Air Force Academy Hospital, 1530 hours.
Faith looked on as Willow, General Carter and Dr. Lam walked into a room while the others all waited outside in the waiting lounge. The truth of the matter was that they didn't want to crowd Colonel Carter at once; so Woolsey, General Landry, and General O'Neill went into the room to visit the blonde haired Colonel. In the meantime, Faith was talking to the recently arrived Cassie about her starting her internship in the base infirmary under Dr. Lam when everyone heard General Carter shout from the room he, Willow and Dr. Lam was in. Faith and the others looked at each other confused as the door opened roughly and General Carter stormed out past them and towards Colonel Carter's room.
"General!" shouted Willow as she ran after him and blocked him two doors away from the room, "please, we don't have any proof. It's my word against his."
"Out of my way, Major" said General Carter as he looked at Willow with eyes full of murderous rage, "get out of the way, that's an order."
"General?" asked Colonel Mitchell as he and the others walked towards Willow and General Carter, "what's going on?"
"That bastard assaulted my daughter" said the General as everyone looked on in shock. The entire group was quiet with the only sound anyone could hear being General Carter breathing deeply as he looked at SG1 and the others, "that bastard assaulted my daughter, and I intend to kill him."
"Sir" said Colonel Mitchell shaking his head in disbelief at what the General just said, "how do you know?"
"I told him, sir" said Willow, "just now when I was in the room with Colonel Carter, he was thinking out loud and I saw something's that he did."
"What di he do?" asked Colonel Mitchell.
"Did he hurt her?" asked Daniel whose hands were rolled into fists.
"He might as well have" said Willow as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Colonel Carter's going to be devastated."
"Red" said Faith when she sensed extreme anger from behind her. Taking a quick glance back, she saw Teal'c looking at the door to the Colonel's room but his anger was so great that she could feel it through the connection she shared with Willow. The brunette Slayer then shook her head and turned back to face the redhead, "you said you need proof, is there any way?"
"You need to get the syringes back to me" said Dr. Lam as she came up to General Carter and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, "Sir, I need for you to calm down. I just have to examine the contents of the syringes to make a confirmation."
"Willow" said Dawn, "earlier today he told me that he won something, that we… you… lost."
"That idiot thinks it's a competition" said Willow as she looked at Dawn, "I admit that I thought it was a competition too, but for a different reason. Look, when I died.. I mean before I was cloned, I had a vision of possible events in the future. I saw Colonel Carter's future and I didn't want her to let go of that. That day I got back from Atlantis, I convinced her to stay on at the SGC; that even though she was married, it didn't mean that her future won't come to pass."
"That's why she changed her mind" said General Carter as he closed his eyes and spoke calmly, "and that's the night he… he…"
"Grandpa Jacob" said Cassie, "what did he do?"
"He poked holes into a whole box of condoms" said Willow as everyone looked at each other in shock, "then when that didn't work as well as he thought it could have, he switched the Colonel's birth control injections with Saline solution."
"That's why you felt disgusted" said a shocked Faith, "that bastard…. I told him if he did anything to harm Sam… damn it…"
"General" said Colonel Mitchell, "Sir, I'd like for you, Faith and Dr. Lam to get to Carter's home…. Bring back those injections and run the test. Pronto."
"I need to…" said the General as he walked past Willow, but was stopped by Teal'c who had blocked his path.
"General Carter" said Teal'c, "please retrieve the medication along with Faith Lehane and Dr. Lam."
"Teal'c" said General Carter, "he assaulted my daughter… I need to…. Come on, even the Jaffa have a code on this… please, I have to…."
"I understand your need for vengeance on behalf of Colonel Carter" said Teal'c calmly as he gently placed his hand on the General's shoulder, "however, as Willow Rosenberg has stated… we still require evidence. In the meantime, we will make certain that Peter Shanahan does not leave this building."
"Fine" said General Carter, "but I want to get the first crack at him."
"Come on, Jacob" said Faith as she held on tightly to his hand, "let's go to Sam's home… we'll get the injections and then get back."
Willow sighed as she watched an angry General Carter walk towards the elevators on the other end of the hallway with Faith and Dr. Lam. Turning around she saw Teal'c and walked towards him, she thanked him for calming the General down and had told him that she could feel his rage inside…. And that she was glad that Teal'c simply didn't go into the room and beat up Pete.
It was a little later that Woolsey, General Landry and General O'Neill walked out of the Colonel's room with smiles on their faces. As they walked towards the small group in the waiting lounge, the smiles on their faces disappeared as soon as they sensed the tension in the air. It was a few minutes later that Colonel Mitchell and Willow told them what the former had found, and that General Carter had gone to Colonel Carter's home to get the evidence. As the three men listened, Willow sensed growing anger from an unexpected source, Woolsey. Glancing at the outward exterior of the calm, suited man, she was surprised at the amount of anger he seemed to hold in check. As they continued talking, Willow sensed the rising anger in General O'Neill and General Landry…. The former wanting to go back into the room and protect his teammate, while the later wanted to kill Pete for what he did to one of the people under his charge, and under his watch.
However, it was agreed by all that Colonel Carter herself should be told about all of this only once the contents of the syringes were tested. In the meantime, the second small group consisting of Cassie, Anya and Dawn walked into the room to give their best wishes to both Colonel Carter and Debra. However, they wouldn't tell Colonel Carter anything yet and they had promised to do their best to be as civil as possible with Pete.
"Until we have to kill him?" asked Dawn just before she walked towards the room.
