Daughter
Chapter 8 - Reunion
It was night on the planet Daniel gated to. A community had built itself around the stargate here, so he was easily seen by its inhabitants upon arrival. Someone acting as a watchman approached him immediately. His eyes grew wide when he recognized who he was.
"Hello," Daniel greeted tentatively.
"Tau'ri," the man responded with reverence.
"Yes, I was just wondering if you'd seen my friend. Woman with dark hair, traveling with a little girl?"
The other man seemed honored that someone like Daniel was visiting their quaint world at all. So he was eager to help. "She passed through here four days ago."
Daniel's hope of finding Vala on this planet deflated. "Any idea where she went?"
"No, but she said something strange. Rising golden sun?" The watchman bared his hands outward in apology. "I do not recall exactly."
But Daniel's eyes lit up. "Thank you." He gestured toward the DHD, and the man graciously stepped aside to let him use it. Remembering what he'd experienced in the other timeline, he decided to take a circuitous route to where he intended to go. It was paranoid, sure. But if somehow he was being followed, he didn't want to lead anyone nefarious straight to Vala and Gracie.
And then his paranoia had him thinking, what if this man was lying? Before he pressed any controls on the DHD, Daniel reached up to the radio attached to his vest and clicked it once. He waited. He tried again, knowing that if anyone with a comparable radio was within range, they'd hear the quiet sound. But nothing happened. Maybe something about what he'd seen in the future was getting to him. Daniel shook his head. He'd double-back if he had to. But for now, he needed to move on.
He dialed the address to another friendly world he knew and passed through the gate. The next world housed its stargate in a nondescript forest. No one was around that he could see. But to be sure, Daniel dialed the next address to a world he knew was barren. As he did so, he decided he'd need to have a discussion with Mitchell about this, to give the man an idea of how to find him should he ever need to. The only reason Daniel could even hope to find Vala as she traipsed around the galaxy was because he paid close attention to her. And she knew it.
As expected, the next world was an empty desert. He could see plainly for miles in all directions that no one was about. The sky was clear. No ships in the air nearby. He didn't wait any longer to dial the DHD for the final place he wanted to go. Daniel hurriedly passed through the gate for the fourth time in the span of just a few minutes.
This next stargate was set on an open plain. A village was visible nearby. Steam flowed out of smokestacks for individual dwellings. When Daniel looked, twin suns inhabited the sky. The larger one was a deep orange. The smaller one was yellow and slightly higher than the other. "Rising golden sun," he muttered quietly to himself. Instead of heading straight into the village, he found a path that led behind the stargate toward a set of hills.
As he walked calmly, Daniel reached up to click his radio again. He heard a click in response. His heart beat faster. He pressed the button twice now. He heard three clicks back.
"Is that you?" he quickly asked.
"Daniel?"
He sighed loudly. "Vala. Are you…"
"Come to the house. You still remember where?"
"Yeah. Be there in a few minutes." He broke out into a run. He'd be there in less than a minute if he could help it.
Daniel came upon a modest structure set at the base of one of the hills. There was a decaying windmill behind it, still spinning. A single door was set into the front of the small house. Quietly, he pushed it open.
His heart swelled at the sight. Little Gracie was sleeping peacefully in Vala's arms. They were both in a comfortable chair in the far corner. A small end table was next to Vala's free arm, where a P-90 rested aimed at the door. Her hand was hovering near it and immediately relaxed upon seeing him. She raised a finger to her lips to shush him.
Vala grinned. Daniel grinned back.
He stepped as softly as he could toward the pair and squatted down to their level. One hand swept Gracie's messy hair back to look at her. She seemed fine. His other hand squeezed Vala's arm. "You guys, okay?" he whispered.
Vala nodded with a sweet, unbothered smile. "We're fine." This was a stark contrast from the last time he met Vala taking care of this child.
Daniel let out an audible breath of relief. He stood taller to kiss Vala on the temple. "Time to come home," he whispered gently. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Daniel imagined that his future self would have loved to experience this important moment. He secretly thanked him for the opportunity to do this at all, knowing how screwed up things could have gotten. He leaned back to see her smile more.
