New Fic: Girls Night In (FT spoilers)
Title: Girls Night In
Category:Gen; Friendships (see characters)
Main Characters:Sam, Vala, Carolyn Lam
Genre: Episode Tag; Character Studies
Warnings: SPOILERS for "Family Ties"
Rating: Family/General
Summary: Late night snack raid and female bonding on a Friday night.
Disclaimer: The characters and settings of Stargate: SG-1 are owned by MGM, Double Secret Productions, Sci-Fi, and a host of others who are not me. No money is sought or exchanged in this fan work, nor is it intended to infringe on their rightful copyright or trademarks. Merely an homage.
Authors Notes: This fic was inspired by a comment discussion in paian's episode review for Family Ties between her and whisper99. The comments stuck as a plot bunny to me, so hopefully they won't mind my usurping the idea (even if there is no porn :-p, hee). Many thanks to beanpot and redbyrd_sgfic for beta duties.
Final warning, this is an episode tag for Second Half of S10. Spoilerphobes, turn back now (but come back after you've seen the ep, please)! Feedback always appreciated.
Carolyn Lam opened her mouth and let her ears pop to adjust to the change in pressure as the elevator lowered into the depths of Cheyenne Mountain. She laughed to herself at the irony. She had harassed her father frequently about all the hours he put in at work and had to cajole him into dinner tonight. Now here she was: Friday night, heading back into the office while her divorced parents were still talking over coffee back at Bistro 5.
It was surprising to see how easily her parents related to each other after so long without speaking. Surprising, and a little disquieting. Her mother was skeptical when Carolyn had first approached her, but there was no sign of any of the lingering bitterness Carolyn had expected. Instead of playing referee, she was starting to feel like a fifth wheel at dinner. It was great they were getting along, but it was stranger than her usual day of working with alien illnesses and infections. So she left the duo at the restaurant. Work seemed a better alternative than her apartment, and she had no doubt her father would see Kim Lam to her hotel safely.
Friday night was a dead time on these levels of the complex. Regular maintenance was off-shift. Most civilian employees were gone, and whatever crisis her dad had overseen seemed to have been resolved with no casualties. So, with an empty infirmary, Carolyn should get a good grip on her backlog of paperwork.
That was why she was surprised to hear a clatter coming from one of the nearby labs, its door slightly ajar.
"Shh!" A voice loudly whispered. "Now I know why you had to change your clothes before coming to see me. You're a klutz!"
"Siler ran into me!" Another voice protested in an equally loud whisper. "It's not my fault I was doused in sauce. You're lucky I salvaged the wine!"
The first voice snorted. "You still would never make it as a thief."
"Hey!" The second voice was now normal sounding and indignant. "I'd challenge you to a lock-picking contest anytime. Like when the team was trapped on P3Q-968? Five different mechanical locks in a Goa'uld stronghold in less than four minutes during a firefight. Got us freed from prison, found a trinium storehouse, and saved the enslaved people!"
"You've had too much wine."
"I can show you the report!"
"Hmph. How did you learn how to do that, anyway?"
"I'll never kiss and tell."
"Oh, so there was kissing involved?"
There was a sheepish laugh that was instantly stifled. "How much wine do you think I drank?"
Carolyn blinked at this odd conversation. "Hello?" she called out, her hand straying to one of the base alarm buttons as she peeked into the room.
She was shocked at the sight she found. Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter was staring at her wide eyed, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Perhaps that analogy was not far wrong. Beside her, Vala Mal Doran was hastily hiding packaged food in her pockets. Two members of the flagship team nicking junk food from the pathology lab?
"Um...what's going on?" Carolyn wondered if she should call a med team. SG-1 had been listed on her active mission roster for this afternoon. Maybe they had gone offworld and been infected by some alien disease.
"Dr. Lam." Vala's smile widened. "We're on a raid. The commissary's stock looks congealed. The vending machine is jammed, and I've already discovered they keep the best variety of snacks here."
Col. Carter shot her companion a warning glance.
"Of course, we were going to let them know," Vala hastily continued.
