Stargate Fanfic: Unplanned Parenthood Prologue
Title: Unplanned Parenthood
Author: LexKitten
Summary: “Carter, do you ever get the feeling these alternate universes are trying to tell us something?”
Set: Season Sevenish (non specific really)
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Spoilers: Nothing too specific beyond season 4.
A/N: This is my first Stargate fic, and the first fic I’ve written in about two years! Any comments and constructive criticism would be fantastic =)
Many thanks to windsparrow , lilferret and tardisinthesgc for all the kind beta help!
***
“Join the air-force, they said. You’ll fly jets, and jump out of planes! See the world. Yeah, right.” The young airman leaned back on his folding chair, an open can of Coke in one hand and a fist full of cards in the other. He scowled, gesticulating wildly with his drink and almost spilling it as he continued his rant. “All I see is a bunch of boxed up, broken down junk. Join the Air Force - spend sixteen hour shifts guarding the most top-secret junk in the world.”
“Abbot, just play a damn card,” scowled his companion - another young airman on guard duty. Abbot lazily considered his hand, resting his drink on a nearby crate labeled “Top Secret: Highly Dangerous” in big block black letters. Finally, he selected a card, and placed it on top of the pile - a blue six.
The other man laughed, throwing down a blue ten. “Ha ha! Uno,” he said. “Play your card, so I can wrap this one up.”
“Every time!” Abbot scowled, eyeing his hand. “I swear Delgado, you don’t shuff-“
The loud blast of a security alarm cut the lieutenant short. Red light flooded the area. Abbot jumped to his feet, knocking his coke to the floor. Above the whine of the alarm, a recorded voice started up, “SENSOR TRIP. FOURTH BAY. SENSOR TRIP. FOURTH BAY.”
“Get the SF guys,” Abbot said. “We might need back up.”
Delgado nodded, scrambling for his radio. “Base, this is Sec Team Delta. Alarm trip in D4, requesting backup and instructions.”
Abbot drew his gun, giving his companion a wary look. “Y’know, I’ve never…”
“It’s probably a rat,” Delgado snapped. “Just get down there, before SF gets on our asses for failing to investigate a trip!”
Abbott nodded and hurried down the nearest aisle of storage crates, his posture still wary. He had never seen any real action. If this was a full-scale raid on a top-secret military base, things could get very ugly. He tried to steady his hands, quivering on his side arm. The fourth bay was less than thirty feet away now. The whine of the alarm was ringing in his ears, but there was something else too. Human sounds. Screaming - crying? And some kind of soft pounding against metal. He stopped just short of the corner, sucking in a sharp steadying breath. Abbot cocked his gun, and turned to face the intruder.
What he saw was so utterly unexpected, his training failed him and he dropped his gun. “Delgado!” He yelled. “The trip - it’s a - there’s - get down here!”!”
***
“All Hail the Mighty O’Neill!” Colonel O’Neill’s booming voice filled the gate-room, announcing the return of SG-1. With a great whoosh, the worm-whole closed behind them. The team looked in fairly good shape, which was to be expected for a simple check up on a friendly planet. The Colonel was adorned with some kind of flowered crown, and there was a faint blush of tipsiness on Major Carter’s cheeks and Daniel’s nose.
“Colonel O’Neill,” General Hammond greeted the team with a curt nod. “Glad to see you’ve returned.”
“Sir, nice of you to meet us,” the Colonel said. “Have you too come to bow down before the Mighty O’Neill of legend?”
General Hammond faltered in confusion. “Colonel, I-”
“The Inuthians have err, hailed Jack as a kind of hero,” Daniel said, rushing in to explain Jack’s strange behaviour to their bewildered Commanding Officer. “It seems his exploits during our first visit had a rather lasting impression on them. They have recorded the “Epic” in a series of woodcut panels lining their temple. And there was a day of feasting and merry-making and, well, a lot of sweet ale. He‘s become a somewhat Herculean figure of idolatry to them.”
“A God, Daniel,” Jack corrected. “They worshiped me.”
Teal’c cocked his head sideways, giving the Colonel a reproachful stare. “A false God.”
“Yeah, I tried to explain it to them,” Daniel rushed in again. “That the powers Jack possessed were merely technological rather than divine, but-”
“Daniel’s just jealous,” the Colonel assured General Hammond. “Besides, I think it’s about time someone around here worshiped me.”