She flicked a finger at his nose in affection. "Okay."
Carefully, hoping not to disturb her, Daniel pulled Gracie into his arms. She opened her eyes sleepily to look at him, confirm that he was familiar, then plopped her head down onto his shoulder. He squeezed Gracie a little, glad that she remembered him and considered him safe. It was oh so much better than being regarded with suspicion and distrust by the older version. He could only imagine how happy Jack would be once he brought his little girl to him.
Vala gathered what few things they'd brought. She made it a point to check that the stuffed bear dressed up like a doctor was in her duffle bag, along with a few other odds and ends she'd hastily packed. Daniel observed that she was dressed in black leather. She clipped her radio and P-90 to appropriate buckles on her bodice. His eyes lingered on her completely black hair, without a touch of gray in sight. When Vala was finished, she caught him staring. "What?" she whispered with a devious smile.
"Just really glad to see you're okay. Good job, Vala."
She didn't catch how much he meant it. She stepped forward to look at Gracie in his arms. "Thanks, Darling." She made eye contact with him. "What happened?"
Daniel's face fell. He sucked in a breath as he said, "It was bad. No place for a child to be. At all."
Vala nodded sadly, knowing she'd get the full briefing upon her return. "Glad I missed it."
"Me too."
The trio exited the small home, with Vala checking that the door shut properly behind them. They began to walk briskly back toward the gate. "Sounds like your job was a lot harder than mine," Vala commented as her eyes scanned the area.
Daniel couldn't help but pause and look at her.
"What?"
He seemed to struggle for a moment, then thought better of telling her everything here. "Jack wants to have a briefing as soon as you're back… with everyone," he said instead.
Vala squinted at him, sensing that he was holding something back. But she wasn't going to delay their return any further by questioning him. She could always pester him later.
As Mitchell approached the area of the base near the stargate, he noticed two SFs standing guard in front of a closed blast door. He quirked an eyebrow at the scene. "Fellas?"
"Orders from General O'Neill, sir."
"Funny, I didn't hear about this." He stared at the heavy door behind them. Then one of the SF's slid a card through a reader to open it.
"You can pass, sir. You're on the list."
Mitchell quirked an eyebrow. "Well, don't I feel special," he deadpanned as he stepped through. The blast door shut loudly behind him. The sound was replaced by the alarm signaling that the gate was active. He began to walk more quickly in its direction.
He came upon Jack standing alone in the gate room. When Mitchell looked up, only General Landry was in the control room, apparently manning the controls. "Sir?"
Jack ignored him, eyes trained squarely on the gate. Mitchell hung back, guessing as to what was about to happen.
He was right. Daniel, Vala, and Gracie stepped through. The little kid was being carried by Daniel, seemingly asleep. Vala was dressed in her signature gear, causing Mitchell to quirk a smile.
Jack's hands began to reach out before Daniel was even near. "Hey, Baby," he called sweetly toward the girl.
Her head popped up from Daniel's shoulder and she turned toward his voice. "Daddy!" She all but jumped into Jack's arms.
Jack groaned as he squeezed her tight and closed his eyes to savor the moment. They rocked back and forth as she laid her head on her father's shoulder. Daniel clapped him on the back happily. Jack opened his eyes and reached a free hand toward Vala, pulling her into a tight hug. He kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, Princess."
She pulled back with a smile, then rubbed Gracie's back affectionately. "It was no problem. We had fun. Right?"
Gracie popped up again, now fully awake, and nodded with a three-year-old grin.
No one had thought to look up high to see that a twenty-year-old version was watching them from the briefing room glass. Tears streamed from her eyes.
The wormhole dissipated as Vala took a good look around. She tilted her head to greet Landry through the glass, but noticed that everyone else was missing. No Walter. No techs. No defense team. She opened her mouth to ask, but Jack had already begun to lead the group out of the gate room, never letting his little girl out of his arms. Vala placed her P-90 on the cart under the glass, figuring someone from the armory would collect it later. Daniel did the same while retrieving the duffle bag to carry it for her. Jack nodded at Mitchell in the hallway but said nothing as he headed back to the briefing room. Mitchell saluted, then relaxed. He clapped Daniel on the back in greeting.
