The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 11

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

When Melissa woke up to soft whimpers the next morning, she noticed that Ev wasn't there and looked around curiously. Seeing that TJ was propped up in the bed on the other side of her, she said, "Morning TJ, where's the Colonel?"

TJ replied, "Morning Melissa. He told me to tell you he was meeting with Scott, Chloe, and Camille in preparation for them going through the gate. He wants you to eat, feed the babies, and then he and Mac will be back to get us before the all-crew meeting in the gate room."

"Excellent." She called out to the doctor who came, helped her attach the carrier, and brought the babies to her. Once they were comfortably feeding, Stacia brought Melissa and TJ some breakfast, and the two women had a good time talking and laughing while they were eating. As they finished up, Everett and Mac walked in the infirmary. Missy's eyes lit up when she saw her husband. "Morning, sweetheart."

Coming to her bed, Ev gently kissed her lips before saying, "Morning, honey." He then touched each baby's forehead. "Good morning, Katie. Good morning, Matthew."

Almost as if they knew who was greeting them, each baby grabbed his finger and squealed excitedly which made the adults all chuckle. TJ said, "Sir, I think they know who you are."

"I think you're right, TJ," replied Melissa. She gazed at Everett. "Is it time to go?"

"Yes," said Ev who handed her one of the slings he had been carrying. "I thought we'd each carry a baby."

"Sounds good." He helped her unhook the carrier, and they laid each of the babies on the bed. After they had attached the smaller slings to themselves, she asked, "Ok, who's gonna go with who?"

"Well, let's see." He addressed the babies. "Who wants to go with Daddy?" Each of them squealed, but when Matthew was a little louder, he told him, "All right, Matthew, you get to come with me, and you, Katie, get to go with Mama."

They put the babies in the slings. Once they had done that, Mac helped TJ out of the bed, and the four of them walked to the door where they were met by Dr. Giovanni. She told the women, "I agreed to this on the condition that I come with you and that you both sit down once we get there."

"Agreed," said Missy. "I know I won't want to stand the whole time."

"Me either," said TJ. "Being in my first trimester and having a gunshot wound and concussion has not been fun."

Stacia nodded approvingly, and the five of them left the infirmary and walked slowly towards the gate room, the men keeping a cautious hold on the women's arms. When they got there, the group that was waiting greeted them with a round of applause. Mac led TJ to some chairs that had been set up at the front of the crowd while Everett took Missy to a chair that was sitting next to the control console. Once she was sitting, he signaled for quiet. Everyone looked at him as he began speaking. "Good morning. I'm sure most of you have heard by now that our new friends, the Alterans…" He motioned to Commander Aurelius and his first officer. "Have given us a tremendous gift—the ability to dial Earth. We are going to make contact, and once we have gotten clearance, Lieutenant Scott, Miss Armstrong, and Miss Wray will be going through to report to General O'Neill and the IOA. They are going to request supplies, additional medical personnel, and a negotiating team. Decisions will need to be made on how they will want to reintegrate all of us back into our lives on Earth, but I am very sure that will be accomplished as quickly as possible so that we can go home."

Applause began once more and lasted for almost a full minute as everyone wanted to display their enthusiasm. Once it stopped, Young ordered, "Ok, Sergeant Riley, dial the gate."

Riley grinned, saying, "Yes, Sir," and began to dial.

As the chevrons started to light up, Everett went over to Melissa and put his arm around her shoulders, both of them softly stroking their babies' foreheads. Colonel Telford, who had his arm in a sling and a bandage on his forehead, walked up to them from where he had been standing against a wall. "Nice job, Everett. I didn't think we'd get your group home so soon."

Ev chuckled. "Well, it wasn't me. It was the Alterans."

"Yeah, I've been hearing an interesting …" His voice trailed off as the wormhole kawooshed.

Riley spoke into his radio. "Stargate Command, this is the Destiny. Come in please. This is the Destiny. Come in please."

After a long moment, they heard a response. "There's no way this can be the Destiny, and it's a terrible joke. Who are you really?"

Everett grinned and motioned for Riley to hand him the radio. "But this is the Destiny. Colonel Everett Young speaking. Authentication code—alpha, gamma, delta, beta. Son, you're gonna want General O'Neill. I've got three people ready to come through to report."