Sam smirked at her superior. “Yes, the Inuthians have picked a virtuous and honourable hero indeed - one who would never take advantage of their kind and trusting nature.”
“Major, was that sarcasm?” Jack asked in mock outrage.
Sam grinned. “No, Sir.”
“Excuse me, Colonel, Major,” the General interrupted. “As much as I would like to hear of your heroic exploits in the debriefing, I’m afraid something has happened while you were off-world that requires your immediate attention.”
“What is it that you require of us?” Teal’c asked at once.
The General straightened his posture uncomfortably, almost as if he was apprehensive. “Actually, it’s just Major Carter and Colonel O’Neill I need - Teal’c, Dr. Jackson, feel free to get some down time after your medical.” He nodded curtly. It was unlike the General to keep things from any of the members of SG-1, but his expression clearly said he would say no more until he was alone with the officers. Sam’s smile quickly became a tight-lipped frown and Jack’s shoulders stiffened beside her. The General’s grave expression snapped them both out of their jovial teasing.
“As you wish.” Teal’c inclined his head, before departing solemnly.
Daniel, always too curious for his own good, hesitated. But after a moment, he nodded too, accepting the General’s military procedure. “Right, well, um see you guys… when you’re done.” He hurried off, casting a quick furtive glance over his shoulder.
The General turned to face his officers, who stood to attention “Sir,” Jack said. “Is there a situation?”
“I hope not,” General Hammond said. “I need you two prepped and ready to fly out of here in thirty minutes - you’re needed at area 51.”
“Area 51?” Sam asked. “What happened?”
“Something has come through the quantum mirror from an alternate dimension. I’ve sent Dr Fraiser and a medical team over to quarantine the subject and our personnel on the ground have begun and interrogation, but” the General faulted. He looked uncertainly from Major Carter to Colonel O’Neil and back again. “She had a letter with her - addressed to both of you.”
“She?” Sam said. “Sir, who came through?”
The General met Sam’s eyes; his mouth set in a deep frown. “A child, Major. A little girl.”
***
“The alarm was tripped at oh four hundred, Sirs. Airmen Abbot and Delgado were first on the scene - I can provide you with their report or you can debrief them yourselves.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jack said curtly. “I can read.”
“Yes sir.” Lieutenant Dean, the officer sent to meet and update them, was obviously star-struck at meeting members of the real SG-1. It was the kind of nervous pandering Jack hated, so he insisted they be briefed on the way to the quarantine centre - anything to get this over-with as quickly as possible. The lieutenant struggled to keep pace with Jack and Sam, while talking almost as fast as they walked in a rush to properly report to his senior officers. “ Well, ah, as I was saying, the airmen were a little surprised to say the least to find the intruder was a kid - that is to say a juvenile female.”
“ I know what a kid is,” Jack scowled.
Sam gave him a warning nudge in the side - a little reminder to be nice, and not to take out his over-tired irritability on the hapless subordinate. “Lieutenant, have you been able to find out where she comes from, or why she’s here?” Sam asked.
Lieutenant Dean shuffled through the small pile of reports he’d been able to scrabble together to brief the Colonel and Major on short notice. “Ah, this is a transcript of the initial interview of the subject, but as you can see she was ah - uncooperative.”
“A girl after my own heart,” said Jack.
Sam scanned the page quickly and frowned. “She sounds hysterical.”
“Well, she is,” Lieutenant Dean said. “Not that we’ve been hurting her or anything! But well, Major - she’s a little girl, on her own, in a scary military base. She’s terrified out of her mind. I mean, look at the transcripts; “mommy”, “daddy” every second word.”
Jack frowned. This wasn’t what he had been expecting. Not that he ever knew what to expect from this job. But in the past the child messengers sent to the SGC from other planets were sort of, well, not like children at all. But this girl was crying, frightened and calling for her mom. By all accounts she sounded like a normal kid. What was a normal kid doing coming through the quantum mirror from an alternate universe?
“Do you know her name?” Sam asked. Trust Sam. She was always so good at getting emotionally involved with things - even though she was the kind of science geek you’d expect wouldn’t relate to people too well. Sam had a way of getting herself attached. Better not to know the kid’s name - in case it turned out she was a goa’uld.
The Lieutenant shook his head, “She won’t say.”
“A letter,” Jack said. “General Hammond said she had a letter addressed to us.”
