AU: Gracie breaks out of the creche facility in Cheyenne Mountain intent on finding someone to help her Daddy
Chapter 17: You will call Floor!
Monday, 21st June 2004 – mid-morning – Stargate Command – Grace O'Neill
It was nap time for the babies and little kids. Littler kids than me, that was. Although I was tired, I had a much more important misshun. Mummy had talked to Uncle Charlie about the mean man who wanted the crystal battery that was keeping Daddy alive. She didn't think I was awake, but I was, and I heard.
We had all just finished eating our lunch and I was waiting, teaching Mr Sparkles how to draw. When the woman watching to our group went into the sleep room, I stood up, grabbed my wooden ruler and silently made my way to the side of the room, climbing over the white fence and then walking down the hallway to the big, closed door. Tucking Mr Sparkles into my glitter belt and dropping my ruler on the ground, I reached up using my tippy toes and with two hands twisted the handle then pulled a little bit, so I could kick my ruler into the gap. It didn't hold it open much, but it was enough for me to squeeze my fingers through and pull the door open. It was heavy and threatened to squish me, but I had to do it because Daddy needed my help.
Squeezing through, I retrieved my ruler and kept my hands flat on the door, letting it close softly so that the only noise was a soft click. Chewing my lip, I looked left, then right and left again. I didn't know what floor I was on, but I knew that Mummy had to take two evalators to go down because I heard her talk about them. I also remembered Daddy and Uncle Charlie laughing about his office that he said he didn't have. Uncle Charlie remindered him that it was on 25. Checking again, I decided to move in case someone saw me.
The evalators were close to a broom closet, so after propping Mr Sparkles up against the door, I hid with the door wedged using my ruler and waited until the doors opened – Mr Sparkles fell backwards over the floor split – and the people left. When the doors went to close, Mr Sparkles stopped them and they opened again giving me enough time to leave the closet and tiptoe across the hall, pick up Mr Sparkles and into the evalator. The red numbers said I was on number 3, so I pressed 11 and tucked myself into the corner on the other side hoping no one else wanted to go down.
When the doors slidded open, I retrieved from my dress pocket a small bendy mirror and used it to look around the corner. Daddy told me I could use lots of things in lots of different ways, and I listened cos he was smart and sneaky, and I wanted to be a soldier spy just like him when I growed up.
Before he went to the cold place, we watched some old TV of a man that looked a bit like him but wasn't because he was an actor. This man with a funny name – Magiver – Maquiver – could use lots of normal things to do cool stuff like disfooz bombs and escape a jail. All he needed was his pocketknife to make stuff work. Daddy's favourite was when he escaped from some bad men on a horse with a helicopter. Mummy used to make funny noises that made me giggle when she saw him cos she thought he was on fire. Well, I guessed that was what she meant when she said he was hot.
In my bendy mirror, there was a man at the end of the hall sitting on a tall chair at a small desk thingy with a book and another man standing nearby. The man sitting was writing something, then stopped, said something to the standing man who walked away, then put down his pen and picked up a story. Chewing my lip, I looked for a way around but was certain he would see me. Just then, the other evalator dinged and the doors opened. The man started looking up, so I hid inside my evalator with the edge of my ruler stopping the door from closing. As the big dark-skinned man with the golden mark walked past, he looked down. It was Uncle Teal'c. I smiled showing all my teeth. He tilted his head, then looked up the hallway. He smiled and started walking again, so I poked my head around the corner. His hands were behind his back, and I thought I saw his fingers beckon me to follow. With a deep breath, I darted out and stood behind him, tugging his finger to let him know I was there.
"Teal'c." The man with the book said as I huddled behind him.
"Sergeant Masterson. Has Major Kawalsky left the base?" Teal'c asked and twisted his body giving me the opportunity to move down the hallway to the next evalators.
"Yes, Sir."
"I see, and Doctor Jackson." He then asked. Letting go of his finger, I slidded along the wall as quite as a mouse, around some pipes and pressed my back against the door near the evalator.
"No, Sir. Doctor Jackson has been here for three days. Why do you ask?"
"No reason." Teal'c replied, then turned and walked down towards me. As he drew level, he looked at me and flicked his eyes to the door. Leaning closer to me, he pressed the button for the evalator with one hand while taking my hand in his other and pulling me to stand in front. I looked up and saw him glance over his shoulder, then we both moved to the right and through the stairwell door.
Once the door closed, he smiled and looked at me. "Grace O'Neill. Why are you here?" He asked.
"Cos the bad man wants to hurt Daddy. Mummy said he wanted the crystal battery." I confessed to my third favourite uncle, well technically my second favourite because my favourite favourite was really my Daddy, and my second favourite was Uncle Charlie. His eyes studied me until I looked away.
"You should not eavesdrop Grace O'Neill, though this is worrisome." He replied still staring at me with hard eyes. He didn't scare me, but he made me feel even littler than I was when he did that.
"I– I– want t– to stop him, the man who wants to hurt Daddy. Will you help me?" I asked hoping he would not say he had seen me.
