The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 9

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Sergeant Lindsay Baker and Sergeant Mark Reynolds approached Mac and Linda with Lindsay saying, "He's gone, isn't he?" Mark put his arm around Lindsay to comfort her.

Mac nodded solemnly and noticed that the rest of the occupants of the cave were approaching them with various degrees of emotion on their faces. He motioned for them to go outside of the cave where he saw the beginnings of dawn in the sky and the rest of their group coming from the other caves. Indicating for everyone to come around him, he waited until they had done so and then said, "If you did not know, Matthew is no longer with us." Expressions of shock appeared on a few faces as he continued talking, sorrow evident in his voice. "When we came through Destiny's gate from Icarus four months ago, the Colonel and Melissa brought us together; helped us become a crew, a family. They took care of us, did their parts even when…" His voice broke, and a few tears fell down his face. "Even when Melissa probably shouldn't have been on her feet." He saw the members of their group nod in agreement with him. "We have to take care of them now and take care of Katie." He motioned to the baby in Linda's arms. "So, to that end, I will need all of you, except for the injured, to pick a group to volunteer for."

A slim African-American woman who he recognized from working in the Mess with Becker raised her hand. "What did you have in mind, Sir?"

"Well, we need groups to gather water, to find food, to find wood for fires, and to patrol near the stargate."

Voices started to speak up. "I'll do whatever you need me to do, Sir."

"Me too."

"And me."

Mac smiled at them. "I am so proud to be part of this group. Let's get started." He divided the group into teams and gave each team an assignment. As the teams headed off, he noticed the Lucian Alliance men at the back of the crowd. He walked up to them and addressed Varro. "What can I do for you?"

Indicating his men, Varro replied, "We heard what happened, and we want to help." He shook his head sadly. "My mate died in childbirth—the child too. I never dreamed I would be the cause of something like that happening again. Please, let us help."

Looking at him with new respect, Mac pointed towards the west. "I haven't sent anyone in that direction. Why don't you go see if you can find any food or wood for fires?"

"Understood." Varro and his men left to go in that direction.

Mac then turned to Linda. "I was wondering if you would stay here and coordinate what comes back as well as look after the injured and little Katie."

The older woman briskly nodded at him. "Of course, Lieutenant." She pointed towards the cave where they could still hear crying. "Do you think I should check on them?"

He thought for a moment before he replied. "You probably should just let them come to you. Of course, if Katie gets hungry…"

"Okay." Linda walked back towards the caves.

Gazing at the three he had chosen to join him, Mac addressed Baker, Reynolds, and Harper. "Are you ready to see what's going on near the stargate?"

"Yes, Sir," said Harper. The others nodded too, and the four of them walked down the hill heading back towards the stargate.

A few minutes later, Linda had just finished checking on the injured when she heard a sound behind her. It was Everett with raw grief etched on his face. He held out his arms. "I came to get Katie. Missy wanted to see if she was hungry."

Linda handed him the baby. "She was just starting to fidget. I bet she is. Listen, I am so sorry."

Not trusting himself to speak, Ev nodded in appreciation. He then noticed the lack of people in the vicinity. "Where is everyone?"

Lieutenant McDonald's got everyone hunting for what we need. He wanted me to tell you not to worry about a thing. Take care of Melissa and your daughter, and we've got your back."

"Thank you." He walked back over to the cave where Missy was before he could lose what little composure he had left. Going to the back of the cave, he saw his wife, her eyes red-rimmed with tears, holding their son's body. "I've got Katie, baby. Linda thinks she might be hungry."

Melissa nodded and carefully placed Matthew's body on the ground next to her. She held out her arms, and he handed Katie to her. "Are you hungry, munchkin? Mama's got plenty now." She placed her at her breast, and the baby started hungrily sucking. Missy gazed down at her daughter before looking back at her husband who had picked up Matthew's body. With tears in her eyes, she asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

He shook his head fiercely. "You did not. It just happened. It might have even happened on the ship."

Big gulping sobs shook Missy's body. "I can't stop crying, Ev. How am I going to function if I can't stop crying?"

"I'm not far behind you, honey. I'm keeping it together by a thread. I think we have to do it a day, an hour at a time."

"You're right." Everett put his arm around her while she finished breastfeeding and then they continued to hold onto each other as they processed their son's death.

Meanwhile, Mac and the other officers had reached the top of the other hill and were looking at the stargate which was about a mile or so away. Sergeant Harper observed the area carefully before turning back to the others. "Looks just as desolate today as it did yesterday. I think our best bet is the area near the lake and those hills in the opposite direction."

"I do too," said Mac, "But we need to keep an eye on this area in case someone else comes."

"Oh, I agree, Sir," said Reynolds. He looked at the fourth member of their party who was gazing off towards the stargate. "Lindsay, you okay?"

