Found - part 8

I'm afraid that this is a terribly mushy emotional chapter. What can I say, I couldn't help myself! I try to right something with a plot and substance, but every now and then, the instinctual mush creeps out ... :-P

When Sam woke that morning, she immediately had a sense that something was wrong. Looking over at Jack, she saw that he was sleeping peacefully. Frowning, she got up and went to Tally's room. The bed was empty. She came back to her own room, and dressed quickly, not waking Jack.

She walked through the village, wondering where her daughter could have gone to, this early in the morning. Turning the corner into the courtyard, her question was answered. Tally was seated at one of the long trestle tables, facing away from her.

Sam quietly walked over to her, and sat down beside her. Tally started as she became aware of her mother's presence – she'd let her guard down while she was thinking.

"Mom! I didn't hear you coming."

"Apparently so. What are you doing up this early?" Sam smiled at her and stroked her hair out of her face. Tally swallowed and looked down at her hands on the table.

"Thinking." She replied. Sam frowned, and studied her. Tally's eyes were puffy, and had lost their sparkle, her shoulders were hunched, and there was a tight set to her lips. Sam recognized easily the signs of fatigue, and it looked like she'd been crying.

"Honey, what is it?" She asked, worried. She slipped her arm round Tally's shoulders, as her daughter looked up at her with eyes brimming with fresh tears.

"Mom . . ." Tally's voice quavered, and Sam pulled her into a close hug as she burst into tears.

In the arms of her mother, Tally couldn't hold it in any longer. She hadn't cried properly in a long time, but it had gotten too much to bear. Sam held her protectively as sobs racked Tally's seventeen year-old body, aching with the strain of worry, fear, exhaustion and pregnancy.

Sam's heart was breaking as she held Tally. She had no idea what had triggered this profound emotion in her daughter, but she knew that for her to be crying like this something must have hurt her deeply. Tears filled her own eyes as she cradled Tally, wishing she knew what was wrong so that she could fix it.

Tally pulled away, still sobbing. "Mom, I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry . . . I never meant for things to be like this, I hate lying to you, I just . . . can't . . ." she sobbed.

"What is it, Tally? Tell me what it is, and I'll fix it." Sam pleaded with her. Tally shook her head.

"You can't fix it! It's all my fault, and I don't know what to do!" She sobbed, delirious with crying and tiredness. Sam pulled her close again and wrapped her arms round her protectively.

"It's OK, Tally, it'll be alright. Don't cry, baby, it's gonna be fine." Sam tried to comfort her with soothing words, delivering them shakily as she cried with her daughter.

Eventually Tally's sobs subsided, her face buried in her mother's chest as Sam stroked her hair as she held her. When Tally pulled away, she couldn't look Sam in the eye.

"What is it, Taz?" Sam asked her again. Tally, still sniffing and gulping, looked down at her knees as she spoke.

"There's something I haven't told you . . . there's so much I haven't told you." Tally was still half-crying.

"What haven't you told me? Whatever it is, I promise I won't be mad." Sam assured her. Tally tried in vain not to cry harder.

"You should be mad. I'm in so much trouble." Tally sniffed.

"What trouble?"

"I told Teal'c earlier this morning. He said I had to tell you. He was right."

"Tell me what?"

"Mom . . . I fell in love." Tally confessed. Sam gave a stifled chuckle.

"Yeah? Who with?"

"Jase." Sam closed her eyes.

"Oh Tally . . . what happened? He broke your heart, didn't he?"

"No, it's much worse than that."

"How?"

"He loves me too. And we've been seeing each other."

"You have? I never noticed."

"You weren't meant to. We've been hiding it, cos we knew everyone would be angry. Jase isn't s'posed to get involved with someone like me."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? There's nothing wrong with you!" Sam protested.

"Mom, you know he's supposed to marry a nice, normal, reserved girl who comes from this planet."

"You were born here! You do come from this planet!"

"That's not what everyone else thinks. They think I'm just as alien to this world as you are."

Sam smiled sadly. "How long have you been seeing him?"

"Since the war with the goa'uld ended. We've had feelings for each other since way before that, but that's when we started seeing each other. You're gonna be really mad at me when you find out."

"Oh honey, I won't be mad. I couldn't be mad at you, not when you're this upset. I just want to make it alright for you."

"You can't." More tears ran down Tally's cheeks. "It's too late, I've screwed up big-time."

Sam sighed and stroked her daughter's face, wiping away the fresh tears. "Tally." She said gently. Tally didn't respond, but still sat with her head bowed, crying slightly.

"Tally." Sam said more forcefully. Tally looked up, and Sam looked her directly in the eye.

"Tally, I promise you, whatever it is that's happened, I won't think any less of you." She said with a quiet seriousness that made Tally believe her.