"Yea" said Willow as Dawn nodded her head before heading into the room and closing the door behind her.
It was thirty minutes later that Faith and General Carter returned with Dr. Lam who was carrying a black case in her left hand. The doctor excused herself and walked over to her lab on the next floor, but not before telling the small group that the test could take from anywhere between thirty minutes to an hour.
"We'll wait" said General Landry as Dr. Lam nodded.
Colonel Carter's Room, 1730 hours.
Colonel Carter was happy, she had a lovely daughter who was now sleeping in her arms. She had a husband who loved her, and friends who cared for her and the baby.
"You are one lucky lady" said Colonel Carter as she brought up Debra and breathed in her scent deeply before whispering into her ear, "you have a mountain full of aunts and uncles who'd watch over you; I love you."
"Hey Sam" said Mark as he sat beside his older sister, "you're hogging Debra all to yourself, if you continue to do that.. then she'll never know her Uncle Mark."
"Oh, she knows you" laughed Colonel Carter as she handed Debra gingerly to Mark, "or at least she'll know since you'll be the one spoiling her."
"I think Jacob will be doing most of the spoiling" grinned Kris as she looked around and noticed that only the four of them were in the room, "actually, where is he?"
"He said something about needing to check something out" said Mark as he carried Debra and made faces at her, "I met him when I went to the restroom outside… he was talking to Willow and the others; must be some hush-hush stuff."
"Could be" said Colonel Carter when the door to her room opened and Woolsey, Colonel Mitchell, Willow, General Landry, General O'Neill and General Carter walked into the room with two SF's. The Colonel then sat up surprised, especially at the presence of the SF's in her room and looked on as General Carter walked towards her holding a clipboard in his left hand.
"Dad?" asked both Colonel Carter and Mark together as they looked on confused.
"Sam, Mark" said General Carter as he looked at his two children before settling his eyes on Colonel Carter, "I'm so sorry, honey."
"Dad?" asked Colonel Carter as her father handed her the clipboard which had attached to it the results of the test that Dr. Lam conducted. Looking through the single page, Colonel Carter's eyes landed on the result at the end of the detailed report, "saline solution? Dad, what is this?"
"Mark" said the General as he sat beside his confused daughter and held her hand tight, "I need you and Kris to please take Debra outside."
"But dad" said Mark, "what's going on?"
"Mark, please… I'll explain everything later. I swear"
Mark Carter knew that something was wrong, and it wasn't just the way his father was acting. He looked at the two General's who were standing at the edge of his sister's bed, he looked at Woolsey, he looked at Colonel Mitchell who had his arms crossed around his chest, he looked at Willow; all of them had one thing in common.. they were giving death glares at Pete. Despite all those years of being angry at his father, one thing he knew was that everything General Carter did had a reason, whether it be good or bad. Mark looked at the pleading eyes of General Carter and nodded his head, so he held onto Debra tightly and walked out of the room with Kris.
Once Mark and Kris had taken Debra outside into the waiting area where the rest of SG1 and the others were waiting, Willow walked up to the other side of Colonel Carter's bed and sat down next to her. Holding her hand tightly in the process.
"Ma'am" said Willow, "that report that General Carter showed you was the result of tests conducted on your birth control injections."
"What!" said the Colonel as she looked at the report again, and then at General Carter who had his eyes closed.. and then at Willow who was glaring at Pete, "but…. But…. This says Sodium Chloride.. how.. I mean… why?... how?"
Willow: "When I was in your room earlier today, Pete was thinking about two incidents very loudly…. And.. and… that's why I got out of the room. I was physically sick.. I'm sorry, ma'am. I really am."
"Do you want to tell Colonel Carter?" asked General Landry as he glared at Pete, "or should we."
"You don't know what you're talking about" said Pete as he pointed his finger at Colonel Carter, "I love her."
"You love her?" said Willow, "You really love her? Is that why you switched her birth control medication? Is that why you poked holes into the condoms?"
"WHAT!?" said Colonel Carter outraged as she sat up in her bed, "Pete?"
"Come on, Sam" said Pete, "you're taking her side? I told you so many times that she hates me.. she hates our marriage."
"Yea" said Willow as she tightened her hold on Colonel Carter's hand, "I hate you… I've always hated you, but Colonel Carter loved you and I respect her enough not to interfere in your marriage. But this….. you took everything to a whole other twisted level. There's no way I'm standing by on the sidelines."
"So this is how things will go from now on" said Woolsey, "your clearance to the SGC has been revoked, if you mention the existence of the SGC to anyone.. or that Colonel Carter even works there once disclosure occurs, then I'll personally put you into a deep, dark hole for the rest of your life."
"Why you…" said Pete angrily as he walked towards Woolsey just as General O'Neill stepped in front of him.
"Don't you dare" said General O'Neill through gritted teeth, "not only did you do something so disgusting to a close, personal friend of mine… you could have potentially harmed one of this nation's best and brightest."
"What are you going to do about it? Huh?" said Pete as he squared off to the General, "you have no evidence…. I helped Sam inject herself with those drugs… for all I know, she's the one who could have changed the formula. She's the one who…"
"What?" said Colonel Carter in disbelief, "how could you say that? You know I'd never…."
"Sam" said Pete as he stepped away from General O'Neill with a smirk on his face, "you've been so stressed out lately that you may not remember what happened. You wanted a baby so much that you told me… you told me that you switched the formula inside the syringes because you wanted to have a baby. You told me that…"
"What!" said Colonel Carter, "I never… that doesn't even make sense."