The people waiting in the Destiny's gate room heard the sounds of fumbling and two voices talking to one another. One of the voices said, "That is the correct code. We need to call General O'Neill." Ev then heard a distinct voice come through again. "Sir, this is Sergeant Harriman. General O'Neill has been called and will be down here shortly. Do you have the ability to reconnect if the time limit runs out?" Gazing at the Alteran commander and seeing him nod in the affirmative, Everett replied, "Yes, we do, Sergeant."

"Good."

For the next few minutes, there was no sound on either side of the wormhole except for the excited murmurs among the Destiny crew. Finally, they heard another voice come over the radio. "General Jack O'Neill here. Is this really the Destiny? Is this really Colonel Young?"

"Yes, it is," said a grinning Everett as he clasped Missy's hand. "A lot has happened since we last spoke. Most importantly, we have made some new friends who have made this possible. Listen, General, I have three people ready to come through the gate to give you a complete report and to make some requests. I can go ahead and send them if you tell me the iris is down."

"It's been taken care of. Go ahead."

Ev walked over to Scott, Chloe, and Camille. "All right, you're up. Thanks for being willing to do this."

"You're welcome," said Camille. "We'll see you when they're ready to come back." Chloe nodded as well, and the two women went to the gate.

Before Scott could join them, Everett whispered in his ear, "Do you remember what to say and what not to say?"

"Yes, Sir," said Scott. "We won't let you down. Haven't spent any time with my namesake yet." He touched the baby's head. "I'll be back soon, Matthew." He went to join the women at the gate, and the three of them stepped through.

Returning to the console, Ev spoke into his radio. "Lieutenant Scott and his team are on their way."

"Understood," said O'Neill. "Listen, how are we supposed to get back with you after we hear their report? Are you going to dial us again?"

"Actually, Sir, Lieutenant Scott is bringing something that will enable your gate to dial ours."

"Ahh, you have made some interesting friends. Ok, they're here. We'll talk with you…" Matthew chose that moment to babble, and the general stopped talking for a moment. He then asked, "Colonel, what was that?"

Grinning, Ev replied, "You are hearing one of the newest members of our crew." Katie's babbles rose to match Matthew's. "And that would be the other new member."

The general chuckled in response. "I think I have some news to share with people here, Colonel. I'll talk with you soon and congratulations."

"Thank you, Sir." The gate went dark as the contact severed. Everett cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Ok, it will probably be several hours before we get a response and possibly a day or so before anyone comes. For the moment, we will also not be going back into FTL. Commander Aurelius has had people from his ship help us put our engine on standby, and they have also assisted Dr. Rush and Mr. Brody in making sure the shields are fully functional. So, we are perfectly safe here. I ask that you go back to your quarters or to any duties that you have. We will make a ship wide announcement once we have any further news. That is all."

The crew started leaving the gate room and talking excitedly about what had happened. Dr. Rush, Greer, Eli, Mac, and TJ came over to where Ev and Missy were standing at the control console. Rush said, "Well, that went well."

"I thought so too. Let's hope they react well to the Alteran proposal."

"Yes, but there is something you need to know about."

Everett looked at him concernedly. "And what would that be?"

He motioned to Telford who was following the crowd out of the gate room. "Colonel Telford found out that Commander Aurelius specifically asked for you, and he wants to know why."

"Oh no! How?"

"Mr. Brody." Rush shrugged his shoulders. "I can't fault him. He didn't know."

Shaking his head gravely, the other man replied, 'No, he didn't. Do you think Telford told Camille?"

"More than likely. Listen, have you thought about bringing any more people in on your secret?"

"Actually, I have." He gazed at his wife. "I didn't have time to tell you, but Mac and I were discussing this earlier."

Missy smiled at her husband. "I'm open to doing that, but we should probably have this discussion…" She motioned to the few people that were still milling around. "Somewhere else."

"You're right. We need to take you and TJ back to the infirmary anyway." He looked back at the others. "How about we take this discussion to the infirmary?"

The others nodded, and the group walked out of the gate room and over to the infirmary. Once TJ and Melissa had been settled back in their beds, the men sat or stood near the beds and continued their discussion. Melissa said, "Who did you have in mind to tell, Ev?"

"Well, I was thinking we could tell Park, Brody, Volker, and Linda. And then, we could get an idea from them on who else we should tell."

"That would be fine with me." She gazed at the others. "What do you think?

Greer spoke up. "I think that will be okay. Where you might run into a problem is from some of the civilians that worked with Miss Wray and maybe some of the younger airmen."