Mitchell openly whistled at Vala, who smiled slyly at his attention and shimmied toward him. "Look at you." He reached an arm around her waist. Daniel looked back at them in annoyance but kept moving. Pausing at the opening to the control room, Mitchell pretended to look at her backside with admiration. Vala chuckled. "You good?"
"Yeah. Everything was fine."
"Good! Sounds like the Generals want to have a serious briefing. Sorry, you won't have time to change."
"I bet you're not sorry," Vala joked.
Mitchell laughed. "Come on." He released his hand from her hip.
"Actually, I really need to go the bathroom."
Mitchell waved a hand at her. "Then go then! I'll meet you up there." The pair separated and Mitchell traversed the spiral staircase leading up.
He found Dr. Lam hovering over Gracie, still in Jack's arms. She was smiling at her sweetly while she spoke. General Landry and Daniel, meanwhile, seemed to be talking to someone new. Mitchell did a double-take. The person was wearing black leather, just like Vala. But it couldn't have been her. He'd just seen her downstairs.
Jack and little Gracie took the seat at the head of the briefing room table. Mitchell whispered toward Dr. Lam, "Who's that?"
Carolyn looked at him and shrugged. The mystery woman peered over at them and her mouth gaped slightly. She seemed to lean in toward Daniel to whisper a question. He appeared to nod negatively. By this point, General Landry had taken a seat near Jack and didn't see this exchange. He was busy handing him a stapled pack of paperwork to examine.
"Hey, how's Teal'c?"
"He's stable for now. Still not awake yet."
"Yeah, I visited this morning. Saw that."
Dr. Lam brushed his arm. "Promise to keep you posted."
"Thanks, Doc."
The little girl began to squirm on her father's lap as he struggled to look at the report in front of him. "Mitchell," Jack called. "Come entertain the kid, huh?"
The Colonel grinned. "Yes, sir."
Everyone began to take seats. Mitchell sat across from Landry. Carolyn sat next to her father. Daniel settled into the seat next to Mitchell, with the mystery guest on his other side. They exchanged pleasant hellos with her, but waited for formal introductions. She seemed uncomfortable and remained quiet.
Daniel set a pad of paper before him and was about to jot something down with a pen. But Mitchell reached over and tore a sheet off of it first. Carolyn smashed her lips together in amusement as she watched. Daniel shot a glare at Mitchell, but was completely ignored. He was too busy folding the paper into a football.
"Daddy," the little one whined. She kept moving but Jack wouldn't let her off his lap. He had to keep switching his head with hers to look down at the distracting report in front of him.
"Hang on, sweetie. Mitchell," Jack warned.
"Almost… done." Mitchell held up his sorry excuse for origami toward Gracie. "Ay, remember this?"
The mystery guest watched closely.
The little one suddenly stopped squirming and nodded. Jack seemed to sigh behind her as he flipped another page. Mitchell handed the triangular-folded paper to her. She stared down at it and grinned. She looked back up at the Colonel. "Put your hands!" She tried to hold up her own in the way she wanted him to follow.
"Like this?" Mitchell made pretend goal posts with his hands. She bounced up and down excitedly in agreement. Carolyn grinned as she watched them interact. Little Gracie threw the paper football toward Mitchell's goal posts but it sailed onto the floor instead. "Whoops!"
The woman in black leather reached down to hand it back. Mitchell smiled at her then returned to the game. She made several attempts to throw the folded paper through his hands, held up in two letter Ls. Eventually, the child flicked the football much too far. Instead of getting up to retrieve it, Mitchell decided to make a new one. He interrupted Daniel's writing to flip to a blank page and tear off a new sheet. Daniel's hands froze over the pad as Mitchell invaded his space yet again. The mystery guest grit her teeth to suppress laughter as Daniel's fists tightened in aggravation. It looked like Mitchell was exactly the same as his future self. He didn't change.
Carolyn pointed toward the glass. Lights began to flash in the gate room below. The alarm sounded. Her father looked down at his watch. "That should be Atlantis. Dr. Jackson," he prompted. Landry continued to peruse his report.