"Sam, baby" said Pete, "I told you.. you were so stressed out during your pregnancy that you couldn't remember details of your day.. or what happened months earlier, or…"
"That's the best story you can come up with?" asked General Carter.
"Hah" said Pete, "your daughter forgets things… I mean it's understandable that it would happen when she was pregnant. Anyway, if you're thinking about divorce after such an unproven allegation… I can tell you that I'll fight for custody of Debra. And you know what, I'll get her."
"Pete" said Colonel Carter shocked.
"I mean you can see her if you want to" said Pete smugly, "my parents will look after her while I'm at work… I mean come on, Sam… you're away for days sometimes. You're not fit to look after her by yourself, unless you stay at home."
"No" said Colonel Carter as she glared at Pete, "you… you.. you did something inexcusable.. something that I never thought you were capable of. Willow warned me about you.. how you followed me around, how you stalked me… my God, you even admitted you stalked me and I still agreed to marry you. I wanted to look over your faults because I did love you.. and then you do this? Because I can't have a life outside the home? Is that it?"
"Sam" said Pete.
"IS THAT IT?" shouted Colonel Carter, "I told you that I wasn't ready for a baby yet, I told you that I wanted to wait until I was ready…. Until the both of us were ready. And you told me to my face that you agreed."
"You promised to quit the Air Force!" said Pete as he pointed at Willow, "if that bitch hadn't…"
"Don't you dare call Willow that" said General Carter.
"You know what?" said Pete smugly, "Nothing you do matters, because I'll have Debra… I'll keep her away from you people and raise her in safety. And if Sam wants, I'll make sure she get visitation rights… I know some of the judges in…"
"Shut up" said Willow as she got off the bed, "I really suggest you shut up, right now."
"Sergeants" said General Landry as he looked at the SF's, "please wait outside, we'll call you to escort Mr. Shanahan out of this building."
"Yes, sir" said both of the SF's as they opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, before closing it behind them.
Willow slowly walked towards Pete with her hands balled into fists as, unknown to everyone in the room, a small electrical spark arched from one knuckle to the next on her right hand.
"You ass" said Willow as she walked past Colonel Mitchell, General Landry and Woolsey as they felt a charge in the air while goose bumps rose on their arms as Willow walked past them.
Faith: "Red, what the hell are you doing?"
Willow: "I'm in control Faith, I promise."
"You" said Pete as he pointed at Willow, "you get out of….. hey!"
Willow rushed towards Pete and pushed him against the wall.
"You just assaulted a police detective" said Pete as he rubbed his chest, "you think I'm afraid of you?"
"Oh Pete" said Willow as she placed her palm against his chest and held him against the wall, "you really should be afraid of me."
As Pete struggled to remove Willow's hand from his chest, he noticed that her normally green eyes were slowly turning grey and then slowly it became jet black… as did her hair.
Faith: "Red."
Willow: "I'm alright, just scaring him a bit."
Faith: "Be careful, I can sense your rising anger."
"You know" said Willow as she looked at a scared Pete, "here's what's going to happen now."
"What… what are you?" asked Pete as he looked at two black eyes looking back at him.
"If you don't follow what I say?" said Willow, "I'll be the first of your nightmares. There are others out there that will do much worse to you than I ever could."
"Red" said General O'Neill as he looked at the former redheaded woman, "don't hurt him."
"I promise, sir" said Willow as she stared at Pete as the police detective looked at his own reflection in those jet black eyes, "You know why I get like this, Peter? You know.. black hair.. black eyes?"
Terrified, Pete shook his head before looking up at Colonel Carter who he saw was crying into General Carter's shoulder, while the older General was glaring at him. He then looked at Colonel Mitchell, General Landry, O'Neill and Woolsey who weren't making a single move to help him. He then looked back at Willow, who was staring back at him with those black eyes. Pete did the only thing he could, he opened his mouth to scream for help but no sound came out.
"Oh" said Willow, "I forgot to mention something.. I froze your vocal chords. It's funny all the things you could do with telekinesis. Now… you wanna know why I get so black eyed and black haired? No? Ah well, I'll tell you anyway… it happens when I get angry.. and I mean not angry angry… not really Hulk angry since I don't turn green… it's more like a 'I can disassemble your body slowly molecule by molecule' type of angry. You know?"
Pete could only nod his terrified head at Willow.
"Now" said Willow, "like Mr. Woolsey said, your clearance has been revoked. You're not welcome at the SGC. Also if you ever… and I mean ever come near Colonel Carter, Debra or any of us… I will make good on my promise to disassemble your body molecule by molecule. General O'Neill?"
"You'll be escorted out of the hospital" said the General, "then you'll go to your department and turn yourself in… at least do something honourable. You will tell your superiors what you did…. If they ask why, I suggest telling them you have a guilty conscience. I doubt they'll believe any other answer you give them. And you better tell them the truth, I'll have a good friend of mine from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations call up your superiors to make sure you told them the truth. Either way, you will be charged by the Air Force for the assault of Colonel Carter. And just in case you think that we don't have proof, we found your box of condoms… you actually left it in the main restroom… were you really that much of an idiot?"
"Understand?" asked Willow as she stared at Pete, "you can answer."
"Ye.. yes" said Pete as he looked at Colonel Carter, "Sa… Sam?"