"I agree," said Mac. "But everything you have done for the people on this ship will go a long way towards counteracting any bad effects."

"Thank you, Mac," said Melissa with a warm smile. She gazed over at Dr. Rush. "What do you think, Nicholas?"

The older man grinned at her. "I think that will work, lass." Rush turned back towards the colonel. "When do you want to do this?"

Everett replied, "I want to do it before we hear back from Earth so let's do it in about an hour." He started giving instructions. "Rush, I'll want you here so, Eli, go tell Park, Volker, and Brody you'll ban the Control Room while they're here."

"I can do that," said Eli.

Looking over at Dr. Rush, Ev continued, "Will you please ask Linda to join us when it's time?"

"I'll be glad too," said Nicholas. "And, Colonel, I don't think you need to worry how she'll react." A fond smile came over his face. "She's quite the adaptable lady."

Grinning and winking at him, the other man asked, "Oh, she is?"

Melissa nudged her husband's arm and grinned. "Everett, behave yourself." The group all chuckled at their antics as Missy continued, "I agree with you, Nicholas." She warmly smiled at her friend. "And I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you have found someone."

"Me too, lass," said Rush. "Me too."

With that, the group broke up promising to be back in an hour. Once they had left, Everett, who had been holding Matthew in the sling, sat on the bed with Melissa, who was holding Katie in her sling. They watched their children for a moment and then he asked her, "So, baby, how are you feeling? That wasn't too much, was it?"

Missy shook her head. "No, it wasn't. So much has happened. I can't believe it's just been two days since they were born. They are a true miracle." She gently caressed his face. "And you are too."

He covered her hand with his. "No, you're the miracle, Missy. You and our babies. I never thought I'd be a father, and now you've given me these precious children. I love you with all my heart, and like I told you last night, I will protect all three of you whether we stay here, go back to Earth, or go to Altera."

"I know you will. I love you too, Everett." She leaned over and tenderly kissed his lips.

"All right." Pointing to the slings where Katie and Matthew had fallen asleep, he said, "Let's put them on their bed and then you can rest until everyone gets back."

"Sounds good."

They took the slings off, and Everett took each baby over to the bed. Once he had done so, he told Missy, "I'm gonna make a quick run to our quarters, and I'll be right back. I want you to rest, okay?"

"Okay."

Ev helped her lie down and left to go on his errands. After he had picked up some things from their quarters, he checked in with the Caprea and spoke with some of the civilians before heading back to the infirmary. When he walked back in, he saw Melissa talking with TJ, Linda, and Dr. Rush. "Hey guys." He put a bag on the empty bed next to his wife. "I got some things we might need. How are the kids?"

Missy's eyes lit up. "They're still asleep." She pointed to a bundle at the end of her bed. "Dr. Giovanni found some of what I think is the Alteran equivalent of diapers."

"Very cool." He sat on the bed, put his arm around her, and then asked Dr. Rush, "Do we know where the others are?"

Nicholas replied, "Should be here shortly."

Gazing at them curiously, Linda asked, "What's going on, Colonel? Nicholas said you had something to tell me, but he wouldn't say anything else." She nudged him affectionately. "The man keeps secrets well."

He turned and brushed her face gently. "Well, it's not really my secret. It's the colonel's and the lass's."

Turning back to the couple on the bed, Linda said, "Well?"

Smiling, Ev replied, "We're waiting for a few more people, and then you questions will be answered."

"All right."

A few minutes later, five more people walked into the infirmary. They walked over to the group around Missy and TJ's beds. Brody asked Dr. Rush, "What's going on, Rush? Eli said you and the colonel wanted to talk to us…" He motioned to Park and Volker. "And that he would man the Control Room. Is anything wrong?"

Shaking his head, Dr. Rush replied, "No, nothing wrong. We just wanted to tell you about something before the negotiating team got here."

The others gazed at him uncomprehendingly until Brody snapped his fingers. "Does this have anything to do with why Commander Aurelius asked for Colonel Young specifically just before his team took care of the Lucian Alliance for us?"

Rush gave Young a knowing glance before answering. "Well, actually, it does, and since you've guessed that it has something to do with the colonel and with the lass as well, I'm going to let them continue."

"Ok, now you've made me curious."