Daniel set his pen down and got up. He looked right at the mystery guest with an encouraging smile, then headed for the stairs. Her mouth parted slightly as she watched him leave. She turned to see the flashing lights signifying that the gate had been activated. From her vantage point, though, she wouldn't be able to watch what was happening below. And she wasn't sure if it was appropriate for her to get up and take a peek, as much as she wanted to. She tried to look at Jack, but his eyes were glued to the paperwork in front of him while Mitchell distracted the little girl on his lap.
When she looked over in the direction Daniel had departed, she caught Carolyn watching her. The doctor smiled pleasantly at her. She blinked and smiled back. The woman was so comforting. She really liked her and was so glad to see her again. Gracie reminded herself to give this woman her thanks for what her future self had done for her in her time. At least she hoped she'd get the chance to do so soon.
When Daniel reached the bottom of the staircase, he ran into Vala. "Oh! Hey, Vala. That's Sam. Do you mind meeting her at the ramp while I deal with the controls? Everyone's upstairs waiting for you guys."
"She's already back?" Vala said in surprise.
"Yeaaaaah there was a big change in plans."
"Oh." Vala turned around to do as Daniel asked. The control room and gate room continued to be devoid of people, sparking her curiosity further. The P-90s they left were still there on the cart.
Soon, Sam stepped through the gate alone. She was clad in standard wear for Atlantis expedition members and carrying a duffle bag on her shoulder. It was the look on her face that had Vala wondering. She was absolutely pissed.
"Uh oh." Sam reached her at the bottom of the ramp. "What did he do?"
Her blonde colleague rolled her eyes. "It wasn't McKay." She took a good look at Vala's black traveling outfit. "Did you just get back?" Sam looked all around at the gate room, noting the same thing that Vala had earlier. "Where the Hell is everybody?"
Vala shrugged. "I dunno. But the boys are acting weird. I mean, Mitchell's the same," she reported with a flick of a hand. "But Jack and Daniel?" She shook her head. "Gracie's fine, by the way. She and I had fun galivanting."
Sam hugged her, one hand keeping the duffle bag from bumping into her. "I knew you guys would." Neither woman seemed the least bit bothered that Vala had to escape Earth with Gracie to keep her safe from calamity for a few days. Sam wasn't privy to the exact details of what happened here at the SGC while she was gone, but she knew it wasn't good. Atlantis had only received a very brief message that the SGC was now secure, but still on lock-down from the surface. There would be no going home to the house any time soon.
The pair entered the control room to find it empty. Daniel must have gone back upstairs. "Seriously, where is everyone?" Sam asked.
"No idea. So if it wasn't McKay, what happened? I didn't think you'd be back for at least another week." Sam peeked at the consoles to check that everything was operating normally. She checked statuses for various base operations and found everything to be nominal.
"Ugh. Jack shut us down. Still don't really know why. But I aim to find out," Sam answered menacingly.
"Ooooh, hubby's gonna get it."
"Damn straight."
Vala rubbed her hands together in delight, then gestured toward the staircase. She grinned at Sam's obvious anger toward her husband. Sam adopted a quieter, more conspiratorial tone as they began climbing the stairs.
"You're gonna love this. McKay now has his eye on this brunette working in the astrophysics division…"
Vala laughed. "Oh?"
"Something about the big brain and the big rack…" Sam muttered.
"Well, naturally, you're off the market…"
When the pair of gossiping women reached the top of the staircase, they realized everyone was there and dropped the conversation immediately.
Sam entered the briefing room and paused to salute the Generals in the room. "Reporting as ordered, sirs." Her eyes wandered to find a new face among the crowd. Her nose crinkled.
Vala had paused just behind and to the side of her. Her eyes were immediately drawn to black leather resembling her own. The only thing she didn't like was that this black leather was right next to Daniel.
"Mommy!" the little girl squealed. She abandoned Mitchell, climbed down off her father's lap, and ran toward Sam. Vala dutifully pulled the duffle bag off Sam's shoulder as she squat down to receive her daughter in a hug. Vala patted the girl's hair as Mitchell appeared to retrieve the bag and dump it onto a chair. He re-seated himself next to Dr. Lam, while Vala rounded the table to sit by the new person in the group. She purposely sat there to get a good look at the outfit and to see what kind of competition she was up against.
