yards from the gate. The rest of SG-11 was taken prisoner by some Jaffa, and now they're all in a group in front of the DHD. Major Talbot dialed the gate, so something's wrong. I think the Jaffa want them to send through an IDC, but I'm the only one who has a GDO that wasn't destroyed. Even if the Major is brain washed or something, they can't get through."
"Lieutenant, this is General Hammond. Is every member or your team accounted for?"
"Yes, Sir. Like I said, the rest of my team is with a bunch of Jaffa and they're not themselves." Vickers paused. "Sir, they're heading away from the stargate, with the rest of my team."
"Okay. Sit tight Lieutenant, in thirty minutes, we're going to establish a wormhole with a rescue team standing by. We'll need you to assess the situation on the other side. Understood."
"Yes, Sir. Thirty minutes."
"Stargate Command out." Grandpa George turned to the Chief. "Get SGs -2 and -3 ready to go. We'll dial back in thirty minutes."
"Yes, Sir."
"Um, excuse me," Cassie stepped up to Grandpa George, seeing a point to step in. "Excuse me, Grandpa George."
He turned to her and stared, almost as if he recognized her. He gave her a quick look up and down, immediately noticing she wasn't wearing a blouse or shoes.
"I'm Captain Cassandra Carter, and I'm from the future."
He didn't answer.
"There was a little accident, and I've been jumping realities and time."
"Who are you?" he asked, seeming more than a little confused.
"Cassandra Carter. I came from Hanka after Nirrti killed all my people."
"Hanka?"
"P8X-987." Cassie's eyes widened. "I don't exist here, do I?"
"P8X . . ." Grandpa George thought aloud. "We set up an observatory there, the people there worshiped the Goa'uld Nirrti, but we never had any encounters with her there."
"Wow."
"Give me one reason I should believe any of what you're saying."
"Because your granddaughters are Kayla and Tessa. I was a bridesmaid at Kayla's wedding when she married a successful insurance adjuster last year, 2015. Not to mention: how else could I have gotten here?"
He studied her, ascertaining whether or not he should trust her.
Cassie smiled. "Jacob Carter wasn't around much because he was off with the Tok'ra. You were my Grandpa."
Finally he gave her a small smile. "Alright, let's say I believe you. How did you get here?"
He believed her, at least a little, she knew. Cassie held up her forearm. "This is a modified Sodan Cloaking Device. The Sodan are a group of Jaffa warriors who do not believe the Goa'uld are gods, Teal'c can verify that. I modified it with a device called Arthur's Mantle. Unfortunately, you won't discover either of these devices for years. But, if my mom, Samantha Carter, looks at this stuff she can corroborate my story."
He frowned. "Unfortunately, Captain Carter isn't available right now. Perhaps Doctor Lee can look at it."
"Bill Lee?" Cassie sighed. "I'm not guaranteeing anything."
"Doctor Lee isn't sufficient?" he asked, heading out of the control room and towards the elevator.
It was obvious she was supposed to follow. "It's not that . . . It's just that, well, while being a great guy and a good scientist, Bill Lee was kind of always Pinky to my mom's The Brain."
Grandpa George looked back at her with a confused look.
Cassie thought for a second, thinking of an analogy he would understand. "Sergeant Schultz to my mom's Colonel Hogan," she answered.
He nodded.
"Where is my mom? - Captain Carter?" she asked as they got in the elevator.
"Labor."
"What?!"
Grandpa George nodded. "She's in labor, but I'd rather not discuss details until Doctor Lee can take a look at that gadget on your arm and I can be more sure that you are who you say you are."
"Could I ask for something else?" Cassie looked up.
"Depends on what you're asking for?"
"A pair of boots and blouse?"
Grandpa George smiled. "That, I'm sure, I can help you with."
- . - Time in Reality: 01:22
Doctor Lee had finished his initial evaluation of the SCD and had called Grandpa George down for a report, but they had instead been called up to control instead. When they got there, a radio transmission was coming through.
"Stargate Command, SG-2. We can't find Lieutenant Vickers. We have located where he made his initial report from. Based on the tracks, there might have been an altercation. He might've been taken."
Grandpa George frowned. "Expand your search, Colonel Reynolds. However, remain within communications proximity of the stargate. I want 30 minute updates."
"Understood, Sir. Reynolds out."