Standing up, Everett said, "I suggest you all sit. This will take a while." Everyone found beds or chairs to sit on as he began talking. He told them about how the ascended being had appeared to him and Melissa when they had first come aboard the Destiny, how he had given them information about their background, and how they had also seen an older version of their daughter. Missy also brought up how they had seen their parents the night before their wedding and how they had confirmed everything the ascended being had told them. When she finished, Ev said, "I know this is a lot to take in. Do you have any questions?"

The four who had not known the story stared at the others in shock. Brody raised his hand. "So, the two of you are children of Alterans who descended on Earth?"

"That's right."

"How did Commander Aurelius know of your existence? We're in an entirely different galaxy now."

A voice came from behind them. It was Aurelius who said, "When you came through the astrum porta here to the Destiny, Colonel Young, his mate, and their unborn child's, I mean children's Alteran life signs were detected. Some ascended Alterans made an appearance to members of my government and told them about the Destiny and the Youngs. The knowledge spread across our planet like wildfire. It was decided that the Caprea would be send to meet you." He looked at the group excitedly. "You have to understand something. The story of where we came from is part of our mythology. To find out that Alterans existed in another galaxy has been nothing short of a miracle for my people. We, as a race, have come close to dying out many times so we are very interested in knowing our human cousins with the help of Colonel Young and his mate."

Brody gazed at them, his eyes wide, and then looked back over at Rush. "This is incredible. I'm guessing you knew about this." He turned to the other military personnel. "And from the lack of reaction from the rest of you, I'm guessing you knew too."

There were solemn nods all around as Brody and the others who hadn't known processed the information. Lisa Park said, "I'm guessing Eli knows too, and uh, Chloe and Lieutenant Scott."

Missy nodded at the woman she had come to consider a friend and said, "Lisa, I'm sorry we didn't…"

A voice interrupted her. It was Dale Volker who said, in a slightly angry tone, "Why didn't you tell everyone else? Didn't you think the rest of us deserved to know?"

That started a furious argument among the men about how decisions had been made and about whether they could still trust Ev and Melissa. Finally, Melissa said, with tears rolling down her face, "It was because of me—because of what happened when Colonel Telford used Everett's body to beat the crap out of me and when those other men tried to rape me. That's why we didn't say." Ev put his arm around her, and she snuggled into the crook of it.

Linda gave her a sympathetic look. "You couldn't risk it getting back to Earth could you, honey? There are probably people there who would have taken advantage." After the other woman solemnly nodded in the affirmative, Linda gazed at Brody and Volker. "Shame on you both. She had to protect her children. You can't tell me that either of you wouldn't have done the same thing. And you know what they almost sacrificed doing their duty for this ship. When we came back yesterday, their son was dead. If it wasn't for the Alteran doctor, he would still be dead. So, I will tell anyone who asks that Everett and Melissa have gone above and beyond for the people on this ship. The fact that they're not human hasn't mattered a bit, and it shouldn't matter to you either."

Everyone gathered around the two beds looked at Linda in shock. Before anyone could say anything though, Nicholas slipped his arm around her waist and addressed Everett. "What did I tell you, Colonel? She's quite the adaptable lady."

With that, the argument stopped. Volker said, "I'm sorry, Dr. Young. Sorry Colonel." Motioning to Linda, he continued, "She's right, of course. You should have protected your children first."

"I agree," said Brody. "And my sister would kill me if she knew I made a new mom cry." He sheepishly smiled at Melissa. "Please don't."

Missy swiped at her eyes with her sleeve and smiled at both of them. "Apology accepted."

Looking over at the colonel, Brody then asked, "Why are you telling us this now?"

"Well," said Ev, "we are guessing this is going to come out during the negotiations, and we wanted to tell as many as we could ourselves."

Commander Aurelius spoke up. "The other thing that is important to us is to see how your government reacts to the news. Colonel Young has told me that not everyone on your planet knows about life on other planets and that some people will probably be upset to hear of his and his mate's origins. How they handle that will determine how far the negotiations will go."

"That's a sensible approach," said Park. "What are you going to need from us?"

Everett replied, "We were wondering if you had any ideas about who else would be good to tell and who wouldn't be, and we also just want you to keep your eyes and ears open."

"I understand."

The group continued to talk for the next thirty minutes discussing how the next few days on the ship were going to go and what duties the colonel wanted everyone to assume. They had finished by the time cries and whimpers were heard from the other bed. Everyone took a peek at the babies and then left to go back to their duties—duties that would prepare the ship for the visit of a delegation from Earth.