"Get out" said Colonel Carter as she looked at Pete, "Get out before I have Willow, Faith, Dawn or any of the others kill you… you came near me or Debra… and I'll kill you myself. Don't ever let me see your face again… ever. I wasn't ready to have a baby…. You knew that. But now that I have Debra in my life, she's the one… she's the one person I'll love with all my heart. Now, don't make me repeat myself… get out. If I ever see you near us again, I'll shove you through the Stargate into a black hole; if you ever try making contact with me or Debra, I'll make sure you get beamed into space; and finally, if you ever threaten any of my friends again… even as a joke, I'll have one of our allies deposit you in another galaxy."
"Get out" said Willow as her hair turned red again.
"Sergeants" shouted General Landry as the two SF's walked back into the room, "please take Mr. Shanahan away. Escort him to his car, and call the front gate to ensure that he leaves."
"Yes, sir" said one of the SF's as he grabbed Pete's arm and pulled him away.
"Sam" said Pete as he tried to resist, "you need me… Sam! If you do this, then you won't have a place to stay… that house is mine… I…"
"We both signed for the lease, genius" said the Colonel, "and no… I don't want it. Now get out! Get! OUT!"
"Sir" said one of the SF's as he pulled Pete again, just for him to squirm out of his grasp. Pete then rushed towards the Colonel as she looked on helplessly when Pete raised his hand just as he received a punch in the face from General Landry.
"You broke my nose" said Pete as he bent over and covered his face, "you broke my nose!"
"You really are an idiot" said General O'Neill, "a room full of Air Force officers and you rush one of them, Really?"
"Sir!" said another SF as he roughly pulled Pete away, "come with us quietly, or else we'll use force."
"Fine" said Pete as he glared at the officers in front of him as they surrounded Colonel Carter, "she'll come crawling back to me… when she can't handle the baby, she'll come crawling back to me."
After the door to the Colonel's room closed, Willow plopped herself down on the chair next to Colonel Carter and closed her eyes and wiped the blood that was dripping down from her nose.
"Red" said General O'Neill as he crouched in front of Willow, "you shouldn't have done that, you know what happens when you… you know…"
"Yeah" said Willow as she glanced at Colonel Carter who was looking at a single spot on her bed. Willow then reached for the Colonel's hand and held on tightly, "but to protect a friend.. I'd do anything."
"Like separate him molecule by molecule?" asked Colonel Mitchell "is that even possible?"
"Maybe" shrugged Willow, "I know I'm not able to do it."
"Either way" said Colonel MItchel, "I gotta say that was the coolest thing I've seen, I only heard about it.. but to see it? Damn."
Willow then looked up and smiled at Colonel Mitchell as she wadded a piece of tissue and stuffed it into her nose.
"So you lied" said Woolsey.
"Don't tell him that, sir" said Willow as she looked up at Colonel Carter, "Ma'am, I'm so sorry."
"Not your fault" said the Colonel as she looked down at the bed and wiped some tears from her face as General Carter held her tight, "I… I'd like to see my Debra."
Willow: "Faith, can you bring Debra?"
Faith: "On the way."
Waiting Lounge, Air Force Hospital, a few minutes earlier.
Mark couldn't believe it, after he and Kris left the room with Debra he went to the waiting lounge where everyone else was waiting. They had told Mark and Kris what happened. As they listened in shock, Mark still couldn't believe it… he couldn't believe it even when Dr. Lam talked to the both of them. That was twenty minutes ago, and as he sat on the chair stunned.. he looked at the looks of concern all around him and he knew… somewhere deep down he knew that they were right, that something happened to his older sister and it was his fault. He's the one who met Pete in college; he's the one who pushed Colonel Carter to date his good friend. No matter what anyone said, Mark would know that he was partly at fault.
"Mark" said Kris as she tapped him on the shoulder, "look."
Mark looked up and saw everyone around him standing up and walking towards the hallway. He heard a door in the distance close, and footsteps on the linonium floors that were heading towards their general direction. Mark slowly got up and walked with Kris to the hallway and stood next to Faith who had her hands folded on her chest as she glared at Pete. Looking at the man, Mark saw that he was being escorted by two SF's who were holding his arms.
"Pete" said Mark as Pete walked past him, "what did you do? How? Why?"
"Don't worry, Mark" smiled Pete as he looked at Mark, "she'll come back to me, I love her. She and Debra will come back to me."
"You.. you really did it, didn't you?" said Mark as he rushed over to Pete, "you really did it? They were right."
"Sir" said one of the SF's, "please step aside."
"You….." said Mark as he stepped forward and poked Pete's chest with a finger, "I introduced her to you…"
"Thank you" said Pete as he smiled at Mark, "I told you I love her very much… I mean, if it wasn't for you, I would never have met the love of my life."
Mark immediately punched Pete's face as the detective stepped back from the punch as one of the SF's released his arm while the other one, as well as Faith, restrained Mark and pulled him back. Mark looked on as the other SF picked up the injured Pete, who was looking at Kris holding Debra.
"My Debra" said Pete as he stared at the baby, "you'll be seeing me again."
"You'll stay away from her" said Kris as she held Debra tightly, while Teal'c and Daniel moved to stand next to the woman protectively.
"Indeed" said Teal'c, "now go. Do not return."
"I'll be back" said Pete as the two SF's led him away, "you'll see.. I'll be back. Sam will crawl back to me… and I'll have my Debra. I'll win… you'll see…. I'll win."
As Faith watched the SF's take away Pete, she received a message from Willow that Colonel Carter was asking for Debra. Turning around, she told Mark that maybe it was time for the Colonel to see her daughter. Nodding his head, Mark agreed and took both Kris and Debra into the room. Although it went unsaid in the waiting lounge, everyone knew that Colonel Carter needed their support.