"What do you have, Doctor?" Grandpa George asked, turning away from the stargate as it disengaged.
"As far as I can tell, General," Doctor Lee explained, "the device is what she claims it is. But I'll admit that it's little over my head."
Grandpa George nodded. "Well, Captain Carter," he said, "I have a few other things on my plate at the moment, but seeing as there is no other plausible explanation for your appearance on my base, I'm forced to believe you. Doctor Lee can give you some assistance in figuring out your predicament. At the moment, I've got larger concerns."
"Anything I can help you with?" she asked.
Grandpa George shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, but Doctor Lee will show you to his lab."
- . - Time in Reality: 04:45
There had been no progress, and as she suspected, Doctor Lee was less than helpful. She really needed her mom's help, but she just continued to work with what she had.
"Captain Carter," Jack said, coming into the room. She was wondering when she would see him, but the tone of his voice indicated this was not a social call. "You said you were from the future."
Cassie nodded. "I am."
"What do you know about the Goa'uld Sokar?"
Cassie blanched, surprised. "Not much, umm, my mom told me some. I read a few reports. He claimed to be the devil. My mom met him when she was saving Grandpa - Jacob Carter - from Ne'tu, a volcanically active moon. He was killed by Apophis after . . ." Cassie paused, this was going to be a long story. "Do you want the whole back story?"
Jack frowned. "Come up to the briefing room. General Hammond will definitely want the whole story."
- . -Time in Reality: 06:03
Grandpa George walked back into the briefing room after hanging up the phone, to continue planning the rescue of SG-11. "That was Doctor Brightman, Baby Carter is not far off." He sat back down. "Major, let's continue."
Major Davis gestured the map on the wall in front of him. "Based on the intelligence from SGs-2, and -3, the temple is approximately a half mile from the stargate."
"Sir, I need to be with Carter."
Both Cassie and Grandpa George looked up, as Jack had spoken quite suddenly.
Grandpa George almost shrugged the comment off. "I know everyone feels like this is their baby too, but Doctor Jackson and Teal'c are with her. With a missing team, we have more pressing matters."
"But it is my baby."
Cassie froze. She was almost certain her heart stopped beating for a second or two.
Grandpa George stood slowly and his voice took a very dark tone. "I'm going to ask you a question, Colonel, and think very hard before you answer. What did you just say?"
"I'm the father of Carter's baby."
"You knocked up my mom and you aren't together?!" Cassie shouted, shoving Jack with all her might. She pushed him a few times, driving him back a step every time.
"It's not like that."
"Then tell me what it is like!" she shouted, and shoved him again.
"We first slept together in 1969. It was just once, we thought. But then, after that whole thing with Hathor, it didn't stop. It wasn't about just sleeping together. It was about . . . Well I don't know, but not about just sleeping together. We didn't have to worry about getting pregnant because of her birth control. Then our good buddy Seth."
"Then the drug you were all exposed to in Seth's compound reacted with her birth control . . ." Cassie supplied in a drawn out tone, understanding what happened.
Grandpa George glanced at her and nodded. "That's what Doctor Brightman said. She also said that the father of Captain Carter's was some deadbeat who was out of the picture," he added, glaring at Jack.
Jack shook his head. "Brightman kept asking and Carter kept saying she didn't want to talk about it. Brightman assumed, Carter didn't correct her. And we were gonna tell you. We spent hours deciding what we were going to say, but things just kept coming up. Then it was too late.
"Daniel came to see Carter in the second trimester and caught me at her house. It was easier to lie and say I was just pitching in than tell him the truth. Carter's baby became SG-1's baby. We took turns staying with her. Right up at the end, one of us was always with her; taking turns a couple days at a time. Daniel and Teal'c always stayed in the guest room. Even though I slept with her every night, Carter and I made sure to change the guest sheets whenever I left, so the guys wouldn't catch on. They never did.
"I'll take what you can throw at me, George, but this is my baby."
Grandpa George looked like he was going to answer, but was interrupted by klaxons. One of the 'gate techs ran up the stairs. "Sir, I think you need to see this."
He scowled at Jack for a moment. "Effective immediately, you're relieved of duty. If you're lucky, you might get out of this by being reassigned to an unclassified position until the end of your tour, but I'm not sticking my neck out for you." He started down the stairs, but paused. "Since you're not following me down these stairs, perhaps there's somewhere else you need to be right now."
