Chapter Six: Beyond the Shadow of a doubt

Charlie Kawalsky could feel everyone's eyes on her as she stood among the Cadets information, waiting to be dismissed at the end of the the Parent's Day Parade. From where she stood, she could see both Cassie and Jon, and a little bit more to the left she caught Nate's eye. He shot her a smile and she knew she wouldn't be able to make a getaway before any of them stopped her. She disliked large groups but knew that for now she needed to tolerate it. It was part of being a friend, something that was very new and precious to her.

Earlier, when she'd taken her place among the second class, one of her other classmates, Ashgar had protested her presence there. It had become a problem until General Shark intervened and told Ashgar to take his own place and that Charlie belonged there.
Lifting her chin a little higher, she promised herself that by Homecoming no one would doubt her place in the second year.

General Shark finished her speech and then Arcuri stepped forward to dismiss them. Everyone began to mingle, but they all avoided Charlie. Usually it didn't bother her but today it did, she had worked hard last year and hadn't asked to be raised up a year, but when General Shark offered it to her there was no way Charlie was going to say no. She had a desire to serve her country and follow in her father's footsteps. If she had the qualifications to do it a year earlier she'd take it.

Since Charlie hated crowds and people in general, she stayed right where she was. She was a silent island in among the chaos or greetings and tears.

Someone bumped into her from behind, almost knocking her to the ground where she surely would have been trampled. Charlie managed to right herself and quickly turned around to see if she could see who'd been the culprit, because the incident had been far from accidental. She caught sight of Ashgar and he gave her a little wave before disappearing from view. She was pretty sure last year he and his buddies had been involved in the hazing that took place among the fourth years, but she'd never been able to get anyone to talk. This year though, she decided it was her mission to prove what he was doing and get him tossed out on his ass.
She moved to follow him, but someone grabbed her hand.

"Hey you!" Nate appeared out of the crowd, tugging her in the opposite direction. "Come one, stop hiding. Jack's here with Jasmine, you have to see her; she'd gotten so big since we saw her last. He's going to take us all to Jon's house for a BBQ."

Charlie resisted for just a moment before allowing herself to be pulled along through the crowd.

Jack stood near the bleachers, holding his little girl and smiling as she played with his nose. A pang of regret shot through her as Charlie closed her eyes, and for just a second, wished her life could be different, that her relationship with her father could have been different.

Jack looked up as they approached. "Hey, Charlie congrats on the promotion. Your father would have been very proud of you."

Charlie's couldn't stop the rare, genuine smile that blossomed across her face and she wondered how Jack's knew just what she needed to hear. "Thank you sir. I'd like to think he would be." She looked around but didn't see Sam. "Where's Jasmine's mommy?"

Jack's face fell momentarily before he forced a smile back onto his face. "She's out on a mission. Sam wanted to be here, but duty calls. She should be back sometime next week." He looked down at Jasmine. "I never realised how hard it was to stay home and wait. I've done it these last few years but, now that I have Jazzy, it's so much harder to let Sam walk out that door."

Jon arrived with Cassie at that point and broke the spell that had fallen over the small group. "So, I have the steaks marinating in my fridge. I think Jack promised to cook them for us and I'll let him as long as he promises not to burn them."

Everyone laughed and they all headed toward the parking lot to enjoy their day of freedom.

Jon and Haruka stared at a terrain simulation field… and their two opponents. Personally, Jon had lost his like for "Battlefield", but with this feeling, he was pretty alone – Haruka was only worse at one game, and that was Battleship; and Nate enjoyed it as much as any son of a naval officer. Of course, it didn't help he had Charlie on his side: the reason why Jon didn't enjoy the game any longer was that Charlie massacred him at the game. So far, the game was even… but he couldn't shake the feeling that he and Haruka got lucky until now.

"Using card: Air Raid 3," Charlie interrupted, dropping five bombing stencils on the game board.

Haruka sighed, taking the dices. Tossing them out, she read their losses and groaned. "You're way too good at this for your age, Kawalsky."