General O'Neill's cabin, Silver Creek, Minnesota, a month later.
It had been a little over a month since Debra Carter's birth, and since then Colonel Carter had filed for divorce from Pete. After his admission to his superiors, he was fired from his job at the Colorado Springs Police Department and the last time anyone had heard from him, he was forced to move back to Denver as his inclusion in the sex offender database meant that could not get a job in law enforcement.. even if he tried. So he sold his house, granted Colonel Carter a divorce where he was to have absolutely no contact with either her or with Debra. Thanks to Colonel Carter's urging, Pete was put on three years probation for what Pete had done to her. When asked about it, she told people that he was already being punished enough… that she had Debra to care for now and she had to move on with her life; for Debra's sake.
"Not being able to see Debra grow up is punishment enough for him" the Colonel would tell people.
Now, as Colonel Carter approached one of the closed doors in the General's cabin, she smiled as she opened the door to find Faith in a dark blue dress as Cassie and Anya fussed over her. Smiling at the nervous girl, Colonel Carter walked into the room and stood behind the Slayer.
"You look beautiful, Faith" said the Colonel as Faith smiled at their reflection in the mirror, "you ready?"
"Yea" said Faith as she looked at herself and then at Colonel Carter's reflection, "you know… when I think about all the ways my life could have gone, if you had told me years earlier that I'd be getting married to Willow…. or that I'd be living happily going to other planets and… I mean…. damn…"
"You would have thought I was crazy?" asked Colonel Carter.
"Yea" said Faith as she turned and looked at the Colonel, Cassie and Anya, "how do I look?"
"Beautiful" said General O'Neill as he walked into the room in his dress blues.
"Sir" said Colonel Carter as she straightened.
"Relax Carter" said General O'Neill, "so where's your date?"
"She's sleeping, sir" grinned Colonel Carter, "and no, you can't pick her up. The last time you did that, she stayed awake the whole night, meaning that I couldn't get any sleep."
"From what I heard" said Cassie, "neither could Grandpa Jacob."
'Right" said General O'Neill nervously, "I've already apologized for that."
"Yes, sir" said Colonel Carter, "but the answer's still no."
"D'oh" said General O'Neill grimacing as Colonel Carter smiled.
"Have you met Willow's parents, sir?" asked Colonel Carter.
"Yea" replied the General, "the mother rubs me the wrong way a little, but the dad seems alright."
"Anyway, Saul talked to the both of them after he talked to Red and Faith" continued General O'Neill referring to Rabbi Saul Kahn who would be performing what he told Willow and Faith would be an union of two friends and lovers.
While General O'Neill and the others were talking inside the cabin, the aforementioned Rabbi was outside on the dock that overlooked a large lake. He just closed his eyes and was thinking about the first time his friend, Jack O'Neill, approached him about officiating the wedding of two young women who were once under his direct command. The rabbi reminded him that it would be an union, that it wouldn't be a marriage in the traditional sense as he would have to change some things around in the ritual to fit with the occasion. The Rabbi remembered smiling as the General said that both Faith and Willow would see it as a wedding in either case. An unique wedding, but a wedding nevertheless.
Laughing, the Rabbi then agreed to meet with them about seven months ago. He had talked to them about the problems that could arise from their union, and that not everyone in the Jewish community would agree would what they were doing. As he looked out at the lake now, he smiled to himself as he recalled Willow's answer.
"As long as my friends and family are alright with it" said Willow as she and Faith sat across from him in his Synagogue, "then it doesn't really matter to me what others think. The people who matter to me will be there, I have no regrets."
"And Faith?" asked Rabbi Saul as he looked at the brunette, "how about your family? Do they agree with this union?"
"I don't really have a family" said Faith as she looked at the Rabbi, "I mean I have a cousin in Boston, but I won't be asking her. I don't really know her that well. Actually to be completely honest with you, my family's the people I work with everyday.. they're the ones I care about."
"And Willow?" asked the Rabbi.
"Willow" said Faith as she looked at the redhead, "she's my best friend and my love, she's everything to me."
Smiling at the memory, Rabbi Saul turned around and saw two rows of fifteen seats on the ground with an aisle in the middle. He thought back on counselling the two girls together, one on one, and with both Ira and Sheila Rosenberg over the seven months. Looking at his wristwatch, he knew that there was twenty minutes left before the ceremony started. In a little while, the rabbi saw more and more people milling about in near the dock as the talked to each other before taking their seats. He saw both sides having people in suits and ties, fancy dresses as well as dress blues for the Air Force officers.
It was a while later that the Rabbi signalled the start of proceedings. As he looked down the aisle, he saw two lines forming. The Rabbi smiled as he saw a blonde woman that General O'Neill had introduced earlier as Buffy who was on the left, and the one he only knew as Murray who was on the right side stand side by side as they slowly walked up the aisle followed by Cassie on the left, and Dawn on the right. Then as Cassie and Dawn took their places on either side, the rabbi saw Willow in a white dress flanked by both her parents on the left side of the aisle, and Faith who was flanked by Colonel Carter and General O'Neill on the right side of the aisle. He smiled as the group led both Willow and Faith up the aisle before each gave a kiss on the cheek of their respective charge and then walked over to either side, leaving Willow and Faith alone.
Just as the Rabbi was starting to speak, he noticed someone with red hair, in a white dress with gold accents walking from behind the far end of the cabin and leaning on the side of the cabin. He looked at the woman and then at Willow, before looking at the woman in the back again. He was amazed that she seemed similar to Willow, but there was something different…. as if the woman in white was related somehow.