Jack watched him leave, then turned and headed towards the elevator. Cassie followed him. They stood in silence in the elevator for a few seconds. "So what's gonna happen now?" Cassie asked.
"I'm gonna raise my kid," he answered curtly.
"That's not what I meant."
"I know what you meant." He paused. "Come on, you know what goes down in these situations."
"You'll lose your security clearance, you'll get a bogus desk job and immediately start out-processing. And . . . Well, a lot of different things could happen to Mom. Docked pay, demotion, loss of clearances, inability to promote . . ." she trailed off, watching Jack. He didn't seem too affected by her words. "Would you do it again, knowing you'd get caught?"
"You mean have an affair with a subordinate, get her pregnant and ruin both of our careers?" he asked. She knew he was just repeating it in a manner that made it sound like an answer.
"Would you?"
The doors opened and he stepped out, he didn't look back at her. "I would've told Hammond sooner."
Cassie paused long enough to follow him at a distance. She wanted to see her mom, too, but was sure that Jack didn't want her in his face. She watched Jack enter the isolation room, obviously reserved for Mom so she wouldn't be giving birth in the Infirmary surrounded by a ton of people. Cassie veered right and headed up into the observation longue, where Doctor Brightman sat.
She looked up. "Captain Carter," she greeted, "How are you feeling? Any entropic cascade?"
Cassie shook her head. "No, I feel fine."
Doctor Brightman glanced up into the isolation room and saw Jack enter. An unspoken conversation went on between Jack, Teal'c and Daniel the others left, leaving Jack alone with Sam. He climbed into bed with Sam and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her forehead. They spoke in hushed tones, he was probably telling her that everything was okay and everyone knew. The Doctor looked back at her paperwork, seemingly unaffected by the display of affection before her.
"You're not surprised by that?" Cassie asked, taking a seat.
Brightman shook her head. "I'm the base doctor, I know a lot of things people don't think I know."
"You didn't say anything? Report them?"
Brightman shook her head. "I didn't have any real proof, and if they weren't admitting it, there had to be a reason."
"Would you believe they were going to but never got around to it?"
"Yes, I would. They're both very responsible and tend to own up to their mistakes, but they've both got a bit of the good child syndrome, even the Colonel. Sure, they've screwed up before, and they've defied orders, but a sexual relationship and conceiving a child is an entirely different story."
"Yeah, well, that's true." Cassie watched Jack coach Mom through a contraction. "I don't think I want to be here for this . . ."
Brightman nodded. "Understandable."
Cassie got up and walked out of the room, heading towards the control room to see what had called Grandpa George away so quickly.
The Stargate was activated when they got the control room. The iris was closed.
Everyone jumped when a figure materialized in the gateroom. The defense teams opened fire, the bullets went straight through the figure.
"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" Grandpa George shouted through the intercom.
Cassie blanched. She had never seen this, but Mom had told her about it once. It was Sokar.
"People of the Tau'ri," the hologram spoke. "You have defied your God for the final time. You will be destroyed."
The center of the iris started to glow.
"What is going on?" Grandpa George asked.
"Your destruction," the hologram said before vanishing.
"It's a particle beam," Cassie said. "He's melting the iris from the other side."
"What can we do to stop it?" Grandpa George asked.
Cassie shook her head. "Absolutely nothing. It's just a matter of time."
- . -Time in Reality: 07:52
Cassie held her breath as she watched the iris smolder, hoping it would hold just a few minutes longer. It had to. They needed more time to evacuate the base. The iris had to hold. Mom invented it, it would last long enough.
The white hot center finally split and melted. A large chunk dropped to the ground, molten metal dripped around it.
It didn't hold.
"Seal off Corridor's Alpha and Charlie!" Jack shouted.
Walter did so, "Corridors Alpha and Charlie sealed." he then got on the base intercom. "The iris is breached. Repeat the iris is breached. All personnel assume defensive positions and prepare for Jaffa incursion. The iris is breached. Repeat, the iris is breached. All personnel assume defensive positions."
Jack grabbed her arm roughly. "Come on!" He pulled her out of the control room. "Davis!"
"Where are we going?" Cassie turned and saw Major Davis begin to follow them.
"Infirmary."
