Chapter Twenty-Six - Nicole

For the first time in her life, she was living a lot more like her mother would have. Despite having near twenty-four hour surveillance cramping her style, Nicole had found several ways to evade her surveillance teams and multiple ways to blend in for a few minutes and then appear where she was supposed to be as if nothing had happened.

It had become sort of a game at first, but then, it became more of an obsession.

If she could find the right way to distract the people supposedly protecting her but actually keeping such a close eye on her that it seemed almost like she was in prison, she could maybe give them the slip long enough to connect with her friends and get the world back to its proper order.

She'd figured out weeks ago that Jacob was still in the area, working at a chain oil and lube store in Arlington. She'd kept that information under her hat, but it had been nice to watch him catch the bus and see that he was all right.

She figured that Trevor was involved with the stargate project, so he was likely stationed wherever General O'Neill was. Not that the general would be much help.

Grace had been a little more of a challenge, but she'd hit a stroke of luck in her wanderings a few days earlier and seen the woman walk into a bookstore with a fluffy white ball under her arm. The sign on the store's window said there was some kind of cat and book event there that day. Which meant that although Nicole didn't know her precise address, she lived in the area.

The idea of getting the band back together had felt a little less impossible now that she knew that much.

And then the general had left a note for her inside her mailbox. One in his own hand and another with this note in Grace's.

She didn't know how, but he'd figured out she knew where to find Jacob. And he'd tasked her with getting the younger man to the meeting.

Trevor and Grace were apparently the General's responsibility.

Electricity charged through her arms and legs. It was about time they did something other than roll over with their new lives. It was about time they figured out how to go home.

Author's Note:

Hello all! I know I've been hit and miss for a few, well, years… Unfortunately, I'm starting to learn that might just be my creative cycle. Still, I never forget about you. Your support has been something that I have treasured for more than a decade now.

With some of the changes that this site is making (such as the changes with email opt-ins–I still haven't received an email after confirming that I have opted in), I am considering taking my stories and moving them to a personal blog site. I would still be writing under the Rose Stetson pen name, and because there's no exclusivity clause, you would likely be able to find my stories here as well.

I'm also going to be putting audio versions of these stories online, and again, you can search for Rose Stetson fanfiction. This should bring you to a variety of ways to enjoy these stories. Still for free.

Let me know if this is something you'd be interested in or if it's not something I should put my focus into.

Love to you all! - RS