"Rabbi?" whispered Willow as she sensed confusion coming from him, "you alright?"
"Uh" said the Rabbi as he looked at the side of the cabin as the woman smiled at the Rabbi before she wiped a tear that was falling down her face.
"Saul?" whispered General O'Neill as he turned to where the Rabbi was looking, but couldn't see anything, "Saul? Are you alright?"
"Ye… yes" said the Rabbi as the woman he had seen earlier walked behind the far end of the cabin again as the General had asked him if everything was fine, "I think everything will be fine."
As the Rabbi turned back to Willow and Faith, the two young women looked at each other just before their surrounding melted away and they found themselves on a white sandy beach.
"Red" said Faith as she looked around, "what did you do?"
"Don't worry" said Willow as she sat down on the beach, and Faith sat down beside her, "this is just… a private moment.. just between us for a little while."
"But the ceremony?" said Faith, "I mean won't it be weird that we're not doing anything.. or answering any questions, or…"
"Don't worry" said Willow as she put her head on Faith's shoulder, "call this multi-tasking, we're still listening to the Rabbi speak… we'll still do what is required… I just wanted this one moment with you alone."
"We'll be alone" said Faith, "you do remember we have first class tickets to Paris for tomorrow. We'll be alone for a week."
"I know" said Willow as she laced the fingers of her hand into Faith's, "I love you so much."
"I love you too" said Faith as she kissed Willow's cheek, "but I think we need to be all there at the cabin."
"She's right you know" said a familiar voice from behind them. Looking behind them, Willow stood up excitedly and hugged Janet.
"Willow" said Janet, "can't breathe."
"Right" said Willow as she stepped back.
"Hold on a sec" said Faith as she looked at Janet, "do you breathe as an ascended being?"
"Yeah… well…. It's complicated" said Janet.
"So" said Willow, "here to help us against the Ori? Give us a clue on the Sangraal maybe?"
"No" said a grinning Janet, "just here to congratulate the both of you."
"Thanks, doc" said Faith as she gave Janet a hug, "thank you for watching out for Red."
"You'll have to take care of each other" said Janet as she returned Faith's hug, and whispered in the Slayer's ear, "watch out for her. Things will change very soon… all I can tell you is that someone who was long thought lost, will return. The fight against the Ori will be joined… I can't tell you who'll win.. but I can tell you that the end will come."
"Janet?' said Faith as the older redhead kissed Faith on the cheek.
"The both of you strengthen one another" said Janet as she stepped back, "use that strength to find yourselves, always."
"Cryptic riddles?" asked Willow.
"Sorry" said Janet with a lopsided smile, "I wish I could be as wise as Oma."
"She still battling Anubis?" asked Faith.
"Yes" said Janet as she looked up and then back down at the two young women standing before her, "for all eternity."
"You still haven't said anything about Athena" said Willow.
"I know" replied Janet as she started to glow, "I'll visit when I can, and tell Sam that Debra's one adorable baby."
"We will" said Faith and Willow as Janet vanished in a bright white light as their surroundings melted away and Willow and Faith found themselves back at the cabin, in the middle of the ceremony. Willow took a glance behind her and saw her aunts, uncles and cousins; Xander and the rest of the Scoobies; Joyce and Jay and Rose sitting together with grins plastered on their faces; she saw her extended family from the SGC in General Hammond, General Landry, Walter, Colonel Mitchell and Daniel. Willow then glanced back at Faith as the Rabbi spoke to the both of them, and to the crowd behind. The two young women looked at each other and smiled.
Willow: "I love you."
Faith: "I love you."
Paris, France, four days later. 0600 hours.
Faith found herself in the middle of a crowded museum standing next to Willow looking at what seemed to be some kind of robot that was encased in a glass case, along with some other adults and children. Putting her finger on the glass, Faith walked closer to take a good look at the chrome covered piece of technology that looked more like a prototype of some sort with its chest plate laid on the ground, against its feet and exposed wiring from a piece of its chrome armour that was opened so that the people currently looking at the machine could see its inner electronics.. Turning to face willow, Faith saw that she was also looking at the robot and frowning, the Slayer than saw the redhead turn and walk away past some statues and artifacts.
"Red" said Faith as she followed Willow and looked at the statues on either side, "these look like the gods… at least the statues of the ancient Greek gods. That guy with the arrow is Apollo, there's Poseidon with the trident, the hot one in skimpy clothing is possibly Aphrodite. Where are we? I'm guessing that this is a dream you're having but, wherever this is… it definitely isn't Paris. Don't get me wrong, I love the Louvre but…. Red?"
Faith turned to face Willow when she noticed that the redhead wasn't making a single sound. All she did was scan at the statues and frown when she laid her eyes on one in particular. Walking with the redhead towards that particular statue, Faith crouched down to look at the name plate at the base… but found that she couldn't read it.
"What is that?" asked Faith as she looked at Willow who still ignored her. Faith then looked back at the name plate and then at the statue again, "Red, I can't read the name plate… it.. it looks foreign… I mean I know it's not Ancient, it looks more like Greek.. Damn, I wish Daniel or Dawn were here."
Faith then stood up and approached Willow, "Red, I don't know why you're ignoring me but… whoa."
The brunette Slayer was shocked when Willow glowed white as her hand went through the redhead's body as she tried to lay her hand on Willow's shoulder. It was then made the connection that possibly the one who was now walking away, wasn't necessarily Willow.
