Briefing Room, SGC, 2045 hours.
"It's true, Hank," Faith said leaning back against the seat while Daniel sat next to her and Vala. On the other side were Colonel Mitchell and Colonel Carter with General Landry seating at the head of the table. There were two folders in front of each of them, both were labelled 'Top Secret', both were plain with red labels round the edges, and both had the SGC logo embossed on the cover. The General and the others were looking at the first folder, which each of them had opened as the several pieces of paper were being shuffled through by both Daniel and the General. "I double checked the translations and everything, Daniel's right."
"So this Key of strength…"
"Key to Infinite Treasure," Daniel corrected the General as he found a piece of paper which had a detailed summary of his findings and then handed that to the General, even though there was a copy in the General's folder, "Key To Infinite Treasure. Athena, the Goa'uld Athena I mean, well, her research was extensive even after she and Quetesh stopped working together. There's evidence she found certain details on the.."
"Daniel, I was there when Willow said this could be a hoax," Colonel Carter interrupted looking at the archaeologist before motioning her head towards him, "and you yourself said it could be a hoax."
"And remember what happened the last time we found Ancient technology?" asked Vala as she stared at Daniel while leaning forward, "you know? They call themselves the Ori? The same ones who are still winning the war?"
"Yes," Daniel nodded his head. He knew that Vala was right, but his research indicated that there were powerful weapons. Ancient weapons. And that's what he told the others, "But Athena's research specifically talks about powerful Ancient weapons. And if Athena's been able to find the location, what's not to say that Ba'al couldn't find this as well."
"And that's the other thing I agree with," Faith said leaning forward with her hands on the table in front of her, "Ba'al could find this out just as easily as Daniel. And do we really want Ba'al gaining access to these weapons? At least we need to be sure that there are no weapons. And if there are no weapons?" Faith then shrugged her shoulders before continuing, "then great… but if there are weapons, technology, and other Ancienty stuff, we need a way to bring them back here or we need a way to bury the Gate on the other side so that no one can make it through."
"Better to be safe than sorry," Colonel Mitchell said nodding his head.
"I could be wrong about this, and it could be a hoax," Daniel said, "but we can't take the risk."
"I agree," General Landry said looking at everyone around the table, "Major Rosenberg's going to be out of commission for a few days. In the meantime, the rest of you will be heading off to the planet in Athena's notes. Let's see what we have on the other side of the Stargate."
"Any news on Willow's condition?" asked Colonel Carter looking at Faith. The Slayer leaned back on the seat saying that she was still out like a light.
"Her powers shielded her against the blast from the Groundhog," Faith answered, "but Dr. Lam thinks that the blast impact fed back through her telekinetic shields and directly into her brain. That's why they're still monitoring her brain waves and… well… Dr. Lam thinks that her mind's healing itself." Faith then turned to the General and said, "Dr. Lam said she'll send you a report, Hank."
The General nodded his head. He then told Daniel that he'll authorize one of the old MALPs be sent to the planet that supposedly had information on the Clava Thesaura Infinitas. "And if it checks out, we'll switch your original mission to this one. In the meantime, get some rest. We'll send the MALP at zero-eight-hundred hours."
The General then stood up, followed immediately by the others in the room. "Dismissed, people."
Faith nodded her head and then turned to Vala and the others who were discussing their next steps. Colonel Carter placed the papers on the table in front of her back into the table before saying that she was going to go back to her lab for a few minutes, and then she was heading home to be with Debbie.
"I'll check in on Willow on my way out," the Colonel said as she picked up the file, "the information on the Groundhog's black box is being retrieved right now, and we should have everything that went wrong in five hours." The Colonel then turned to Faith and said, "I'll be back by then." Colonel Carter then turned back to General Landry wh was almost at his office door. "Sir," she said, and the General turned around to face Colonel Carter, "with your permission I'd like to remain behind and go through the data from the Black Box. We need to know what happened to the Groundhog; if it was the naquada power source, then we need to find out why it exploded and then send the data back to Area 51."
"Granted," the General said nodding his head before turning to Colonel Mitchell, "I'll send a MALP at oh-six-hundred hours. Depending on what we get back, I'll make a final decision. If approved, SG-1 will head out at oh-eight-hundred."
"Understood, sir," Colonel Mitchell said.