They got into the elevator, but Davis didn't follow them. Jack was silent on the way up to the Infirmary. She knew better than to ask him any more questions.
Davis caught up with them outside the Infirmary but he had a rifle now. Jack nodded at him. "Good man."
Mom was lying on the Infirmary bed, holding her son. She was smiling at him. Jack paused for just a second, probably admiring the view. "Can I see him?" he asked, walking up to her.
Mom bit her bottom lip gently. "Yeah, he's been wondering where Daddy was."
Jack smiled. "He has?"
Mom nodded. "I could tell."
Jack chuckled a little when he received the baby. He pulled him closed and kissed his forehead. "Hey, little man, Daddy loves you." He held the baby tight. "Daddy loves you so much." He turned his head towards Cassie at the door, "Come here."
She did.
"Take him." Cassie knew by the tone of his voice he meant for good.
Mom jolted upright. "What?"
"Cassie, take him."
"No, Jack. Give him back. Give him back right now!" Mom's voice shook.
Cassie shook her head.
"Save him! Save your mother's son!" Jack shouted, handing her the baby.
Tears started to fall. Hers, Moms, Jacks . . .
Mom was hysterical and trying to get up. "Give him back to me right now! That is my SON!" she cried.
Jack immediately climbed into bed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest as she became increasing emotional, pleading with him.
"Save him, Cassie," Jack told her. "You are running out of time!" She had heard Jack give orders to other people, but never to her. She knew an order when she heard one.
"Captain Carter, we need to leave!" Major Davis called from the doorway, not looking away from the corridor.
Mom was sobbing, wailing really. "Jack, she can't take him! HE'S NOT READY! HE NEEDS ME!" She clutched wildly at Jack, trying to make him change his mind.
Tears continued to pour down Cassie's face.
"Go, Cassie! NOW!" Jack barked, pulling Mom's arms to his chest, trying to restrain her.
"CARTER!" Davis snapped.
Tearing her eyes away from the uncontrollable woman who looked like her mother. "I'm sorry," she said, backing away from them. "I'm so sorry." She turned and hurried after Davis, hearing nothing but her mother's screams of anguish behind her.
She didn't know where they were going, she couldn't focus on that. She could only focus on following Davis and holding the precious bundle as carefully and securely as she could.
Suddenly they stopped, and Davis pushed her into a room, it was a small store room. He closed the door behind them and pushed a shelf in front of it. He then quickly scanned the room and pulled another shelf away from the wall, revealing a large air vent.
"Alright, listen to me," Davis grabbed her shoulders roughly. "You're gonna take that baby and you're gonna sit in that air vent. And you're gonna be silent. I'm gonna move all these boxes and shit in front of the vent and try to hold them off for as long as possible. Hopefully it'll be long enough for you to jump again and that baby somewhere else."
"But what about you?"
"I'm a dead man anyway. Everyone in this complex, if not on this planet, is dead. You're the only one with any kind of chance."
"What if he doesn't come with me?"
Major Davis didn't answer at first. "He's gonna go with you," he finally said. Cassie knew that he wasn't quite sure, but he needed to be.
Cassie nodded and got in the air vent.
There was a lot of noise as Major Davis pushed boxes and other junk in front of the vent. Then were was some noise that was probably him setting up a defensive position. Then it was silent.
Cassie looked at the baby in her arms. He was thankfully asleep. He was so darn cute. Sure, he was a newborn and therefore a little ugly, but he was so perfect. She kissed his forehead. "If we get out of this," she thought to herself, "I'm gonna make sure you have the best family." He was her brother, and she loved him.
She felt tears drip down her face. And for the first time in a very long time, she prayed.
Cassie prayed that they would survive. Cassie prayed that Jack didn't sacrifice the only time with his son he would have for nothing. She didn't know long how she prayed, but she stopped praying when she heard the door open. She stopped breathing, too.
There was a loud crash as the shelf was pushed over.
There were three rapid gunshots. Cassie pulled her brother to her chest, trying to protect him from the noise. Two more shots. Then another. Then three more. Then the sound of a clip being dropped and reloaded.
Five rapid shots, then a staff blast. She knew Major Davis was dead.
She started praying again as she heard the Jaffa begin to tear the room apart.
There was a blinding flash of light.
- . - - - . - Time in Reality: 9:00