The young woman whose own pregnancy had started to show turned back to them and said, "Yeah, I'm okay, Mark. I was just wondering what happened to the Destiny. You know, if Melissa had given birth in the infirmary, TJ might have been able to save Matthew."

"I know." He put an arm around her in comfort. "And the Destiny has probably gone back into FTL."

Pointing to the gate, Lindsay asked, "Why, then, are the chevrons lighting up?"

"What?" exclaimed Mac. "Give me those binoculars." He grabbed the binoculars that Harper had been holding. Putting them up to his eyes, he adjusted them and said, "You're right."

"What are we going to do?"

"We're just gonna observe from here. See who comes through."

They watched the chevrons finish lighting up and the gate come to life. There was no activity at all, and Mac was about to say something when they heard the radio on his belt come to life. "Colonel Young, this is Dr. Rush. Please come in. Colonel Young, please come in."

The four on the ridge above the stargate looked at each other excitedly as Mac fumbled with the radio. He finally got it turned on and spoke into it. "Dr. Rush, this is Lieutenant McDonald. We're here."

A sigh of relief was heard over the other end of the radio. "Oh, thank God. Lad, we've been trying to raise you for the last six hours. Where's Colonel Young?"

"He and the rest of our group are about five clicks away from here in some caves. I'm with a group that's patrolling near the gate. A lot has happened."

"A lot has happened up here too. We've taken the ship back over from the Lucian Alliance with the help of the Alterans. Your group can come home."

Mute with shock for a moment, Mac didn't say anything. Then, realizing that Rush was waiting for his reply, he spoke once more. "The Alterans are on the ship?"

Dr. Rush chuckled. "Yes, Lieutenant, they are. Their ship is docked with ours. They are very eager to meet the Colonel and the lass."

"Oh wow. I need to let you know what's happened here though. Melissa had the babies yesterday."

"Is she okay? Are the babies okay?"

Mac gazed at his friends mutely before responding in a choked voice. "Melissa's fine; so is Katie; but…but Matthew died about an hour ago. He fought and fought—just like his parents, but he was just too small."

"Oh God." The sounds of cheering Mac had been hearing in the gate room went silent. "Hold on, someone wants to talk to you."

Another voice came over the radio. "Hello, Lieutenant. My name is Gaius Aurelius, commander of the Alteran ship, Caprea. I need to know exactly how long it has been since the baby last drew breath."

The lieutenant looked at his watch. "One hour and ten minutes. Why?"

"We have a window of less than five hours. If we can get the baby back here, we can save him."

An expression of hope came over Mac's face. "What! What do you need me to do?"

"Your Dr. Rush is putting together a team now, and our doctor will come with them. They'll have a stretcher for Dr. Young and the babies. More than likely, she will also need a blood transfusion. I need you to send people to the gate to meet the team—to lead them to where you've taken shelter."

"I'll do it."

"All right. They will see you in a few minutes."

The radio went silent, and Mac gathered the others around him with a determined look on his face. "Ok, fastest mile? Mine is 6:40."

Reynolds said, "Mine is 6:30."

"Mine's 6:25," said Harper.

"Mine's 6:05," said Lindsay. "But I don't think I can run that fast now." She pointed to her stomach.

Mac smiled at her. "That's all right, Sergeant. Okay, this is what I want. Harper, Reynolds, get to the gate as fast as you can. We are on the clock. If I have anything to say about it, the Colonel and Melissa with have two babies to take care of; not one. Baker and I will head back to the cave and gather our group together."

"You got it, Sir," said Reynolds. "We won't let you down." He and Harper turned and started running towards the gate at full tilt.

Next, Mac faced Lindsay. "All right, Baker, we need to head to camp. Don't press yourself too hard though."

Baker grinned at him. "Are you kidding, Sir? I want that baby back as much as you do. Come on!" She started running down the hill towards where they had taken shelter.

Mac kept pace with her easily, and as they passed members of their group, he yelled out, "Come, get your stuff. We're going back to Destiny. We're not stranded anymore." Excited cheers started, and they were joined by several other running people. When they got to the caves, Mac found Linda and told her the news. "I heard from Dr. Rush, ma'am. They've taken Destiny back over. We can go home."

The older woman's eyes lit up. "Nicholas is okay? Oh, thank God." She motioned to the cave where Everett and Melissa were. "Go tell them. I'll start sorting things out."

"All right."

He walked in and to the back of the cave where he saw Missy asleep. Everett looked up from where he had been gazing at his daughter. "Hey, I finally got her to go to sleep. She's been so upset she didn't notice how much she was bleeding." He pointed to a pool of blood on the blanket. "Mac, if something happens to her…" His voice broke. "Well, just to let you know, I'll be looking for a way to off myself. I can't live without her. I'm already gonna have to live without my boy."