"Get some rest, people," the General said before nodding at the group, turning around, and then heading into his office. SG-1 saw the man take a seat and then reach for a file on his desk. It was a second later that Faith leaned sideways while grasping the file in her hands and asked Colonel Carter if she wanted company, "Red's not going to be awake for hours, if you want someone to keep you company while Jacob's in D.C, then…"
"How about all of us head out for dinner?" Vala said as she looked at Colonel Mitchel, and then at the others. She then stopped at Colonel Carter, "is Debbie sleeping over at the Dixon home?"
With General Carter in D.C at the Homeworld Security headquarters in the Pentagon, Debbie was being babysat by Colonel Dixon's wife. And it had already gotten late thanks to Colonel Carter having some initial difficulty connecting the Black Box to the computers since the casing and the contact points, which were supposed to have been attached to a specially made data reader, were severely compromised thanks to the explosion. The Colonel sheepishly looked over at Faith and shook her head.
Colonel Carter explained that she wanted to just go to the Dixon home, pick up Debbie who was already asleep, and then take her back home. The Colonel hadn't been able to spend as much time as she could with her child during the day, but she wanted to spend time with her… even if she was asleep… at home.
Faith gave Colonel Carter a thumbs up sign before putting her hands by her side.
"Then it's just us," Vala said after nodding her head at Colonel Carter, and then motioning towards the rest of SG-1. "So…"
"I think I'll stay here with Red, Vala," Faith interrupted before an idea came to her, "how about we order up some Pizza's. Have them delivered here?"
"Sounds like a plan," Colonel Mitchell said as Colonel Carter excused herself from the group. Faith grabbed her hand and gently squeezed before letting go. Daniel and Vala waved at Colonel Carter while Teal'c gave her a respectful bow. The blonde Colonel then turned and walked down the hallway while the others came to a decision.
"Pizza it is then," Colonel Mitchell said as Vala, sneaking her arm around the man's elbow, grinned at Faith and the others. Colonel Mitchell, for his part, looked at Vala, and then at Daniel who gave him the thumbs-up sign.
After the group parted, Faith made a stop at the infirmary to check on Willow with Teal'c and Daniel while Colonel Mitchell and Vala ordered the pizza's to be sent to Cheyenne Mountain. They were going to go up to the observation deck at the mountain's summit to have their food and drinks. It was going to be a team night out before the upcoming mission.
The Next day, 1000 hours.
"Hey doc," Faith said after she walked through the double doors and into the infirmary in her full tactical uniform, complete with her side arm and Zat in their respective holsters, and the special combat knife that Willow gave her as a birthday present. Faith nodded at Dr. Lam who was checking on the injured Siler while a nurse bandaged his head. Turning around upon hearing Faith's voice, Dr. Lam motioned towards Willow and the both of them then walked towards the redhead's bed, "how is she?"
"We'll be taking her in for another MRI in an hour," Dr. Lam said as Faith placed her hands on the bed's raised railing on the left side, and stared at the sleeping form of her wife. Dr. Lam was one the other side looking down at Willow, and then back up at Faith who was leaning forward and moving away a few strands of hair from her forehead. Dr. Lam gave a little smiled before she walked to the foot of the bed and picked up a chart, "her pressure's been taken every two hours and it's normal, her blood's been taken too and we'll be getting tests on that soon."
Faith then while still leaning over Willow, looked back at Dr. Lam who continued to speak while staring at the clipboard.
"Her bodily injuries have already healed," the doctor said looking back up from the chart, "and yes, that's supposed to happen." She then placed the chart clipboard on the foot of the bed and then walked up to, and stood by, Faith, "there were those injuries I told you about because she…"
"Used her shield against the blast," Faith nodded her head while recalling the conversation she had with the doctor after the operation to get the debris out of Willow's leg, followed by Willow's first MRI. The doctor showed Faith, in private, what seemed to be cuts in various parts of Willow's brain. Dr. Lam explained that Willow must have placed a shield around herself to take the brunt of the naquada explosion. The blast impact on the shield was far more intense that anything he redhead blocked using her telekinetic shield. Faith listened silently as the she remembered Dr Lam telling her that Willow's shield fed back the impact from the explosion back into her brain, causing the injuries.
Faith knew that she lied to the others during the briefing when she told them that Willow was going to be fine, and that she was just unconscious. She knew that the General would know the truth when he received the report, and Faith knew that he wouldn't say anything to the others… at least not yet.