"Exactly." Carter nodded, gesturing to a pad on the counter.
"Oh, for..." Vala grabbed the pad and blinked at her teammate. "You really were going to leave a note, weren't you?"
"Just in case someone returned before I could replenish the supply!"
"You are worse than Daniel!" Vala exclaimed.
"And you're supposed to be changing your ways!" Carter countered defensively.
"I hardly think that grabbing chips and packaged chocolate cupcakes with creamy centers is a capital offense." Vala shook her head. "I knew Daniel was a stuffed shirt, and I've heard the lame and labor intensive stunts Mitchell enacted as a 'rebellious' high school youth, but you...it's hopeless." Seeing Carter's glower, she rolled her eyes. "Besides it's Teal'c's turn to resupply this weekend. I'm sure it'll be restocked by Monday."
Carter's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? What's Teal'c got to do with this?"
Vala waved her hand dismissively. "Who do you think alerted me to the stash?"
Col. Carter folded her arms and glared at her teammate. "All right. Explain."
Vala huffed out a large breath in exasperation. "The pathology lab keeps the best goodies on base. They share with a few of us who live on base, and we take turns replenishing the supply."
"Teal'c's never shared that with me. I'm here a lot." Carter's tone sounded slightly insulted.
"Working yourself to death, not looking for snacks. I think his goal is mostly for you to leave or rest, not ply you with more sugar. And-and we're getting off point. Wha-what I've never understood is why the best stuff is here rather than maintenance or even supply?"
Carolyn spoke up, even as she noticed Vala had changed the topic of conversation. "It comes from the gallows humor you develop in this specialty. There's a strange sense of macabre and irony. Everyone in med school knows the coroners and pathologists have the best snacks. Plus, they have refrigeration." She pointed to the refrigerator behind them.
They blinked at her in surprise, and she wondered if they had forgotten about her presence in the midst of their argument. They looked from her to the cooler, taking in the various lab equipment also filling the room.
Finally Carter shook her head, her face wrinkled in distaste. "No, I don't think I'm checking that out." She turned back to Vala. "Okay, so if you're entitled to the snacks, why did we sneak around?"
"To get you to loosen up a bit." Vala averted her eyes.
"Vala..."
"Well, I already know they're out of chocolate chocolate fudge ice cream in the commissary. Then the choices in the display cases--as you pointed out, even the Jell-o shouldn't have that film, much less the pies..."
Sam said nothing but stared at the other woman.
"All right, I just...wanted to make sure I hadn't completely lost my touch. After Jacek--I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going soft." Vala swayed back and forth, running her hands along the counter and continuing to avoid eye contact with either of them.
Col. Carter chuckled sympathetically. "There are many words I'd use to describe you, Vala, but 'soft' isn't one of them."
A tepid smile graced Vala's features.
Carolyn felt like an intruder by this point to the women's conversation. She murmurred her excuses. "Well, since everything's fine, I'll just..." She jerked her thumb behind her as she started to back out of the room.
"No." Vala replied. "You don't have to leave."
Col. Carter also spoke up. "You're free to join us in our binge." She seemed to take in Carolyn's outfit for the first time. "Unless, you're on your way out?"
"No," Carolyn admitted. "Returning. All dressed up and no place else to go." She shrugged.
Col. Carter wrinkled her nose in sympathy. "Bad date?"
Carolyn chuckled. "Actually a good date." She paused for a moment, not used to confiding in others, but the frankness she had witnessed between the two women and her own mixed feelings about tonight made her feel unusually open. "My mother came into town, and she and my dad are getting...reacquainted after a long estrangement." Carolyn was surprised at the slight smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"So that's the reason Gen. Landry wasn't on base when we returned to the Mountain." Col. Carter was smiling at Lam. "We wondered."
"And it seems like your mission was even more successful than ours." Vala approached and swung her arm over Carolyn's shoulder. "It sounds like you definitely need to join us in celebration and commiseration. It's good to hear some attempts at family reunion worked out well."
Carolyn stiffened at the unfamiliar contact. "I don't know that I'd go that far," she backtracked.
