Chapter 1 - A Crossroads of Dreams

Lost in the results glowing on her tablet, Sam barely noticed the Pentagon's bustling halls

as she headed to her office. Another bi-monthly meeting done, another stack of problems to

solve.

It had been five years since she started working at the Pentagon, and despite taking a few months

off after Grace was born, her hard work had earned her a high-ranking position tied to Area 51, all

while allowing her to remain living in Washington. It wasn't exactly what she wanted yet, but it had

brought her closer to her goals and gave her regular access to the technologies she was

passionate about.

Snapping back to reality as she arrived at her office door, Sam was surprised to find someone

waiting for her.

"Catherine!" she exclaimed, unable to hide her joy at seeing the woman she considered her

mentor, even though their areas of expertise were different. "Did you come to get lost in

Washington?" she asked after sharing a brief embrace.

Catherine Langford smiled and took the opportunity to observe her protégé during the hug.

"Samantha, I'm happy to see you too," she teased.

The two women entered the office, and Sam carefully closed the door to shield them from prying

ears before moving to her desk to set down her tablet and notes.

"Can I get you something to drink?" she offered as she headed toward a water carafe she kept

nearby.

Catherine nodded and scanned the room silently until Sam placed a glass of water in front of her.

"How's Gracie?" she finally asked.

The astrophysicist's face lit up at the mention of her daughter. "She's doing wonderfully! She's

grown so much since the last time you saw her." Sam paused, grabbing her phone to show a

video of Grace and Liz taken the night before. "She's begging me to start school this fall—I think

I'll have to give in before she exhausts all my knowledge."

Catherine watched the video with visible affection before handing the phone back to her protégé.

Sam put the device back in her pocket, and her face suddenly turned serious. "Not that I don't

love seeing you—far from it—but what brings you here, Catherine?" She circled her desk and

settled into her chair. "I doubt you came all the way from Colorado Springs just to see photos and

videos of my daughter."

Settling into one of the chairs across from the desk, Catherine reached into her briefcase and

pulled out a file, which she placed on the astrophysicist's desk, carefully positioning it at an angle

where the cameras couldn't record it.

The file was rather thick and bore the simple "SGC" emblem on its cover. Immediately recognizing

what it was, Sam looked up at Catherine, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. Her mentor nodded, and

Sam opened the file, quickly skimming the first few lines.

"I'm retiring, Samantha," Catherine said softly, her voice carrying both finality and pride. "And I

want to pass this on to someone who will make the most of it. Someone who already has."

"And you want me to work on this file?" the astrophysicist asked, flipping a page to examine a

detailed

sketch

of

a

Naquadah

reactor.

"I've

already

reviewed

several

of

the

files

you've

transferred to me, but I don't see what you expect from me with this one," she added, turning

another page that this time contained a transcription of Catherine and her team's work on the

Stargate.

"Not quite," the older woman replied with a sly smile. "I've come to offer you my position,

Samantha," she added calmly.

Crossing her arms in front of her, the younger woman closed the file and remained silent for a few

seconds, analyzing the situation. "There are probably people more qualified than me for this

position."

"Allow me to doubt that," Catherine replied with a small laugh.

"I'm not military; I left the Air Force a few years ago," Sam added.

"I've never been military. General O'Neill is perfectly fine with leaving the position to a civilian."

Catherine picked up her glass of water and took her time drinking a sip.

Sam's mind seemed to race. "I've heard he hates scientists," she continued, recalling the rumors

she'd heard about the gruff general who led the military base.

Catherine smiled, a glimmer of mischief lighting up her eyes at that moment. "I'm sure you and

Jack will get along just fine."

Uncrossing her arms, Sam took a deep breath. This position was everything she had ever

dreamed of, what she had worked tirelessly for from morning to night and what had kept her

enduring her clueless boss here for the past five years. Yet now that it was being handed to her on

a silver platter, she was filled with doubt. Working at a military base with access to alien planets

and soldiers in active combat left her paralyzed with doubt. Wasn't it too dangerous? And being a

single mother would probably "prohibit" her from going through the gate; she loved her daughter

more than anything in the world but didn't want to merely touch her dream without being able to

fully grasp it. And what would happen to Grace if something happened to her? She couldn't

possibly ask Liz to move with them to Colorado Springs, especially without being able to explicitly

tell her the nature of her work.

Sensing her protégé's wheels were turning and glancing briefly at her watch, Catherine slowly

rose from her chair and placed a card on the young woman's desk. "I don't want to rush you, but

I'll need your answer by tomorrow. Take the time to think it over and call me at this number when

you've decided." She gave Sam one last smile and left the room, already hurrying to meet the

vehicle waiting to take her to her next appointment.

The rest of the day passed in a kind of ambient fog. Sam attended her meetings and completed

her tasks, but her mind was entirely focused on Catherine's proposal. Did she have what it took to

head the scientific department of the SGC? Her résumé already included numerous top-secret

projects, but this was on a whole different level. Sam had worked on the Stargate multiple times

before, but always from a distance.