Early that morning, before the MALP was sent to the planet where the 'Key to Infinite Treasure' was suspected of being hidden, Faith already talked to the General. The both of them agreed that Willow would be fighting tooth and nail to regain consciousness, especially since the last MRI earlier that morning showed the redhead's brain injuries were nearly fully healed.
The both of them then agreed not to reveal the true extent of Willow's injuries to the others given their mission, and the fact that they needed to focus.
Back in the present day, Faith stared at Willow while her heart lifted when Dr. Lam said that the redhead, if the next MRI showed improvements, should be up later that day. "But her leg will still be in its cast until her bone's been fully healed.
"Oh you know she's not gonna like that," Faith chuckled.
"I'd guess not," Dr. Lam responded with a smile on her face. Faith then looked back at the redhead while she heard Siler groan in pain. Faith glanced up at him and chuckled before looking back down at Willow. Faith remembered the pain in her chest when Dr. Lam mentioned the injuries in the redhead's brain; Faith was afraid that something would happen to her love that could not be healed. So this news that Willow was healing brought a sense of relief to Faith's heart, and she felt as if a giant weight was lifted off her shoulders.
Dr. Lam then excused herself when Walter's voice came over the speakers calling for Faith to meet the rest of SG-1 at the Gateroom. The dark-haired Slayer looked up at the speakers, and then back down at Willow before leaning forward and laying a gentle kiss on her forehead. Faith then pulled back and stared at Willows lips, and then at her closed eyes lids. She then placed a hand on the redhead's forehead and whispered, "I'll see you after this mission, Red."
Faith then stood up straight and looked down at Willow's chest. Faith listened to Willow's soft breathing while watching the redheads chest expand and contract. The Slayer continued looking at Willows chest; Faith was afraid that if she looked away, Willow would stop breathing.
There was a part of Faith that was yelling "just keep on looking! Make sure she's breathing!" But the rational part of her mind was telling her that Willow was safe; she was alive, and she would be waiting for Faith to return from the mission with confirmation that the 'Infinite Treasure' was really a hoax. Or they would have found a cache of powerful weapons.
Either way, someone would be telling the other, "I told you so".
Faith then took one last look at her wife, and then turned and ran to the infirmary's double doors and towards the Gateroom.
Colorado Springs, 0400 hours, several weeks ago.
Willow missed those light days on Earth. Days where it would just be her and Faith sitting on their couch watching TV together. Or days when she and Faith would lazily lie in bed together, their fingers intertwined with each other as they talked about nothing in particular. Or the times when they would head out for a hike when they were free, and camped out under the stars with cups of cocoa and marshmallows roasted over a small controlled fire.
Willow missed those days. Days that went by slow, as long as those days weren't about work.
But those 'light' days were few and far between recently. She and Faith had been looking forward to moving out of their current accommodations and back to their own home; technically General O'Neill's home which was being rebuilt. Willow missed snugging with Faith in front of the fireplace as snow fell around the house and the surrounding area. She missed having team nights over at their house where one group would be making jokes and drinking beer while the other group would be challenging Xander and a group from the BPRI on the PlayStation.
Willow missed those days.
The redhead especially missed the memory she was reliving at that very moment while she lay unconscious on a bed in the SGC infirmary. Willow woke up early this very same day several weeks ago, at nearly four in the morning, with the sky still dark outside their apartment.
There were wisps of clouds still moving slowly across the sky while Willow rolled over to her left at hearing the beeping sound from her side table. Willow slowly sat up in bed while Faith moaned her disapproval of the 'beep, beep, beep' sound, and then drew the blanket over her head while turning her back to Willow. The redhead lightly chuckled as she looked at the back of Faith's head while the bed bounced from her movements.
Faith was lying still, the blanket pulled up to her ear while the rest of her hair remained underneath the blanket, Willow reached sideways and then pressed on the 'off' button at the top of her alarm clock. She then reached away from the clock, and went for her cell phone. She picked it up and then flipped it open. Willow then turned off the alarm due to go off in two minutes.