"The room you seek is on level 27, Grace O'Neill. It is a busy level. The stairs will serve you much better than the elevator. The room is far from the stairwell exit." He informed me as he took the first two steps down then turned. "I shall – as O'Neill would say – cover you." He said, then smiled and held his arms out. With a big feeling of happiness, I stepped forward and let him pick me up.
"Will you get in trouble?" I asked as he took each step, much faster than I could have.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not."
"Aren't you scared?" I asked, because I always got scared if I knew I was going to get in trouble. I was kinda a little scared now, but I had to do this so Daddy would be safe so he could come home.
"I am not."
"Do you ever get scared?" I asked. He looked at me sideways. "Daddy got scared when the funny words were filling his head. He didn't say, but I could feel it." I confessed, then placed my hand over my uncle's heart. "Here."
"Colonel O'Neill is the strongest warrior I have known. Fear is but another emotion that makes us so. He feared the loss of his team. Many times have I seen him struggle." He said as he walked down the stairs, turned on the landing and walked down the next flight.
"Do you mean my spirit Mummy?" I asked, even though I knew the answer because I had seen his dreams of her. I had seen him cry when she died in the dirt.
"Indeed."
"Do you miss her too?"
"I do. She was a formidable warrior in her own right." I nodded in agreement. There was something I was trying to remember from my shared dream with Daddy. It was strange because I could remember seeing Daddy, showing him the home words and helping him say goodbye to spirit Mummy again, but there were other things that came into and out of my mind leaving nothing but a faint impression that they were important. Things I should tell someone. I had spent many nights with Daddy since coming home from Minnisoda. He was always happy to see me now that he remembered who I was, I just wished I could remember what he showed me so that I could help here.
"Do you remember things you see in your kellyreem?" I asked as we passed the floor marked with a large 23.
"I do not. The nature of Kel'nor'eem does not allow dreaming, Grace O'Neill." He responded.
"Oh." I said, pulling my bottom lip in between my teeth.
"Why do you ask?"
"Cos, I dream of Daddy in the cold place. He's getting better now, but I forget things. Things I think I should remember." I confessed as we turned on another platform. He looked at me like he knew something but didn't talk.
"If you cannot remember, then you cannot fail, Grace O'Neill. If you remember and can do nothing with the memory, you will regret remembering." He said as he took the last few stairs down to the door painted with a big 27. "I have memories of things I have not experienced."
I scrunched up my face, "What?" I asked because that did not make sense.
"I cannot explain it Grace O'Neill, yet they remain and with them a deep sense of failure on my part." He said, looking down at me with pain in his eyes.
"What happened?" I asked because Uncle Teal'c was so big and strong, I couldn't imagine him being bad at anything.
"I fear I lost a dear friend, but in doing so, I saved her life and that of my brother in arms, though I do not remember how nor when." He replied looking like he was thinking about his weird memories. "You must go as your mother has no doubt been told of your escape."
"OK. Thank you." He closed his eyes and nodded with a small smile, so I stepped forward and hugged him as hard as I could. When I stepped back, he placed his hand on the door knob and looked at me.
"Remember who you are, Grace O'Neill." He said, then opened the door. With a renewed sense of purpose, I stood tall and walked out. Uncle Teal'c followed. I didn't know where I was, but some cosmic force told me I was going the right way, so I walked to the end of the hall past several officers and airman who moved out of my way – or maybe out of Uncle Teal'c's way – then around the corner when my uncle took two large strides past me and opened a door with another tilt of his head.
Walking in, I found a huge desk with a blonde woman sitting at the top, my grandpa sitting on the side facing me next to Uncle Daniel and another man I didn't know at the other end. He was losing his hair and had glasses.
"Grace." Grandpa said as he stood up, "What are you doing here?"
Suddenly, I felt small and scared and alone. My hands started to shake, and I had the sudden feeling that I had done something really really bad like that time I gave Mummy's favourite plant some coffee because it looked sad with droopy leaves, and I remembered Mummy always feeling better after coffee. The plant didn't feel better though. The feel of Uncle Teal'c's hand on my shoulder helped me find my courage.
"You have to call Floor. Daddy needs him to help." I stated loudly so everyone could hear. Grandpa smiled a little and Uncle Daniel crossed his arms and looked at the woman.
"Who is this child?" The man at the end of the table asked.
Uncle Teal'c squeezed my shoulder again, a silent reminder to remember who I was. Taking a deep breath, I channelled my Daddy. "I am Grace O'Neill. Who are you?" I asked then squinted my eyes, crossed my arms and jutted my chin out. Grandpa laughed, so did Uncle Daniel.
"Doctor Woolsey." Grandpa said, "Allow me to introduce the daughter of the man you are trying to kill. My granddaughter." I looked at him and smiled.
"I see." The bad doctor replied, so I looked back at him with my angry face.
"We have, but there has been no response." The blonde lady said. I wondered if she was the person Uncle Charlie called Miss Lizzie when he was talking in the mean tone about work.