The blonde woman's eyes were focused on Sam and Gracie. If Vala didn't know any better, she seemed a tad emotional, too. Daniel reached over to grasp the woman's hand and squeeze it tightly as he also watched them reunite. Vala's face soured briefly at this, but no one appeared to notice.
Jack stood up to greet Sam as she approached, with Gracie now in her arms. He pulled them into a strong hug and held them there for a moment. He openly kissed Sam on the cheek, then Gracie. "Take a seat," he said, gesturing toward the spot Mitchell had vacated out of deference. Jack made eye contact with the young blonde watching them closely. He sent her a warm smile that everyone noticed.
"Ugh, Cam, it's warm," Sam said in disgust as she settled into the chair with Gracie.
Landry laughed openly. "What?" Mitchell pretended to be flabbergasted. Carolyn lightly slapped his arm with hilarity.
None of this was out of the ordinary to Vala. Jack had just set the tone for a less stiff meeting, hence the banter. But she didn't expect the woman next to her to be shivering, with Daniel gripping her hand harder to try and keep her calm. Now she was just plain curious. The woman glanced at her and seemed to blink a few times. Vala decided she'd rather hear where she shops, so decided to offer her a friendly smile instead of a calculating stare. "Hi," she said.
The woman seemed encouraged by this and smiled back happily. "Hi," she breathed out. Daniel seemed to purse his lips at the exchange in approval.
"This is going to be a family meeting. Drop the ranks," Jack announced. He looked pointedly at Mitchell, then Sam, then Landry. They each nodded. Daniel breathed in deeply. Carolyn began to look between Sam and the new woman repeatedly. She also glanced at little Gracie.
Vala made eye contact with Mitchell and tilted her head next to her. He caught her question about the woman's identity and shrugged back. Clearly, he knew nothing. Carolyn continued to look among them, eyebrows furrowed.
"Carolyn," Jack called.
She turned her head suddenly. "Yes?"
"Teal'c?"
"Still out. He's going to be off active duty at least a few days."
Vala asked with concern, "What happened to Teal'c?" The woman next to her seemed to be straighten up and lean forward.
"He got shot. Twice," Mitchell explained glumly. "Saved our asses, though."
Daniel hummed in agreement.
"Can I use a healing device on him?"
"You can try," Carolyn replied. "I won't stop you."
"If he's stable for now, then hang on, Vala. We have a lot to talk about first. We'll catch him up later," Jack said. He drew in a long breath to steady himself. Sam eyed him, sensing his tension. "When Daniel and I originally left to go get Vala and Gracie, we ran into a couple problems."
"A couple?" Daniel intoned sarcastically. He shook his head.
"What kind of problems?" Sam asked.
"The time traveling kind," Jack said plainly.
"What?" half the table said. Now everyone looked at the blonde woman in black leather. She looked back at everyone else anxiously, but silently.
The little girl in her mother's lap looked around. "What?" she copied with a little giggle.
"Oh my God," Carolyn breathed out, hands covering her mouth. Her eyes went back to Jack.
He pointed a pen at her and waggled it with a satisfied smile. "A chip off the old block." He patted Hank's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, what?" Mitchell asked. He exchanged a look of confusion with Vala.
"Jack," Sam prompted. Gracie began squirming again. Daniel slid his paper and pen over to distract her. She seemed satisfied with this and began to scribble all over his notes.
"We went forward 17 years."
"The future was a mess," Daniel added.
"You died," Jack said directly to Sam. He locked eyes with her, face heavy with seriousness.
Her mouth gaped open.
The woman on the other side of Daniel breathed in deeply.
"Something happened to me and I couldn't pick up Gracie, for fear of revealing her position. Daniel, well…" Jack waved a hand at him.
"I, apparently, became Vala's only real contact with Earth after that."
"Wait a minute," Vala spoke, "go back. Revealing her position to who?"
"The Trust, or some version of it as it exists now," Daniel answered.
"Is that not over?"