"You can't know that." Tally argued uncertainly.

"Oh yes I can. You're my daughter, and I love you so much. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that you could do to change that. Okay?"

Tally gave her a small grateful smile, her eyes still shining with tears. "I love you too, Mom."

Sam smiled at her, and put an arm round her shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze. "Now, how about you tell me what this is all about?"

Tally closed her eyes, and sighed deeply. She knew she had to do it. There wasn't a choice.

"Mom, I told you that I've been seeing Jase for a year." She started.

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"I've been seeing him after dark. When everyone else is asleep." She waited for this information to sink in.

"You mean you've been sneaking out of the house after Dad and I have gone to sleep?" Sam asked after a pause.

Tally bowed her head. "Yes. I'm sorry, I hated doing it behind your backs, but I didn't have a choice."

"OK. That was a shock but it can't possibly be what was making you cry." Sam said calmly.

"No." Tally whispered. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and paused, not sure how to say it.

"Mom . . . I . . . I slept with him." She didn't dare look up at her mother's face, for fear of her reaction. Sam smiled slightly.

"And you regret it?" She asked gently. Tally shook her head.

"No, I don't, I mean . . . it shouldn't have happened, there are rules and we shouldn't have . . . but it just felt right, I love him and he loves me and I can't find it in me to regret it . . . I guess what I'm trying to say is that we never meant it to happen, but I don't wish it didn't."

"That's OK." Sam said. "I can understand why you might have thought I'd be mad, but I'm not. I was only about six months older than you are when I lost my virginity."

Tally looked at her disbelief. "Really? You?"

Sam smirked. "The rules aren't quite as strict on Earth. Your dad had his first time when he was only just sixteen." Tally's mouth dropped open in amazement, forgetting momentarily that she had yet to tell her mother the worst part.

"See? That wasn't so bad was it?" Sam smiled at Tally, thinking she'd got to the bottom of her daughter's distress. Tally, however, hung her head.

"There's more. I'm still in trouble, and you might still get mad at me." Tally said quietly and shakily.

"What?" Sam frowned, wondering what in the world could still be wrong.

"You know I . . . made love to him once?" She started.

"Yes." Sam said slowly, worried about where this could be leading.

"I . . ." Tally faltered. Suddenly she was on the verge of tears again.

"Sweetheart, what is it?" Sam asked her, putting her arm back round her daughter.

"We . . . I wasn't thinking about the consequences." She said quickly. She half prayed and half dreaded that her mother would pick up on the implied meaning.

"Consequences? Of having sex?" Sam needed to make sure she understood. Tally nodded, still unable to meet Sam's eye.

Sam's mind was suddenly full of panic. At the back of her mind she knew what Tally was trying to say, but she tried to ignore it. There had to be another explanation. She took a deep breath.

"Just to clarify a little, by consequences, are you talking about how Jase's family would react?" She already knew the answer, but she had to know for sure.

"No."

That simple answer was all Sam needed.

"Tally?" Sam said her name quietly, her voice full of concern. Tally took a deep, shuddering breath.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Sam continued. Tally's bottom lip trembled. Without a second thought Sam pulled her daughter close again, her head resting against Sam's heart as she started to cry uncontrollably.

When Tally had got control of herself again, she didn't pull away. She couldn't stand to look up and see the disappointment on her mother's face. Sam started stroking her daughter's soft blonde hair, her cheek resting against the seventeen year-old's head. She had her eyes closed, a worried expression on her face as she thought about her little girl's future.

"It's gonna be okay, Taz." She said softly. Tally's face scrunched up again as she fought back a sob.

"I'm sorry." She managed to whisper.

"I'm not angry. And I promise you – whatever happens, I'll be here for you. Okay?" She moved her head away slightly to look at Tally, who lifted her head up to meet her gaze. They shared a tender look for a moment, before Tally said croakily: "Okay."

Sam smiled, and Tally rested her head back against her mother's bosom.

"Okay."

Kennedy prowled through the corridors of the Gemini. He had a feeling the stubborn officers and their precious daughter weren't going to co-operate. He couldn't allow that. In seventeen years of service he had never once failed to carry out an order. That wasn't going to change. It couldn't change. He wasn't going to let a failure blemish his record. No. He had to do something. He had to make sure they came with him. Even if they were reluctant. Even if they said no.

He rushed through the ship to the bridge, and pulled up the ship's sensors. He saw the high energy emissions coming from 40 miles outside Amdra, indicating the source of the unnatural field around the planet. Quickly he directed a stream of data directly at the device. That should do it, he thought.

I hope the end redeemed the rest of it a little. Please R&R! Reviews keep my muse happy, and a happy muse means better writing ...

Honestly though, I love getting feedback, especially if you have some constructive criticism for me.

Beka