"Then you have to try more." I demanded.
"We will…"
"You will not!" The bald man with glasses said in a hard voice. The woman stood up and stared at the man.
"We will try again." She repeated, this time looking at him and not me. I smiled again because she was my friend and not his.
"All Gate travel has been cancelled. The only mission approved is to the outpost to retrieve the battery for research." The mean man stated. I started to tremble again but this time with anger.
"NO!"
"Forgive me, but you are a child. Teal'c remove her." He ordered, but my uncle didn't move. His hand was still on my shoulder.
"Good luck with that, Woolsey." Grandpa replied as he took his seat again. Uncle Daniel leaned back in his chair silently, but with a funny smile on his face the same way he did that time that Daddy let him win a game of Scrabble. Uncle Daniel kept going for big words, but Daddy knew lots of little ones with big scores like 'axe' and 'junk'. When my uncle complained, Daddy let him win and winked at me when he did.
"Why do you say that?" The Wooley man replied.
"Because Teal'c is her honorary uncle and her father's best friend." Grandpa replied.
"Really? I thought I was his best friend." Uncle Daniel said with a pretend hurt face as he rocked on his chair and scratched his chin.
"Nope. You're kind of his work husband. You know, the one he loves fiercely but argues with constantly." Grandpa replied with a smug grin. I giggled.
"Oh, right. Good to know." Uncle Daniel replied.
"Gentleman." The woman said with a double clap of her hands. "As previously discussed, Doctor Woolsey, the ZPM cannot be removed by just anyone. They must have the Ancient gene. Now, unless you know of another person with that gene, the ZPM is staying right where it is." She stated clearly.
Teal'c lightly squeezed my shoulder prompting me to look at my Grandpa. His gaze was settled on mine as I reached into my skirt pocket for the small light up cube that the other bad man made me turn on. Closing my fist around it, I felt it warm up as I pulled my hand from my pocket. Grandpa continued to look at me but didn't shake his head or otherwise signal that I should not say anything.
"I agree since its keeping my friend – her father – alive." Uncle Daniel replied.
"The life of one man is inconsequential compared to what we could learn from that device." Wolley said with a hard face. It was after those words that I saw Grandpa nod once. Lifting my hand, I turned it over and opened my palm flat to reveal the small brightly glowing cube. The man looked at my toy.
"If you want the Zippyem, you will call Floor and help my Daddy." I said as I held the cube up. The man scoffed lowly. "When he is himself again and home, I will get the pretty crystal."
"Nice trick, little girl, but a glowing dice doesn't prove you have the gene." He scolded. He was wrong. So I focused everything I had on the little toy making the glow brighter. After a while, it lifted off my hand and hovered a few centimetres then started spinning around and around.
"Gracie." Uncle Daniel yelled, "STOP." He cried out, but I couldn't or rather I didn't want to. I needed the Wooley man to see that if he didn't help, I wouldn't help. The cube rose higher and spun faster until flecks of golden appeared like little stars in the cube, drawing me in. It was hotter now. At some point, I saw people climbing under the table, but I didn't know why.
"Gracie! No!" Daddy's voice echoed through my mind, his face flashing in my consciousness a few times.
"Daddy! Help! I cannot stop it!" I cried out to him. Everything was so big and hot and scary. I was afraid because last time this happened, I hurt a lot of people… bad people, but still people. Before that, I hurt my Uncle Charlie.
"Shh, my angel." He soothed and wrapped his arms around me. He was warm and safe and calm. "I've got you. Always." He whispered. I smiled and let my anger at the bad man go because my Daddy was here with me. When I opened my eyes again, there were people above me.
"Gracie, sweetheart." Grandpa said. I smiled and he breathed deep, "Oh, thank the gods. You scared us, baby girl."
"Gracie!" Mummy called as she ran into the room. "Where… how did you… oh my god." She cried as she kneeled beside me then gathered me into her arms. "I've been worried sick." She murmured as she held me tight.
"It's OK, Mummy." I said as I wrapped my little arms around her and turned on my glow. She immediately calmed down, then with Uncle Teal'c's help, she stood and helped me to my feet. She bent down and picked up what was left of my small cube then covered her mouth and took a sizable sob and pulled me in for a hug
"It that the…" The bald man started to ask.
"It is. Grace O'Neill is as formidable as her parents, perhaps more so." Uncle Teal'c replied. "I would deny her nothing if I were you." I smiled at his words and yawned. I was so tired, but I didn't want to sleep now. I wanted to stay and make sure they would call Floor.
"C'mon baby girl, you need your rest." Grandpa said, then picked me up as if I were as light as a feather. He then turned to the blonde woman. "I trust that you will send another message, Doctor Weir." Sel'mak said through my Grandpa.
"Yes. Of course." She replied with a kind smile and a nod in my direction. Sel'mak nodded and when I looked again, Grandpa was back. The last thing I remembered before closing my eyes to sleep was his soft words reassuring me that Thor would come, and Daddy would be brought home.