Shaking his head, Mac smiled and put his hand on the other man's shoulder. "You're not gonna have to live without any of them, Sir. We were on the ridge near the stargate when it opened, and Dr. Rush came through on the radio. They've taken Destiny back. We can go home."

The other man looked at him in astonishment. "What?"

"Yeah, and the Alterans are there too. Sir, they can save Matthew. They're sending a team with a stretcher and a doctor."

"You're kidding."

"No, Sir."

Melissa suddenly sat up, startling both of them, with a look of longing on her face. "They can save my baby? We have to meet them." She tried to get up, but fell backwards.

Her husband gently pushed her back down. "No ma'am. They're sending a stretcher. And I don't think you could walk right now anyway. You've lost a lot of blood, Missy."

She leaned against him. "Is that why I'm so tired?"

Mac snapped his fingers. "I knew I forgot something. The Alteran commander said you were gonna need a blood transfusion." He lowered his voice. "I wonder if Alteran women experience excessive blood loss during childbirth."

"Probably," replied Everett. "Ok, Mac, is our group packing up?"

"Yes, Sir. Baker and Ms. Wilson were gonna make sure all of the teams got back in."

"Good. Do you need me for anything?"

"Nope, we've got it under control. They should be here shortly. Listen, when we get back to the ship, what do you want to do about Varro and his men? They volunteered to hunt for us earlier."

Everett thought for a long moment before he replied, and then, knowing that Missy would want him to forgive, said, "No confinement. Besides, with the Alterans here, we'll be able to dump the whole lot of them back in the Milky Way pretty soon."

"All right." Mac left the cave to help with the preparations to leave.

Ev then turned to his wife. "How are you feeling, baby?"

"Tired," said Missy. "But now I understand why." She picked up her son's body and stroked his cheek. "It's gonna be a miracle. I wonder if they'll want to put the babies on the stretcher too."

"I don't know. We'll find out."

About fifteen minutes later, several figures bustled into the cave—one of which was Sergeant Greer who said, with a warm smile, "Knock knock."

Staring at the group, which included Greer, Eli, Chloe, Reynolds, Harper, and two people they didn't know, in shock, Missy responded, "You're okay.

"Yes, I am, and you're gonna be okay too." He motioned to the people they didn't know. "This is Dr. Stacia Giovanni and her aide Roberto Monetti."

The doctor warmly smiled at them. "It is such a privilege to meet you, Dr. Young, and you too, Colonel." She addressed Melissa. "How are you feeling?"

Melissa replied, "Very tired. I've lost a lot of blood."

"That's normal for what you've been through." She gave her a quick exam. "We'll be able to get you fixed up when we get back to the ship. Where are the babies?"

"Right here," said Everett.

He handed her Katie who gurgled and grabbed her finger. "Oh, you are a big girl." She gazed back at Ev. "Where's the other one?"

Holding up Matthew's body, Missy answered, "Right here. Can you really save him?"

Stacia took him from her and carefully examined him. "I think so. All he needs is a dose of growth hormone and sometime in the neural stimulator. There's one in your infirmary, but we need to get him there as soon as possible."

"All right." They loaded her on the stretcher and strapped her in putting Katie and Matthew's body next to her. Missy looked over at the doctor. "Will they be secure enough in here?"

"They will."

Everett interrupted, "They most certainly will." He brushed her cheek gently. "We're gonna be real careful, honey. Carrying precious cargo—my family. You just relax, okay? You get to take a ride."

Giving her husband a tender gaze, Melissa replied, "All right."

Ev, Greer, Eli, and Monetti each picked up an end of the stretcher and walked out of the cave along with Chloe, Mac, and Dr. Giovanni. As they emerged from the cave into the clearing, the group that had gathered all started applauding. Ev grinned and said, "Okay, we are headed back to the ship." He saw Lieutenant Peterson and Linda Wilson. "Can you two please bring up the rear and make sure we have everyone?"

"Sure can," said Peterson.

The group started walking down the hill back towards the stargate with everyone talking excitedly about getting back to the ship. When the people with Missy's stretcher arrived at the gate, they put it down and Eli dialed Destiny's address into the remote he was holding. While they were waiting for the gate to kawoosh, Everett looked down at his wife and gently brushed the side of her face. She opened her eyes and smiled at him as he asked, "How are you doing, baby?"

"I'm okay," said Missy. "I can't wait until I feel stronger."

"Me too. I'm gonna need help chasing after these babies when they're walking."

"That's right."

The gate kawooshed and the group started walking through it. Dr. Giovanni checked one more time to make sure Missy and the babies were secure. The men then picked up the stretcher and walked through the gate arriving at the Destiny moments later.