A/N: Thank you, "truecadence" for your comments on the rating for this story; I had marked it as "M" simply because I'm writing it with an adult audience in mind. However, after reading your comments I decided the rating was probably overly cautious; I have nothing graphically violent or explicit in mind for "Paradox". Also, thank you to the other readers who have provided such positive feedback! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!
Mia strolled out of the training room feeling happier than she had in a long while. Teal'c had accepted her as if he had always known her, and they had fallen easily into the familiar moves of the warrior's dance. It had been a very long time since she had been able to practice with a true master of the art. The Teal'c of her childhood had died when she was twelve, forced to remove and kill his mature symbiote before it could be allowed to take a host. With Ra and his Jaffa long gone, and the gate buried beneath the desert sands, her mentor had lived only two days longer than the parasitical snake, dying a slow and agonizing death unfit for his warrior's soul. Teal'c had told her the day he removed his Goaul'd that it was better to die free than remain forever enslaved to the parasitical being, but she had never found much solace in this reasoning. He may not have been as openly friendly as this new Teal'c, but he had been a magnificent teacher, and she had felt his loss very keenly.
After Teal'c's death, she had only had her fellow pupils to train with, mostly older boys from the local village. And none of them had stayed long either. Most, in fact, had entered Pharaoh's army, and risen quickly through the ranks with their superior skills. By the time she had left Egypt, there had been only one young man left to practice with, a farmer by trade. Mia had secretly hoped to marry him some day, following the other village girls her age in becoming a wife and mother. She had known a long time that Daniel had other plans for her, and that she would not be allowed to share in the joy her friends so openly displayed. But even still, she had hoped.
Mia sighed resignedly. At least she had her renewed training sessions with this Teal'c to look forward to, and that was no small consolation. Smiling slightly, Mia led Foxworth on a meandering tour of the SGC, allowing her mind to wander as freely as her feet. There really wasn't much to see, she noted with an increasing sense of disappointment. Surely there must be more to this place than endless grey corridors? Rounding another corner, Mia was nearly ploughed over by a very hurried Daniel.
"Mia," he said, surprised. "I was just on my way to see Sam. Care to join me?"
"Sure," she replied quickly, glad for something to do. "I've been wondering how to pass the time around here," she added.
Daniel looked thoughtful a moment. "I could lend you a few books, if you'd like," he replied at last. "Though I should probably talk to Jack about finding you a proper tutor," he added as an afterthought.
"Whatever for?," replied Mia, startled. "I'm fluent in nearly as many languages as you are," she added with a shrug, "and I know more than enough math and science to get by."
Daniel smiled. "Even still, I know the limits of my own knowledge. You deserve the opportunity to decide what really interests you, not just what I was able to teach you best."
Mia grimaced. "Honestly, Daniel," she replied with a frown, "I really don't think my brain can handle any more information than you've already packed in there."
Daniel looked at her ruefully a moment. "That bad?," he asked at last. Mia rolled her eyes.
"Endless hours of memorization every day, for as long as I can remember. You knew what was coming; you wanted me to be prepared."
Daniel eyed her carefully. "That doesn't really sound like much fun," he said softly, wincing slightly.
Mia shrugged. "It wasn't so bad, really. It's just not something I want to go back to doing every day. Not yet, at least." This time it was her turn to smile ruefully at him.
Rounding another corner, Mia had a sudden thought. "Daniel, will Sam even want to see me?," she asked nervously.
Startled, he asked, "Why wouldn't she?"
"Oh, I don't know," she said with a sarcastic little laugh, "Maybe because I'm one giant, brightly lit reminder of everything she doesn't have in this timeline?"
Daniel sighed. "Mia, I don't think anyone is going to hold your existence against you." Mia raised her eyebrows archly.
"What about Jack?," she asked pointedly. "He looked like the blackest of thunder clouds by the time he left the infirmary yesterday, though he seemed to like me just fine before finding out that I'm his daughter, so to speak."
Daniel sighed again, gently pushing his glassed up the bridge of his nose. "Jack will take some time to adjust," he replied evenly. "But Sam has never been as hot-headed as Jack. You'll be fine, I promise," he said, pushing her gently ahead of himself into Sam's lab.
Sam looked up from what she was doing with a start. Eyeing Mia cautiously first, she turned to the archaeologist next. "Daniel," she said simply, a note of weary warning clear in her voice.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said quickly, "but I found that reference you were looking for, and I thought I'd bring it down to you."
"Thank you," she said hesitantly, accepting the papers from her teammate.
"I was also wondering if you'd care to join us for lunch," he added, nodding slightly in Mia's direction. Sam's expression of surprise mirrored Mia's own.
"Daniel, it's only ten o'clock in the morning," she replied at last.
"I know," he said quickly. "But when you're ready...," he trailed meaningfully. She sighed.
"I suppose I could...," she began, before she was interrupted with a testy, "Carter!," as her commanding officer barged unceremoniously into the room, nearly knocking Daniel over in the process.
"Sir?," asked Sam curiously, eyeing the wild-eyed General. "Is everything all right?"
"Is everything all right?!," he shouted incredulously, tossing a piece of paper onto her instruments. "You tell me."
Glancing quickly at the paper, Sam's face registered unrepressed shock at what she saw.
"What is it?," asked Daniel curiously, having steadied himself and moved safely away from the General's rampaging path since the latter's arrival.
"What is it?," bellowed the General, turning to glare at his friend. "Tell him, Carter."
"Transfer papers," she replied meekly, still shocked.
"For whom?," replied Daniel, raising an eyebrow.
"For me," she replied numbly. "They want me to head up the Stargate Research program at Area 51."
Both Daniel's eyebrows shot up this time. "Sam, that's gr-," he started to say, before O'Neill cut in again shouting "Not going to happen!"
"Sir?," Sam asked, looking intently at her commanding officer.
"Over my dead body am I going to let them steal my best scientist!," he growled, eyes fierce with determination.
Sam and Daniel both gave him pointed looks, before Daniel at last asked, "Jack, don't you think you're overreacting a bit?"
"No, Daniel, I don't," he snapped. "How many times over now would the world be overrun by Goaul'd or Replicators if it weren't for her quick thinking?," he snarled, nodding towards Sam. "We can't go on without her."
"With all due respect, Sir, I'll only be in Neveda," Sam replied gently.
"And what if another black hole tries pulling us in through the Stargate, Carter? What then?"
"Sir, that possibility is extremely remote," she began.
"That's not the point," he growled. "We need you here, Carter."
Mia eyed the tensely poised trio silently, wondering if life at the SGC was always this dramatic. General O'Neill and Colonel Carter were locked in a silent stand-off that bristled with intensity, while Daniel had taken a step forward, clearly preparing to intervene should Jack's final shred of self-control decide to unravel. Nobody moved. Mia wished desperately that she could escape the intensity of the moment, but feared her quiet shuffle to the door would remind the others of her presence and set Jack off again. He really was quite formidable when angry, she mused to herself. She certainly wouldn't want to cross his path on a day like today.
As the silence dragged from one interminable moment into the next, Mia had another thought. Speaking before she could remind herself that silence was still the safer bet, she heard her tentative voice splice the air, saying "Doesn't this mean that you two could finally be together?". Jack blew a gasket.