"You're Athena, aren't you" said Faith as she ran towards the redhead and stood in front of her, "I don't know what you're trying to show me, but we need your help. We need the Ancient's help. Please, we need to find the Sangraal and…."
Faith stepped back as Athena simply walked through her body and headed for a staircase.
"Athena!" shouted Faith as she followed the redhead down the stairs, "look, you can ignore me all you want… but your descendent, Willow, she needs your help too. I know what happened to Hera hurt you.. but, please…. If you don't help us, then more sisters, more brothers, fathers and mothers.. more families will be wiped out when they refuse to bow down to the Ori."
Faith watched as Athena stopped when Faith mentioned Hera, but all the redhead did was turn towards a window. Following Athena towards the glass, Faith looked out into a fairly large city with buildings all around her, including one exceptionally tall skyscraper in the distance, and ships… ships that were flying in the sky.
"Sweet" said Faith as she saw the ships, just as she heard a yelp next to her. Looking to her right, she saw Athena looking down at a boy who was laying on the floor with a brown coloured stain spreading on Athena's white dress. Frowning at the boy, Athena looked up when she heard people running towards them.
Faith watched as a man and a woman, presumably the boy's parents ran over to where he lay still looking up at Athena. The father picked up the boy and straightened his clothes before he himself stood up and pointed at Athena's stain. Unable to understand what was being said between them, Faith looked on as the man and woman seemed to apologize profusely while the boy just looked up and smiled at Athena. Faith watched as the family of three sheepishly walked away after Athena seemed to indicate that she was fine. However, she saw Athena call out to them and ask something in Greek.. something that Faith couldn't understand and she made a mental note to start learning Greek, particularly Ancient Greek from Dawn. The Slayer smiled to herself when she realized that the poor girl was already being harassed by Willow to teach her Ancient, and now the brunette Slayer would be the one harassing Dawn to teach her Ancient Greek. But there was one word that Faith got, it was either the boy's first name or his family name; Adama.
Nodding at the family as they walked away, Athena turned around and headed towards another staircase. Following her down three flights of stairs into what seemed to be the basement storage area; Faith followed Athena as she walked through a secured door and approached a Stargate that was simply leaned against the wall. She watched as Athena simply looked at the Gate, when the inner tract started to spin. Memorizing the symbols, as well as the point of origin for the planet they were on… Faith watched as the event horizon formed and Athena started to glow brighter and brighter until she become a white light that just flew through the event horizon.
Faith snapped her eyes open as she looked at a surprised Willow looking back at her. Tilting her head up, Faith saw that she was back in her hotel room at dawn started to break outside. The both of them were still under the sheets with their arms and legs wrapped around each other when they woke up at the exact same time.
"Please tell me you had the same dream I just had?" asked Willow as she looked at Faith.
"Athena?" asked Faith, "robot in glass case? Greek language everywhere? That dream?"
"Yea" said Willow, "that was interesting, that civilization… it seemed advanced enough."
"You think Athena's helping us by sending that dream?" asked Faith.
"Could be" said Willow as she caressed Faith's naked back, "If they are advanced enough to build robots and ships like that I saw that were flying around in the sky, then maybe they could help us against the Ori."
"But I saw the symbols that lit up on the Gate" said Faith as Willow nodded, "You too?"
"Yeah" said Willow, "but I didn't see you… did you see me?"
"I saw Athena" said Faith as she looked at Willow, "but not you."
"This is confusing" smiled Willow, "I saw everything from her point of view, but you weren't there. Anyway the symbols were a destination address for Earth… but maybe we could use the point of origin to extrapolate the address of that planet. It would take a day… probably."
"Wanna call General Landry?" asked Faith, "at least then, he could get an SG team to scout the planet through the Gate.. we already know that the Stargate is in a basement.. but I didn't see any DHD."
"We could use a laptop with a dialling program installed and the SG team could take a Naquada generator to dial the gate when they're ready to return" said Willow.
"How about you contact General Landry?" said Faith, "and then we'll spend the rest of the day not thinking about other planets… and just be with ourselves. I was think breakfast in the café across the street?"
"Deal" smiled Willow as she lay of her back and reached for her phone, just as Faith lay her head on Willow's chest and closed her eyes.
Briefing Room, SGC, the next day. 1500 hours.
The day after the wedding ceremony between Faith and Willow, the couple went off for their week long honeymoon to Paris while the others went back to their normal lives. Well, normal as normal gets while working at the SGC anyway. For the last month or so, Daniel, Dawn and Anya along with a majority of the translating team were taking shifts at Merlin's library in Camelot. The goal was to find any information on the Sangraal and the planets that Arthur and his knights went to on their quest. It was three days after the wedding that one of the teams led by Anya found information that she relayed to Daniel. It was that information that led to Daniel finding out the connection between one of Arthur's knights, Sir Gawain who in an old Welsh tale went to rescue his lost love. And in that quest, he visited a place known as Gwlad Gan Brenhinol Gwir, which was Welsh for "Land of Royal Truth". He and Dawn then translated that into Ancient, and got Verus Gen Bree or Vagonbrei. The finding of Vagonbrei came just in time to the news that six more planets, two of which were Jaffa strongholds, fell within that month. Teal'c had informed the SGC that the army was led by a young woman with extraordinary powers.
It was during the later briefing with the rest of SG1 minus Willow and Faith, that Daniel explained with the help of Anya and Vala, that they had found the Stargate address to Vagonbrei from an illustration of a sword in one of the many volumes of texts in Merlin's library on Camelot.