Once she was back in the main home screen, Willow stared at the wallpaper of herself and Faith hugging each other. Their cheeks were squished against each other, woollen caps on their heads, and black and blue jackets keeping them warm as they stood in the snow. It was a picture taken by Colonel Carter nearly six months ago during a get together with SG-1, Dawn, Buffy, Xander, and the original Scoobies in Colorado Springs. Willow stared at the picture and remembered the both of them kissed after the picture was taken while Colonel Carter grinned as she put the camera down.
Willow remembered looking deep into Faith's eyes, and her heart raced at the thought that she was spending the rest of her life with the woman of her dreams. Shaking her head, Willow slowly flipped the top of the phone down and then put it away on top of the table. She then turned and, while sitting up on the bed, drew in a breath as she stared at Faith.
"Faith, baby?" Willow whispered, putting the phone back on the side table and then laying across the empty space where her body once lay. Her head then lay on the part of the blanket that was covering Faith's left hip. "Faith? Honey?" Willow placed a hand on where she thought Faith's arm lay under the blanket, and gently squeezed.
"It's an ungodly hour, Red," mumbled Faith as her body remained unmoving under the blanket. Willow couldn't help but chuckled as she recalled how it would be the other way around, Willow would mumble that it was an ungodly hour when Faith would wake her up at six so that they could go for a jog together. This time, it was the other way around. And it was indeed too early.
"You and me, Faith." Willow whispered as she rolled off Faith and then rested on all fours on the bed next to the Slayer. Willow then moved one arm over Faith and lay it on the surface of the blanket covered bed next to her breasts. The redhead's other hand pressed down on the bed right behind Faith's head. Willow then leaned down and whispered into Faith's exposed ear, "just you and me will see the sun rise. We haven't done it in a long time, Faith. Just you and me, baby."
"Ummmm…" groaned Faith as she shifted her body until she was laying on her back and looking at Willow with groggy eyes. Faith then yawned as she lifted her hands and grabbed Willow's arm and the hand that lay pressed against the bed next to her breasts. Faith wrapped her fingers around Willow's left arm. and then another group of fingers held onto the hand that now lay to the side of her chest.
"Oh God," Faith's voice trailed off as she tightened her hold on Willow's arm and hand while she stretched her body. The redhead heard a few cracks from the dark-haired Slayer's body before the latter lay still on the bed and looked back up at her with a groggy look once again, "Red, we have a long week coming up, and…"
"That's why we need to really live. I want to use this time to ourselves, Faith," Willow whispered as she looked down at her wife.
"We need to sleep, Red," Faith whispered as she closed her eyes. Willow looked on as Faith opened her eyes once again and stared into Willow's before whispering, "sleep."
"We have a break today," Willow said as she leaned down while shifting her leg over Faith's body and straddling her. "let's have the day to ourselves. I want to see the sunrise with you. It's something we haven't done, and…"
"We always see the sun rise," Faith mumbled as she closed her eyes again, "it rises while we get ready to run when… you know… I'm the one who struggles to wake you up."
Faith then opened her eyes once again and stared into Willow's green eyes. The dark-haired Slayer felt her arms, now exposed to the cool air around them, erupted in goosebumps while holding onto Willow's arm and hand. "Red, why now?"
"Because we haven't done it?" asked Willow softly as she stared down at Faith, "we can take one of the trails and head up as high as possible, Faith. We can see the sun rise, and.. and it'll be just us. You know? I want to have that memory of you and me."
"You really want this?" asked Faith as she let go of Willow's arm and gently lay her fingers on the redhead's cheek.
"I swear I won't complain the next three weeks when you wake me up," Willow whispered and Faith chuckled shaking her head.
"I like it when you complain," Faith whispered at Willow. They gazed at each other for a few more seconds silently before Faith grabbed Willow's waist, much to the redhead's surprise, and then rolled over to the right. Now Faith, in her blue tank top and red shorts, was on top of Willow with the blanket still separating them, "and you know how I like being on top, Red."
Willow looked up and grinned before the two of them kissed passionately for a few seconds. Parting soon after, the two of them gazed at each other before Faith nodded her head once again, "let's go, babe."
It would be one and a half hours later that the both of them would watch, hand in hand, as the sun rose over the horizon. Willow felt the cool early morning breeze brush her cheek as she held on to Faith's hand. She turned her head and stared at Faith's profile, and then she looked back at the sun in the distance. Suddenly, over the sounds of chirping birds, Willow heard a faint 'beep'. It was soon followed by another 'beep', and then another and another. It was as if the 'beeps' were a rhythm. The redhaired young woman took a deep breath before whispering, "I love you."
