Authors Note:
..
Lucy sat between Sam and Jack in the front of the truck telling them about some of the children they were about to pick up. Teal'c and Daniel sat in the rear this time and Sam did not envy them. Outside the wind was picking up and buffeting the truck from what felt like all directions. She was pleased they would be getting this motley bunch of children off the streets and into the relative safety of the base. She was pleased Jack had agreed to have Lucy come along with them, she was pretty sure they would have no luck bringing Simon and the other children back to the base without her – Jack had obviously felt the same.
"How old is the youngest of the children?" Sam asked Lucy and braced herself as they went around a sharp corner.
"Tinkerbell." Lucy smirked when Sam and Jack both turned to her with surprised looks on their faces. "She's three years old and insists she is Tinkerbell 'cos her daddy says so… and no matter what she will not tell us her real name." Lucy chewed on her lower lip as if wanting to say something else. "I guess the other possibility is her parents actually did call their daughter Tinkerbell." She let out a snort of laughter. "You will see why she calls herself Tinkerbell when you meet her anyway."
"Poor kid, at three she won't even understand what's happening to her." Jack commented.
"No she doesn't get it. I don't know if she has a mom, but she always tells me her daddy will be back to get her soon." Lucy told them sadly. Sam wondered if it was actually better to not understand… knowing that your loved ones were dead, that the majority of the population of the entire world was dead… well it wasn't the kind of burden any child should carry.
"Alrighty, how do you want to do this Lucy?" Jack pulled up in his 'usual' park near the grocery store.
"I'll go in first and explain the situation." Lucy told them with no room for discussion. She opened the passenger door and slid out turning to give Sam one last smile before running to the buildings entrance.
..xx..
Sam knew exactly which child was 'Tinkerbell'. Lucy exited the supermarket with a little fairy on her hip. The small girl wore a green fairy costume complete with glittery wings. Sam bit back a smile as she wasn't sure if it was adorable or actually sad that 'Tinkerbell' truly thought she was the fairy from Peter Pan.
She exited the truck first and waited for Jack, Teal'c and Daniel to reach her side before stepping towards the growing group of children stepping out onto the street.
"Hello," she smiled and gave a friendly wave, she wasn't sure how helpful a smile was while wearing the bulky orange hazmat suit. "It's nice to see you all again." There were a few childish 'hellos' in return but most of the children clutched at each other and shied away from the group of 'adults' before them.
"If you come to the back of the truck you can sit in here with Sam and myself." Daniel gave them a smile and waved too.
Somehow his demeanour around children was better than hers and a few of the children stepped up closer to him, one little boy even reached out and touched him. She wished she could be as relaxed as he was around them. "Come on then," Daniel said jovially and showed the children how to climb up.
Between herself and Daniel – the least intimidating of SG-1 – they managed to lift the smallest and help the rest of the children into the rear of the truck. She counted sixteen children altogether. It was about as many as she had expected.
..xx..
On arriving back at Cheyenne Mountain Jack, Sam, Teal'c & Daniel decided to try talking to some of the more confident and healthier children while leaving the rest in the capable hands of the Doctor's and Nurse's. They needed to know more about 'the adults' and the only way to find out was to talk to as many of the group as they could. Unfortunately many of the children were sick, injured or just plain terrified so they were left with only three kids. Simon the boy Lucy had left in charge, Sophie an eight year old girl and Cameron a little boy of only five.
Daniel took Cameron aside to have a chat as the boy seemed taken by Daniel, Jack and Teal'c spoke to Simon who was one of few children not afraid of the imposing-looking Jaffa… and that left Sam with Sophie.
She started off by giving Sophie food and water and offering her little bits and pieces about life on base. The moment Sophie had finished eating she began talking. She was so much more at ease around Sam than Lucy had been. Sophie chattered about her friends, her family and life with Lucy on the streets and gave Sam hardly a word in edgewise! Sam desperately needed to know more about where the children had been held – but she wasn't going to push her luck by prying. She let the girl talk about anything… and well everything until finally Sophie began speaking of her time "at the jail" as she put it.
"I was in a room with Callie, Tinkerbell and Charlotte. It was kind of scary 'cause I like having a night light on at night – not cos I'm a baby or anything." She blushed at the words and ducked her head, suddenly looking shy. "-but anyway… they always turned the lights off in the room at night and Tinkerbell was real scared too and she kept crying and it was hard to sleep. It also smelled real bad like a hospital or something." Sophie stopped talking for a moment only to finish her bottle of water. "They used to take us one at a time and they would put us in this chair and tie us down and stick needles and stuff into us. It really hurt." Sophie had talked without getting emotional up until this point and Sam noticed the little girls eyes were filling with tears. She pushed her chair back and held her arms wide open.
"Come here sweetie…" Sophie threw herself out of her chair across the table and into Sam's arms without hesitation. She snuggled against her chest, sobbing her little heart out. She was still trying to talk but Sam could barely make out a word due to the crying so she focused on smoothing the girl's hair with her hand and whispering soothing words. Sam decided this talk was over. She would give Sophie time to cry herself out and then she would take her somewhere to sleep.
..xx..
"Nice to see you back SG-1," General Hammond was waiting for them outside the elevator on their return. "From what you told me on the phone I'm looking forward to this debrief. Before we go down though, I want to show you something." Sam raised an eyebrow at Jack, but he didn't seem to know what was going on either.
"Okay Sir," she shrugged.
Daniel and Teal'c looked as confused as she felt, so the four of them followed General Hammond in silence down the hall until they reached the old conference room. On entering the room they were surprised to see the whole place had been changed and… well… decorated. A beaming Cassie stood beneath streamers and balloons in the corner.
"Hey guys! Do you like it?" Sam swore she could see the girl's eyes sparkling from across the room.
"Uh… what is the occasion?" Jack asked.
"This is going to be the new movie room!" Cassie pointed to the large drop down screen and Sam then realized that there were twice as many seats in the conference room facing the screen than there used to be. "I thought I'd get it set up before all the new kids arrive." Cassie never failed to impress her. The girl truly had a heart of gold.
"Oh Cass," Sam crossed the room and brought the girl into a bone crushing hug. "This is a brilliant idea!"
"It will help boost morale around this place too," General Hammond nodded at Cassie approvingly.
"The first screening is tonight at 7.30," Cassie told them. "I of course organized tickets for all of SG-1 to be there."
"Tickets?" Daniel asked, pushing his glasses up his nose in typical Daniel fashion.
"Well there are only a certain amount of seats, I didn't want arguments…" Cassie looked worried. "Did I take it too far - making tickets?"
"No, no." Daniel smiled reassuringly. "I think that was a smart move."
"Indeed," Teal'c nodded. "What movie will we be watching?"
"Oh," Cassie smirked. "Well you will like it Teal'c… it's E.T!"
"Are you serious?" Jack rolled his eyes. "The one with Drew Barrymore right?"
"Is there any other?" Cassie responded with a laugh.
"Well, no." Jack sighed. "We could have watched The Simpsons you know."
"I have a limited selection of movies that I found on the base." Cassie gestured behind her at a stack of DVD's. "But when you get your Simpsons collection back, I promise I'll play them."
"Good!" Jack grinned at this. "I miss my ol' friends."
"Okay, back to business." General Hammond gestured to the door. "Time to get me up to date, SG-1."
Sam was looking forward to this debriefing. She had hardly spoken to the rest of SG-1 on their trip through 'de-con' and she hoped that the men had received more answers from Simon and Cameron than she had from Sophie, not that she faulted the girl at all. She had tried her best!
TBC.