“Oh! Yes of course.” Lieutenant Dean fumbled with his papers again, nearly dropping half of them. Sam grabbed the pile as it slid though his arms. “Um - here” he awkwardly handed Jack a standard air force issue envelope.
It was clearly addressed to Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter, in a familiar if hurried scrawl. Jack flipped it over - the seal was intact. “You didn’t read it first?” he asked.
“It was addressed to you, Sirs.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “How honourable.” Great -they came all this way to read a damn letter that Dean could have read himself? With a sigh, Jack ripped it open, and pulled out a note scrawled again on airforce issue paper. ‘Jack,’ it began.
But that was all he had time to read, because at the same moment, Lieutenant Dean announced “This is the outer chamber of our quarantine centre,” and pushed open the heavy double doors. That’s when they saw her.
She was tiny - couldn’t be more than five years old. Her skin was bone white, her hair blond as light, dead straight, and down to her waist. Her face was puckered with tears and her eyes were red from rubbing - but beneath they were bright blue. Doc. Fraiser and two nurses had a hold of her tiny limbs, trying to press her down onto a hospital bed long enough to sedate her. She writhed in their hands, kicking wildly. Even through the thick plastic of the quarantine tent Jack could clearly hear her frantic cries: “Lemme go! It hurts! Stop!” The wave of familiarity hit him so quickly he couldn’t work out whom it was he was thinking of - just that he knew her, instinctively. He heard Sam pull up short just in front of him, a gasp caught in her throat.
In the same instant that all of this occurred, the screaming girl’s frantic, darting eyes found Jack’s and then Sam’s. She stopped dead still, her writhing body instantly limp. Doc Fraiser and the nurses pounced, pushing her to the bed, but the pause was only momentary. She lurched forward again - more ferocious then before - kicking out with her legs and desperately clawing with her hands. And her cry changed. It became relieved, almost happy, but still terrified at the same time. “Mommy!” She cried. She reached out with her tiny hands, her eyes locked on Sam. “Mom-my!”
Jack looked down, suddenly aware of the letter in his hands. ‘Jack,’ it read,
‘our universe is under attack. There’s nothing else I can do. Please - please - protect her. I know she’s safe with you - who better to look after her than her own parents.
Love always, Sam.’
Author: LexKitten
Summary: “Carter, do you ever get the feeling these alternate universes are trying to tell us something?”
Set: Season Sevenish (non specific really)
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Spoilers: Nothing too specific beyond season 4.
A/N: This is my first Stargate fic, and the first fic I’ve written in about two years! Any comments and constructive criticism would be fantastic =)
Many thanks to windsparrow , lilferret and tardisinthesgc for all the kind beta help!
***
“Join the air-force, they said. You’ll fly jets, and jump out of planes! See the world. Yeah, right.” The young airman leaned back on his folding chair, an open can of Coke in one hand and a fist full of cards in the other. He scowled, gesticulating wildly with his drink and almost spilling it as he continued his rant. “All I see is a bunch of boxed up, broken down junk. Join the Air Force - spend sixteen hour shifts guarding the most top-secret junk in the world.”
“Abbot, just play a damn card,” scowled his companion - another young airman on guard duty. Abbot lazily considered his hand, resting his drink on a nearby crate labeled “Top Secret: Highly Dangerous” in big block black letters. Finally, he selected a card, and placed it on top of the pile - a blue six.
The other man laughed, throwing down a blue ten. “Ha ha! Uno,” he said. “Play your card, so I can wrap this one up.”
“Every time!” Abbot scowled, eyeing his hand. “I swear Delgado, you don’t shuff-“
The loud blast of a security alarm cut the lieutenant short. Red light flooded the area. Abbot jumped to his feet, knocking his coke to the floor. Above the whine of the alarm, a recorded voice started up, “SENSOR TRIP. FOURTH BAY. SENSOR TRIP. FOURTH BAY.”
“Get the SF guys,” Abbot said. “We might need back up.”
Delgado nodded, scrambling for his radio. “Base, this is Sec Team Delta. Alarm trip in D4, requesting backup and instructions.”
Abbot drew his gun, giving his companion a wary look. “Y’know, I’ve never…”
“It’s probably a rat,” Delgado snapped. “Just get down there, before SF gets on our asses for failing to investigate a trip!”