"Not yet," Jack replied. "Not by a long shot. Our intel from the future says it's worse than we could have imagined."
Sam and Mitchell looked at each other with disbelief.
"We'll go over the details more in depth. But you," Jack pointed at Vala, "are basically a saint at this point." Everyone here knew Jack well enough to realize he wasn't joking.
Vala gestured to herself. She glanced at the other occupants of the table then back to Jack. "Why?" she asked cautiously.
Daniel answered, "You kept Gracie alive and safe up through the time that we met her in the future."
The little girl next to him patted his arm at the sound of her name. When he turned his head to her, she waved her hand and said brightly, "Hi!" Daniel pinched her cheek affectionately.
Mitchell leaned forward and stared very carefully at the blonde seated between Daniel and Vala. "Whoa."
Vala did a double-take at the person next to her. She gasped.
Now seeing that the others were realizing the same as her, Carolyn was repeatedly hitting Mitchell's shoulder in a flurry.
Sam observed this. "What?"
Carolyn was too flabbergasted to speak. Landry clasped his mouth shut, not wanting to be the one to say it. Mitchell was still looking at the woman seated across from him with obvious surprise.
"Sam," Jack said, "we brought her back with us."
His wife froze.
Daniel turned directly to Sam. "The other me was worried that his timeline would be erased the minute he sent us back. They wanted her to live. He gave her the choice." He rolled his chair backward to remove himself as an obstacle between Sam and the other blonde woman.
Vala covered her mouth with her hands.
The young woman shivered as tears began to fall yet again. She'd cried so much now these past several days that she began to wonder if there was any other emotion she could feel. She stared straight into Sam's eyes, who was hugging a younger version of her tightly.
"Holy fucking shit," Mitchell whispered slowly with eyes wide. Carolyn grabbed his hand unconsciously, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene. He gripped hers back.
"Gracie?" Sam asked, voice wavering. Her face was in complete shock.
"Mom," the blonde responded.
The little girl who had been busy scribbling paused to peer up at her mother. Jack reached over to pull her into his lap. Sam let him and stood up. The other blonde woman did the same.
Sam stepped forward while everyone watched. She studied the woman's face, blinking several times to ensure she was really seeing what she was seeing. Her mouth was wide open. She glanced back at the three-year-old in her husband's lap, then back to the person before her.
"You look like my grandmother," she whispered. It was all the confirmation Sam needed. She immediately grabbed the woman and pulled her into a tight hug. The older Gracie began to cry openly, hugging her back fiercely.
Carolyn's breath shuddered as she watched, one hand over her chest, with the other still holding on to Cam. Hank placed a hand on her shoulder. Daniel reached over to Vala to grasp her hand. His thumb stroked hers as they watched the women reunite. He could feel Vala beginning to shiver in her own version of uncertainty.
Gracie pulled away slightly to wipe at her tears with the back of her sleeve. She turned to gesture at Vala. "She wanted me to tell you that she misses you. She tried the best she could. Everyone thought she did a great job." Gracie made eye contact with Vala. "I think she did."
Vala stood up now. She reached for the woman and grabbed her shoulders. Her face tilted to the side as she studied her, really studied her now. Her eyes flitted to the little girl with Jack, then back. "It is you."
"I just said goodbye to you a few hours ago," Gracie explained with sadness. "Promise not to forget," she repeated aloud with a shaky voice.
Sam turned back to Jack. "What the fuck happened!?"
"Fuck," her daughter imitated with a giggle. Hank blinked at her and smiled in amusement. But her parents were too distracted to realize what the three-year-old had just absorbed.
"Sit. We'll explain everything." Jack nodded his head at Daniel. "Move over."
"Yep." Daniel pushed his chair back and prompted Gracie to take it. Then he placed his hands on Vala's shoulders to push her into the next seat. Gracie deserved to be seated close to both her mothers.
Jack leaned across the table for Gracie's hand. She reached over to grab his and squeeze. "Told ya," he said with encouragement.
She laughed a little. "Worth it."
A/N: Thanks for making it this far. Not done yet! But I hope that you found this chapter satisfying, considering everything that the character of Gracie went through. What do you think? Worth it?