Found - part 9

Hey guys. I'm very sorry, but this might be the last installment for a couple of weeks, as I'm about to jet off to France for a holiday, avec no internet connection. So, enjoy this chapter, and I'll post something as soon as I get back, on August 13th.

Sam, Jack, Tally and Jase were crowded in Sam and Jack's bedroom. They were there for privacy. Sam and Tally had just told Jack about Tally's pregnancy. He was torn between fury at Jase for putting his daughter through this, fear for Tally's future, and a tiny spark of excitement at the thought of being a grandfather. It was a very confusing state to be in.

"You'd better stand by her." He growled at Jase.

"Of course I will. I love her, I'd do anything for her, and she won't have to raise our baby alone." Jase put his arm round Tally, who smiled up at him. Her eyes were full of gratitude and relief. Jase wouldn't leave her, and her parents weren't going to desert her. Even her father wasn't angry with her. He was just worried about her. With her parents on her side, she felt liberated. She wasn't alone, and if anyone could make things okay, they could.

"Now we just have to figure out how to break the news to the villagers." Sam sighed. She knew that was going to be tough.

"Maybe if I married Tally first – at least that way we can save her honor." Jase suggested.

"You're kidding, right?" Tally scoffed. "They'd just hate me for contaminating the royal blood." She didn't worry about insulting the village's view of Jase's bloodline in front of him. He hated being treated differently to the other villagers, and spent half his life arguing that being descended from Amdra didn't make him any more important than anyone else. Amdra was the hero – not him.

"That's not an option anyway. You have to be eighteen to marry, and Tally's still seventeen." Jack pointed out.

"And by the time I am eighteen in four months, I'll be showing." She patted her stomach gently.

"What would happen if we just told everyone now?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. My family would almost certainly disown me, and Tally would be publicly shamed, or worse, banished from the village. It would probably affect you and Jack as well." Jase answered her.

"I don't see that we have any other choice. Like it or not, sooner or later people are going to notice that I'm pregnant." Tally winced, still not used to the idea. Up till that point she'd been in a kind of sub-conscious denial, not wanting to face the inevitable future.

"What about Earth?" Jack asked after a pause. Three pairs of eyes stared at him, not following his thoughts.

"We've decided to go back to Earth anyway, because it's our best chance of finding Luke." He started. "And even if we hadn't already decided that, if we're facing exile from the village, then we'd need somewhere to go. You're unlikely to find a village willing to take in a banished, unmarried, pregnant seventeen year-old, and an eighteen year-old boy who was disowned for bringing shame to the name of Amdra. The obvious solution is for us all to go back to Earth." Jase and Tally looked down, faces solemn. Sam put a hand on Jack's arm.

"Jack, I know it makes sense, but it's not that easy. This is Jase's home. It's Tally's home. They might not want to leave." She reasoned quietly.

There was a poignant pause while everyone considered the ramifications.

"Tally . . ." Jase started uncertainly.

"It's okay. I know you don't want to leave, and that's perfectly understandable. We'll find a village who'll take us in." Tally reassured him.

"No, that's not good enough. We have a way out here. If Earth can take care of you, of us, then I wouldn't be doing the right thing for you if I asked you to stay."

Tally just looked at him for a long moment. "You mean that? You'd really leave your home, your planet, for me?"

"For us. And don't forget, Luke was my friend too."

Tally nodded. What she regretted most about her pregnancy was that it was likely she wouldn't be able to help find her little brother.

Sam and Jack watched the exchange in worried silence, reluctant to interrupt. This was a decision only Tally and Jase could make. The young couple had paused, and were watching each other, trying to see in the other's eyes that this was the right move. Eventually, Tally sighed and turned to her parents.

"If we do this – if we go to Earth – what exactly will happen?" She asked nervously.

Jack glanced at Sam before answering. "I imagine that at first, you'll be confined to the SGC, until you've learnt enough about Earth to safely mix with the population. Then, I guess they'll let you go, and live like any other couple in the US, as soon as Tally's eighteen."

"What about the baby? We'll be allowed to keep it?" Jase asked.

"Yes, of course!" Sam cut in, alarmed that they'd assume differently. "You'll have the same rights that everyone else on the planet has."

"In absolute truth, we won't know exactly what the arrangements will be until we get back there. I don't expect either Sam or I still have houses, or anything else. That means we'll all be living on base for a while, until we can find ourselves somewhere to live."

"And you'd better live with us for the first few months at least, so you can get the hang of life on Earth." Sam cut in.

"And of course you will really appreciate the extra childcare help, once the baby gets here."

They both paused, trying to gauge the younger couple's reaction to all this. Tally and Jase shared another long look.

"I guess it really is the best solution." Jase said. Tally smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yeah."

FLASH

Kennedy grinned lopsidedly. The security camera showed exactly what he wanted – three very surprised looking people in a holding cell.

Ta da! I'm not completely happy with this chapter, because I think it's underplaying their desire to find Luke. I'm also considering completely changing the direction I had in mind for the story when I wrote it 2 years ago (at which point Luke didn't exist - he was a recent addition). The result being I MIGHT change this chapter for something else when I get back, depending on what I decide in those long 2 weeks in the land of the Francais. Either way, more will be posted when I get back, and PLEASE still review, because I'd like to know what you think of this chapter (i.e. whether it was clear that when Jack and Sam gave Tally and Jase the option of staying, they still would have left to find Luke themselves.)

Beka

Au revoir!