Abbott nodded and hurried down the nearest aisle of storage crates, his posture still wary. He had never seen any real action. If this was a full-scale raid on a top-secret military base, things could get very ugly. He tried to steady his hands, quivering on his side arm. The fourth bay was less than thirty feet away now. The whine of the alarm was ringing in his ears, but there was something else too. Human sounds. Screaming - crying? And some kind of soft pounding against metal. He stopped just short of the corner, sucking in a sharp steadying breath. Abbot cocked his gun, and turned to face the intruder.
What he saw was so utterly unexpected, his training failed him and he dropped his gun. “Delgado!” He yelled. “The trip - it’s a - there’s - get down here!”!”
***
“All Hail the Mighty O’Neill!” Colonel O’Neill’s booming voice filled the gate-room, announcing the return of SG-1. With a great whoosh, the worm-whole closed behind them. The team looked in fairly good shape, which was to be expected for a simple check up on a friendly planet. The Colonel was adorned with some kind of flowered crown, and there was a faint blush of tipsiness on Major Carter’s cheeks and Daniel’s nose.
“Colonel O’Neill,” General Hammond greeted the team with a curt nod. “Glad to see you’ve returned.”
“Sir, nice of you to meet us,” the Colonel said. “Have you too come to bow down before the Mighty O’Neill of legend?”
General Hammond faltered in confusion. “Colonel, I-”
“The Inuthians have err, hailed Jack as a kind of hero,” Daniel said, rushing in to explain Jack’s strange behaviour to their bewildered Commanding Officer. “It seems his exploits during our first visit had a rather lasting impression on them. They have recorded the “Epic” in a series of woodcut panels lining their temple. And there was a day of feasting and merry-making and, well, a lot of sweet ale. He‘s become a somewhat Herculean figure of idolatry to them.”
“A God, Daniel,” Jack corrected. “They worshiped me.”
Teal’c cocked his head sideways, giving the Colonel a reproachful stare. “A false God.”
“Yeah, I tried to explain it to them,” Daniel rushed in again. “That the powers Jack possessed were merely technological rather than divine, but-”
“Daniel’s just jealous,” the Colonel assured General Hammond. “Besides, I think it’s about time someone around here worshiped me.”
Sam smirked at her superior. “Yes, the Inuthians have picked a virtuous and honourable hero indeed - one who would never take advantage of their kind and trusting nature.”
“Major, was that sarcasm?” Jack asked in mock outrage.
Sam grinned. “No, Sir.”
“Excuse me, Colonel, Major,” the General interrupted. “As much as I would like to hear of your heroic exploits in the debriefing, I’m afraid something has happened while you were off-world that requires your immediate attention.”
“What is it that you require of us?” Teal’c asked at once.
The General straightened his posture uncomfortably, almost as if he was apprehensive. “Actually, it’s just Major Carter and Colonel O’Neill I need - Teal’c, Dr. Jackson, feel free to get some down time after your medical.” He nodded curtly. It was unlike the General to keep things from any of the members of SG-1, but his expression clearly said he would say no more until he was alone with the officers. Sam’s smile quickly became a tight-lipped frown and Jack’s shoulders stiffened beside her. The General’s grave expression snapped them both out of their jovial teasing.
“As you wish.” Teal’c inclined his head, before departing solemnly.
Daniel, always too curious for his own good, hesitated. But after a moment, he nodded too, accepting the General’s military procedure. “Right, well, um see you guys… when you’re done.” He hurried off, casting a quick furtive glance over his shoulder.
The General turned to face his officers, who stood to attention “Sir,” Jack said. “Is there a situation?”
“I hope not,” General Hammond said. “I need you two prepped and ready to fly out of here in thirty minutes - you’re needed at area 51.”
“Area 51?” Sam asked. “What happened?”
“Something has come through the quantum mirror from an alternate dimension. I’ve sent Dr Fraiser and a medical team over to quarantine the subject and our personnel on the ground have begun and interrogation, but” the General faulted. He looked uncertainly from Major Carter to Colonel O’Neil and back again. “She had a letter with her - addressed to both of you.”
“She?” Sam said. “Sir, who came through?”
The General met Sam’s eyes; his mouth set in a deep frown. “A child, Major. A little girl.”
***
“The alarm was tripped at oh four hundred, Sirs. Airmen Abbot and Delgado were first on the scene - I can provide you with their report or you can debrief them yourselves.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jack said curtly. “I can read.”
