Grace's eyes grew wide as she took in Allie's suggestion. "What do you mean?"
Allie grinned a little sheepishly. She's definitely like Mom. "I mean, why not? I've been dying to meet my dad. Your dad may not be my actual birth father, but he's the closest I could ever get. And don't you want to get to know Mom?"
Grace's face looked pensive. Allie could tell the possibility was tempting even if the logistics were still wild.
"It would be nice to get to know her," her - let's just go with sister - sister admitted. "And to be able to ask her about... things." Grace smiled as she continued thinking. Allie knew she was coming around to the whole idea.
"Besides," Allie added. "Once we've all gotten to know each other, it'll be much harder for our parents to avoid the truth. And maybe then we can all visit each other. Go on fishing trips." The more Allie thought about it, the more she wanted it. Gosh, wouldn't it be great to kick back and watch a hockey game with my dad? She'd been wanting her father for so many different things over the years. Now, seeing him was actually within her reach.
Grace's eyes brightened even further, clearly considering the possibilities of things she'd always wanted. "That would be amazing!" she agreed. "It would be so cool to talk to her about my science experiments and clothes and boys." Grace flushed as she realized what she was saying. "I mean, I talk about some of that with an old friend of my mother's, but it just isn't the same."
Allie smiled before exclaiming, "This would be like the whole Parent Trap thing Brooke was talking about!"
Grace nodded, but before she could make a response, Allie had a thought.
Hey - wait a minute.
She paused as an idea suddenly occurred to her. Maybe simply having occasional visits and phone calls wasn't dreaming quite big enough here...
"What if," Allie began hesitantly, "we actually did the whole Parent Trap thing, and set our parents up together?"
Grace was clearly shocked, her eyes turning even more blue as they widened. "Um... what?"
"Think about it," Allie urged. "I know my mom still loves my dad. If he's gone, and your mom who's probably just like my mom is gone... why wouldn't our parents totally go for each other?" The way her mom had described her dad, she had a feeling this other Jack O'Neill was still attached to his late wife, too.
"I don't know..." Grace looked doubtful, her eyebrows furrowed. "I mean, how do we know they don't know about each other already, and decided not to be together?"
"Well, that's the trouble - we don't know anything here," Allie pointed out. "We've just got to see them, figure out what's going on, get them together, and pump them for information."
Grace thought for a moment. Allie watched closely, hoping that, just maybe, her newfound pseudo-family member would go for it.
"Besides, I'd love to have you as a sister," Allie admitted pleadingly. "It gets boring sometimes when Mom's at work, and it's just me and the sitter. We could make Jell-O and go swimming and kick the crap out of each other on video games."
Grace laughed. "That sounds like fun!"
"C'mon, Grace!" Allie said excitedly. "Even if it didn't work, this would be a pretty cool experience!" She really hoped it would work, though. She'd always felt like part of her family was missing. This was her chance to get it back.
Grace's eyes gleamed suddenly. "Ah, screw it," she said, suddenly sounding more like Allie. She grinned. "Let's do it."
Allie pumped her fist. "Yes!" she cheered.
Grace straightened up, looking excited and determined. "We'll train each other like they did in the movie," she began. "And we already look pretty much the same, but I'll have to cut my hair to match the length of yours."
"We can do this!" Allie asserted as she hugged her sister. In doing so, she caught a glimpse of Grace's suitcase, and her first question for their "training" popped into her head. "Is the friend of Mom's you talk to Aunt Vala? Cause she picked out my suitcase, and you've got the same one."
Grace grinned. "Yep!" she confirmed. Then, "Wait a minute! That means she knows both of us and didn't say anything!"
"Unless an alternate Vala is here," Allie pointed out. "Two Valas might have picked out the same suitcase."
"Point," Grace acknowledged.
Allie opened her mouth to ask about other friends of their parents, but she was interrupted by the sound of running footsteps.
Suddenly, a bright-eyed Jamie burst into the cabin.
"I saw a fox!" she called out as she rushed up to them, her eyes shining and cheeks bright. "Heather from my team came and told me there was one by the infirmary, and I HAD to go see it! It was so pretty! I got a picture!" She pulled out her phone and started searching for the photo she'd taken.
Allie hardly recognized Jamie - she actually looked excited to be there. She was glad that the girl was finally enjoying something about summer camp. "That's really cool, Jamie!" she exclaimed. She glanced over at Grace, and they exchanged smiles.
"Look!" Jamie said excitedly, turning the phone to Allie for an approving, "Ooh!" before turning it again to Grace. "Do you two want to go out and see what other animals we can find?"
Grace grinned. "Absolutely!"
Allie agreed, and they made their way to the door. Planning for their undercover mission could wait a little while.
Thanks for all of the feedback! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