"I aim to please," she grinned as the ranks on the General's side became thinner again.

Jack, who was referee, snorted at the old sniper joke. "Guys, you're going to lose. You spend way too much time as pilots."

"A question old man… how did she get this good and how do you know that?"

Charlie grinned, in that manner of a lion with its prey. "Who do you think is artofwarlion, O'Neill?"

Haruka groaned. "I know when I have to surrender. Jack, stop teaching her underhanded tactics, she learns enough of them in sniper training."

"Hey, I need to stay in shape too," the other general defended.

"Yeah, right," Haruka and Jon answered.

Sam crossed to the balcony overlooking the ocean where the city of Atlantis floated, resting her arms on the railing watching the sunset. Their mission had been a success, but it also a learning experience in the worst way.

They had had tied up the supergate and now the Ori could no longer send their armada to the Milky Way galaxy. As a bonus, they had destroyed not only an Ori ship but a Wraith Hive as well.

But the cost had been very high, by the time Sam got home she would have missed almost four months of her daughter's life. Milestones and and precious moments missed. Those were moments that she couldn't get back, the only way she could experience them was if Jack filmed as many of them as possible, but she knew there would be many little things missing.

In these past months, she had come to understand the sacrifice of her father and Jack. These men and thousands of others had served their country and left their families, knowing their wives and children would move on with their lives. That nothing would be the same when they returned. She could now understand the pain she saw in her father's and Jack's eyes because she now saw it in her own.

"Carter…?" She heard the hesitant footsteps stop behind her. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I–" He stopped and shuffled his feet.
Closing her eyes she counted to ten, she really didn't want to deal with Rodney and his insecurities right now, but it looked like she would have to.

"What is it Rodney?"

"Can I talk to you for a moment? I wanted to clear something up… about what I told you the other day." She could almost picture him shuffling his feet as he ran his fingers through his thinning hair.

"Sure Rodney. What do you need?" She quietly prayed that this wouldn't get much more embarrassing and that Rodney didn't have any more fantasies to confess.

"You see I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just want to say thank you, because I couldn't have survived without you – the you that was really me – Anyway you understand…"

Sam drew a deep breath. "It's fine Rodney and I have no hard feelings." She held out her hand.
Disappointment crossed his features momentarily, but he rearranged his expression into a smile. "That's good to know," he continued to shake her hand, not letting go.

"Rodney, you do know that I'm married now. I have been for over a year and I have a baby girl who's waiting at home with my husband."

He dropped her hand as though it burned him. "Married? No one told me. Well, congratulations. Uh, who's the lucky man?"

"General Jack O'Neill." Sam couldn't help but enjoy watching him squirm.

"Oh really, General O'Neill. Yes, well tell him hello for me. I'm just going to go now." As he backed away, he raised his hand in a wave before leaving, almost bumping into Shepard on his way inside.

"What's with him?" John asked as he came to stand beside Sam. "Did you show him the lemon I gave Mitchell?"

Sam laughed. "Nope, just told him I was married to General O'Neill and that we have a little girl, Jasmine."

Surprise and shock was written all over Shepard's face. "You and the General huh? He got me this gig you know. If not for him I'd still be freezing my ass off in Antarctica, doing supply runs. Tell him hello for me." He shook his head as he settled down to lean on the railing next to her. "The gossip you miss out on when you live isolated in another galaxy. I really wish I could have seen Rodney's face when you told him. It would have been priceless."

"Yes, John it was." Pushing off the railing, she headed back inside now that the sun had set. "I'm going to head to the commissary and have some lemon pie in honor of our friend, wanna join me?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Lead on, Colonel O'Neill."

There are two more chapters up on my site and if you would like to check them out Google my penname and you will find me. I love to hear from you whether you liked it or loved it. :0P

Also I have published two original pieces of work on Kindle you can find a link to them on my website as well.

if I get enough review I will be pushed to add the chapter early, like Friday, instead of later next week. I have one so far this week but I think I could handle a few more.