Infirmary, SGC, 1300 hours.
When Willow slowly opened her eyes, she found herself looking at dimly lit lights above her. She released a small groan from her lips as she blinked her eyelids to clear the cobwebs when she stared at the white lights. As she moved her head, Willow had her memories rush back; driving the Groundhog, enjoying herself as she drove off-road, then there was the yelling from Colonel Carter, and then there was the explosion. She looked around at the machine that measured her heartbeat, the rhythmic 'beep' coming from that particular machine, and then she looked at the one that measure her brain process.
Willow swallowed turning her head on the pillow beneath her and looked back up at the ceiling. Closing her eyes ones again, she felt around for the device that would call for a nurse.
"Major?" asked a male voice to Willow's right side. The young woman slowly turned her head to see Siler lying on another bed with a bandage wrapped around his head. Willow gave the man a small smile while wondering to herself that the man had several accidents throughout the time she had known him, and he always seemed to bounce back.
"Siler," Willow whispered nodding her head. She tried to lift her legs to an angle since her legs were feeling restless. "Ah," she yelped trying to move one of her legs, the one that felt slightly heavy, while at the same time Siler asked her not to move too much. Her good leg now at an angle with the knee off the bed, Willow had her other leg lying flat on the surface of the bed.
"You have a cast on your left leg, Major," Siler said as he slowly sat up and reached for a device on his bed. He picked up the cream coloured cylindrical object and then pressed the red button in the middle, "there'll be a nurse coming by."
"Thanks," Willow whispered nodding her head as a dull pain travelled from her leg to the rest of her body. She couldn't help but wonder what happened when she was unconscious after placing the telekinetic shield around herself.
"It was lucky that you were testing the Groundhog," Siler said as Willow narrowed her eyes at him, "the explosion tore the thing apart. Anyone else? We could be seeing a dead…"
"How bad was it?" Willow asked interrupting the older man.
"Very bad," Siler said as Willow frowned, "I saw a team bringing in cartloads of the Groundhog's remains after the explosion."
"What happened?" Willow asked.
"AS far as I know, the data we retrieved was corrupted," Siler said as Willow frowned, "Colonel Carter is having a team reconstruct the data. She's in her lab, been there since coming back this morning to go through the data as it comes in."
"Oh." Willow nodded her head, "how long was I out?"
"A day?" Siler answered while Willow nodded her head. she then sighed and asked if the others left for the mission they were supposed to that day. Siler nodded his head before saying that Colonel Carter made the decision to stay back in the SGC to go through the Black Box.
Willow then sighed before saying, "Okay, but why's my leg in a cast."
"Your leg was impaled by a piece of debris," said a female voice from Willow's left side. She turned around to see Dr. Lam walking in with two nurses, both of whom walked over to Siler and asked him if he was doing alright. Siler admitted that he pressed the button for Willow, but added that he was feeling well enough to go back to work.
"You're staying here, Siler," Dr. Lam countered when Siler was about to explain he didn't need to stay in the infirmary. Willow could only chuckle as the nurses gently pushing his back on the bed while saying that he could have a concussion from hitting his head. Willow chuckled as Siler was gently pushed back down onto the bed while Dr Lam looked down at the redhead.
Dr. Lam then explained what happened, and that Willow would be out of commission for four days while her healing abilities and the healing mesh worked in unison to close the hole in the bone. And that period of rest may be extended depending of the results of another MRI. "You'll still feel some shadow pain, and off course you'll still need to go through physical therapy. We'll have to see how long all of that is going to last since, well, you're the one of the first to use this technology."
"Sweet," Willow whispered as she smiled at Dr. Lam, "I'm a guinea pig."
Dr. Lam smiled back before saying that she'll order some lunch for Willow, and that she'll let Colonel Carter know that the redhead was awake. Willow nodded her head and thanked Dr. Lam, who then left Willow's side while one of the nurses attending to Siler turned around, and then looked in on Willow. The nurse removed the blanket, and it was then that the redhead caught a glimpse of the cast around her leg. Willow smirked at the names on the cast, including Siler's, before she looked back up at the ceiling.
"Ok." Willow said to herself while imagining the cast around her leg, "this is going to be a very, very, very long week."
TBC.