“Yes sir.” Lieutenant Dean, the officer sent to meet and update them, was obviously star-struck at meeting members of the real SG-1. It was the kind of nervous pandering Jack hated, so he insisted they be briefed on the way to the quarantine centre - anything to get this over-with as quickly as possible. The lieutenant struggled to keep pace with Jack and Sam, while talking almost as fast as they walked in a rush to properly report to his senior officers. “ Well, ah, as I was saying, the airmen were a little surprised to say the least to find the intruder was a kid - that is to say a juvenile female.”
“ I know what a kid is,” Jack scowled.
Sam gave him a warning nudge in the side - a little reminder to be nice, and not to take out his over-tired irritability on the hapless subordinate. “Lieutenant, have you been able to find out where she comes from, or why she’s here?” Sam asked.
Lieutenant Dean shuffled through the small pile of reports he’d been able to scrabble together to brief the Colonel and Major on short notice. “Ah, this is a transcript of the initial interview of the subject, but as you can see she was ah - uncooperative.”
“A girl after my own heart,” said Jack.
Sam scanned the page quickly and frowned. “She sounds hysterical.”
“Well, she is,” Lieutenant Dean said. “Not that we’ve been hurting her or anything! But well, Major - she’s a little girl, on her own, in a scary military base. She’s terrified out of her mind. I mean, look at the transcripts; “mommy”, “daddy” every second word.”
Jack frowned. This wasn’t what he had been expecting. Not that he ever knew what to expect from this job. But in the past the child messengers sent to the SGC from other planets were sort of, well, not like children at all. But this girl was crying, frightened and calling for her mom. By all accounts she sounded like a normal kid. What was a normal kid doing coming through the quantum mirror from an alternate universe?
“Do you know her name?” Sam asked. Trust Sam. She was always so good at getting emotionally involved with things - even though she was the kind of science geek you’d expect wouldn’t relate to people too well. Sam had a way of getting herself attached. Better not to know the kid’s name - in case it turned out she was a goa’uld.
The Lieutenant shook his head, “She won’t say.”
“A letter,” Jack said. “General Hammond said she had a letter addressed to us.”
“Oh! Yes of course.” Lieutenant Dean fumbled with his papers again, nearly dropping half of them. Sam grabbed the pile as it slid though his arms. “Um - here” he awkwardly handed Jack a standard air force issue envelope.
It was clearly addressed to Colonel O’Neill and Major Carter, in a familiar if hurried scrawl. Jack flipped it over - the seal was intact. “You didn’t read it first?” he asked.
“It was addressed to you, Sirs.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “How honourable.” Great -they came all this way to read a damn letter that Dean could have read himself? With a sigh, Jack ripped it open, and pulled out a note scrawled again on airforce issue paper. ‘Jack,’ it began.
But that was all he had time to read, because at the same moment, Lieutenant Dean announced “This is the outer chamber of our quarantine centre,” and pushed open the heavy double doors. That’s when they saw her.
She was tiny - couldn’t be more than five years old. Her skin was bone white, her hair blond as light, dead straight, and down to her waist. Her face was puckered with tears and her eyes were red from rubbing - but beneath they were bright blue. Doc. Fraiser and two nurses had a hold of her tiny limbs, trying to press her down onto a hospital bed long enough to sedate her. She writhed in their hands, kicking wildly. Even through the thick plastic of the quarantine tent Jack could clearly hear her frantic cries: “Lemme go! It hurts! Stop!” The wave of familiarity hit him so quickly he couldn’t work out whom it was he was thinking of - just that he knew her, instinctively. He heard Sam pull up short just in front of him, a gasp caught in her throat.
In the same instant that all of this occurred, the screaming girl’s frantic, darting eyes found Jack’s and then Sam’s. She stopped dead still, her writhing body instantly limp. Doc Fraiser and the nurses pounced, pushing her to the bed, but the pause was only momentary. She lurched forward again - more ferocious then before - kicking out with her legs and desperately clawing with her hands. And her cry changed. It became relieved, almost happy, but still terrified at the same time. “Mommy!” She cried. She reached out with her tiny hands, her eyes locked on Sam. “Mom-my!”
Jack looked down, suddenly aware of the letter in his hands. ‘Jack,’ it read,
‘our universe is under attack. There’s nothing else I can do. Please - please - protect her. I know she’s safe with you - who better to look after her than her own parents.
Love always, Sam.’