"Good" said General Landry, "I'll have Major Rosenberg and Miss Lehane return, and then SG1 will go through the Gate to Vagonbrei and find information leading to the Sangraal."
"Sir" said Colonel Mitchell, "the Major and Faith are enjoying themselves, plus they have two more days in Paris. I think we can handle it."
Frowning at Colonel Mitchell, the General then nodded, but not before throwing out an idea.
"Very well, but with Colonel Carter still on maternity leave, I'll have Major Hailey join SG1 for this mission" said the General as he looked at Colonel Mitchell, Daniel, Anya, Vala and Teal'c, "Miss Jenkins, I've spoken to Miss Chase and she's authorised you to join SG1 on another mission. Think of it as a thank you for helping Dr. Jackson translate many of the texts in Merlin's library."
"Thank you" said Anya as she grinned at Daniel.
"How about me?" asked Vala as she put her hand up, "I mean, I am right over here you know. I can help."
"You're staying here" said the General as he frowned at Vala.
"Sir" said Colonel Mitchell hesitantly as he leaned forwards, "I'm hoping you might reconsider your decision and allow Vala to come with us on this mission."
The Colonel flinched as everyone turned to face him, even Vala who gave the man a wide grin.
"Why, Colonel" said Vala as she turned to Colonel Mitchell, "I never knew you had feelings for me."
"It's not that" said Colonel Mitchell as he glanced at Anya and Daniel looking at him while trying to hold back a smile. He then frowned again and turned to General Landry, "Sir, I know she has her faults… many, many, many faults actually….. but she also risked her life to warn us that the Ori were on their way, and almost sacrificed herself to shut down the very first Ori Supergate."
"I understand the contributions she's made" said General Landry as he motioned towards Vala, "the truth is, the Pentagon isn't willing to roll the dice on her."
"General Landry" said Teal'c, "there was a time when General Hammond sat was faced with a similar decision. As former First Prime to Apophis, I too had committed terrible crimes."
"As the former First Prime to Apophis" said the General, "you provided valuable insight to the enemy's resources and tactics."
"I can't believe that I'm saying this" said Daniel as he looked at Anya who gave him a nod, and then turned to Vala who was sitting across from him, "as the mother to the leader of the Ori army, Vala may hold the key to stopping them."
"If I push this issue, and the Pentagon agrees to let her join you on off-world missions" said General Landry as he looked at Daniel and then at Colonel Mitchell, "then I'd be the one ultimately held accountable for her actions."
"Yes, sir" said Colonel Mitchell, "I understand, sir."
"So, I'd be counting on you to keep her in line" said General Landry as he looked at Colonel Mitchell.
"Me… me, sir?" asked the Colonel as he looked at all the smiling faces nervously, "I mean…"
"You're the one who brought up her usefulness to the SGC" said General Landry, "anyway, she has to pass the psychiatric exam first. Anyway, you are all dismissed. I have another briefing, good luck. You leave in thirty minutes."
"Right, sir" said Colonel Mitchell as he hung his head while Anya patted him on the back.
Just as SG1 was finishing up their briefing, Dawn and four other officers walked into the room. Anya waved at Dawn as Daniel and the others walked by past them to get ready for the mission to Vagonbrei.
"Alright" said General Landry as he motioned at the new arrivals to take a seat. After everyone had sat down, the General looked at Dawn and informed her that every team that she has worked with had given her superb performance reviews. It was due to those reviews by the commanders of those SG teams, including SG1, that she was to be permanently assigned to SG2.
"Really?" asked Dawn excitedly as she grinned at General Landry and then looked at the smiling Colonel Ferretti, "serious?"
"Serious" said the Colonel nodding his head, "you'll be joining myself, Major Lauren Satterfield who you've already met, and Carl Grogan and Airman Robert Lewis on a permanent basis."
"That's great" said Dawn as she looked at the Colonel, and then at General Landry, "don't get me wrong General, I liked floating between the SG teams…. But being assigned to one permanently.. that's like… wow."
"I'm glad you think so" said General Landry, "and now that the introductions are over, I have a mission for SG2 to a planet designated as P2B-765. According to Major Rosenberg, it seems to be a highly industrialized world that may, or may not, have space flight capabilities. But from what she said about ships flying in the air… I'm tempted to think the former."
"Sir" said Colonel Ferretti, "Major Rosenberg?"
"She had a vision, or a dream, yesterday morning" said the General as he leaned back, "she was on P2B-765 and saw the symbol for the point of origin. I've had Colonel Carter come in yesterday to initiate the search for that particular point of origin, for which we got a hit three hours ago. According to Major Rosenberg, and Miss Lehane who shared the same dream, the inhabitants of this particular planet speak a form of Greek. They believe it could be a dialect of ancient Greek."
"I should be able to translate, Sir" said Satterfield as she smiled at Dawn, "and I've been hearing that Miss Summers is one of the best and brightest in Dr. Jackson's translation team."
"She is" said General Landry as he nodded at Dawn who blushed before looking at the others, "be careful out there, let's see if we can get these people to ally with us against the Ori. You'll also need to take a laptop with a dialling program and a Naquada reactor, since the DHD seems to be missing."
"Missing, sir?" asked the Colonel.
"Major Rosenberg said that the Stargate is being kept in a basement holding room" said General Landry, "I'll also have SG14 accompany you as backup, just to be on the safe side."
"Yes, sir" said Colonel Ferretti.
"Dismissed, people" said the General, "and good luck."
TBC.