She picked up Grace from daycare on time and suddenly returned to reality as her daughter

bombarded her with new questions about freshwater fish. Yet Catherine's proposal kept looping in

her mind.

Grace, seated in her car seat, didn't seem to notice her mother was lost in thought. "Mommy, do

fish talk to each other to figure out where to swim?" she suddenly asked.

Sam chuckled softly as she parked in front of their house. "Not really, pumpkin. They have other

ways of communicating: movements, vibrations in the water… It's like they have their own secret

language."

Grace was quiet for a moment, her face taking on a very serious expression as she watched her

mother unbuckle her and help her out of the car. "Like you and Auntie Liz when you whisper

things I'm not supposed to hear?"

Sam smiled, feeling her mind calm as her daughter inadvertently offered a solution to her

problem. A conversation with Liz would help her gain some clarity. "Exactly! Except Liz and I don't

make vibrations in water."

Grace pouted a little, then ran to the house, seemingly forgetting the topic already. Sam closed

the car door and quickly followed her.

The evening passed without incident, but soon enough, the young woman found herself lost in

thought again, barely registering the questions her roommate asked during dinner. She remained

fully present for Grace's stories and questions, but as soon as her little whirlwind was tucked into

bed and fast asleep, Sam slipped right back into her thoughts.

Returning to the living room, Sam paused in the kitchen, the faint hum of the refrigerator

grounding her as she poured two large glasses of wine. The cool glass felt steady in her hand as

she carried them to the sofa. Liz was seated on the couch, busy working on a design for a client,

but as soon as she saw the astrophysicist, she set her tablet down on the coffee table and

accepted the glass of wine with a smile. She stayed quiet for a moment before finally turning to

her friend.

"Alright, Carter, spill it. You've been on the moon all evening—and not the astronaut kind."

Sam gave her a genuine smile. Though she was no longer surprised by Liz's uncanny ability to

read the emotions of those around her, she still appreciated how her best friend played such a

vital role in her life.

"It's classified, Liz," she said, taking a sip of her wine. "But basically, my mentor came by today

and offered me the job I've been dreaming of for years."

Liz nodded. "Okay, so why aren't we celebrating?"

"It's a much more dangerous job than what I'm doing now. And it's…" the astrophysicist sighed.

Liz interrupted her. "Classified, I know. You don't have to explain yourself, Carter." She finished

her sentence as she stood up to grab the wine bottle from the kitchen, sensing it would be

necessary for their conversation. "Tell me exactly what's holding you back."

Sam took a deep breath. "It's the position I've been working toward for years. But it's in Colorado

Springs, it's dangerous, and I don't know if I can handle leaving you, managing all this as a single

mother, and…" She paused, downing her glass in one gulp. "I think I'm terrified of putting my

dreams ahead of Grace and being selfish."

Liz accepted the silence that followed, refilling her friend's glass while she processed what Sam

had just shared. "Okay. What would make it easier for you to handle the situation?" she finally

asked. "You're not like your father, moving every year, Sam. You just want to move to follow your

dreams. Having a kid doesn't mean abandoning your dreams, you know."

The two friends exchanged a knowing look. Liz took a moment to sip her wine before adding,

"Colorado Springs, huh?" She picked up her tablet from the coffee table and typed for a few

moments. "Josh has been wanting to buy my shares of the shop for months. I didn't mention it to

you because with your job, I didn't think it made sense to suggest moving. But now…" She turned

the tablet toward Sam, showing her an offer Josh had sent a few weeks earlier to purchase her

shares. "I can open a shop in Colorado Springs, Sam. I don't care where we live. If it reassures

you and Munchkin, I'll come with you. And I've got investors who'd be happy to back me for a

new project—they even want me to work on several conventions abroad."

Sam felt her throat tighten with emotion. She stared at her friend's tablet in silence and downed

another glass of wine in one go. "Liz, I…"

"Nothing, Carter," Liz interrupted with a smile. "Take your phone, call Catherine, and tell her you're

accepting the job."

"And Grace?" the astrophysicist asked with a sigh. "This job could put her in danger. I don't want

that for her."

The two women sat in silence for a moment before Liz finally shrugged. "We all know the magic

you can work—whether it's in tech or with people…" She slowly untied her braid and ran a hand

through her jet-black hair. "Take the job. Leave Grace out of the files. You're not alone in this—I've

got your back."

Sam stayed silent, Liz's words sinking in like a lifeline. Her mind raced, piecing together

possibilities—then, as if a switch flipped, she stood abruptly, her decision clear. "Be right back!"

she announced, already pressing her phone to her ear.

Liz chuckled softly. "Say hi to Jacob for me," she said as she returned to her tattoo design on the

tablet.

Sam made a quick call to General Carter before heading to her desk, pulling Catherine's business

card out of her pocket as she paused by the window to watch the activity on the street below.

"Catherine?" she asked, waiting for confirmation from the other end of the line. "I'm accepting the

position. But there's one condition," Sam said, pausing as she bit her lower lip before continuing.

"Grace stays out of my file. No one knows she exists—ever. I've already made the arrangements."