Vala refused to be put off, squeezing her arm tighter around Carolyn and winking. "That's where the commiseration comes in. It's a shame there's no more alcohol to share. We emptied the wine fifteen minutes ago."
Carolyn hesitated, glancing from Vala to Col. Carter.
Col. Carter nodded. "Please, join us. We're just hanging out."
"Okay." Carolyn nodded slowly. "But just let me run an errand in my office first."
Vala and Carter gathered the variety of snacks. "We'll be in either my quarters or more likely the rec room down the hall. It has quite the dvd collection," said Vala.
Carolyn smiled shyly. "I'll be right there."
Carolyn was surprised at the interest she felt at such a casual get together. Col. Carter had always been friendly to her, but they'd never connected on any kind of social level. Then again, Carolyn tended to remain engrossed in her work, and hadn't socialized much. As for Vala Mal Doran, Carolyn had gotten to know her mostly as a patient. The woman was in the infirmary more often than Carolyn liked.
Having secured the object of her quest, she went down a couple levels to where the VIP quarters were set up and quickly found Vala and Samantha Carter setting up their food on tables by a couple of large cushioned sofas. Carolyn knocked on the door jamb and waved her find.
"You said you needed more wine?" She waved the extra large bottle in front of her.
Col. Carter blinked. "Where did you come up with that so fast?"
"It was a 'thank you' present by a patient."
"Are we supposed to give you gifts after treatment?" Vala looked up with alarm. "Is this another Earth custom no one bothered to explain to me?"
"No," Carolyn laughed. "No, you're not. This was an unexpected bonus after a medical emergency...and doctor-patient confidentiality prevents me from saying more." There was no way she was going to expose Sgt. Bradley's secret of the extent of his allergic reaction to the plant of M5C-998. Those details never found their way into the report, and a topical solution cleared up the problem. The thought of proper procedure made Carolyn think of something else, and she blinked at Col. Carter. "I presume it's okay, Colonel. You mentioned drinking some earlier."
"Call me Sam, and of course it's..." Sam seemed to realized what Carolyn was looking at. "Oh. I'm off-duty, and there's a story behind...this." She gestured to her uniform.
"What? What did I miss now?" Vala queried.
"Technically alcohol on base is an unwritten permissible here at the SGC, but not on duty and not while in uniform." She blushed. "I was in civilian gear at first. There was an accident." She turned to Vala and raised her eyebrows accusingly. "See, you said I wasn't rebellious. I'm breaking regs right now!"
"Yes, you live on the wild side for sure." Vala rolled her eyes, but laughed good-naturedly. "If you had just said something, Sam. I can lend you an outfit. In fact..." Vala steered Sam out of the room. "Go forth, change. There's some pants in the third drawer of my bureau. That's an 'order'."
After Sam was ushered out, Vala turned to Carolyn and explained. "Apparently, Sam was wearing a dress and had some decent things to nosh, but she collided with Sgt. Siler, literally, and the groceries she was embracing splattered everywhere, including some tasty jam-filled pastries from what I understand."
"What about Siler?" Carolyn groaned. "He didn't hit his nose again did he? I swear, that man is the most accident-prone individual on base."
"I think he's fine. He's already left anyway." Vala shrugged as she grabbed the wine bottle and proceeded to open it. "I didn't know the uniform thing was an issue."
Considering Vala's own unconventional tailoring of BDUs, Carolyn wasn't surprised. She still didn't understand how the woman had managed to shorten the overshirt without shrinking the shoulders and keeping the hemline. She shrugged. "I guess it's the military brat in me. I note the anomalies, even when I chafe at the silliness of the regulations and 'calls to duty' myself."
Vala gave her an appraising look. "You know, your father spoke of you from practically the first time I met him."
Carolyn couldn't hide her surprise. "He did?"
"Oh yes." Vala smiled. "Well, at the time, I wrote it off as an interrogation tactic, but the way he spoke, it was very obvious he cared for you. Said you were stubborn and hadn't listened to him since you were twelve, and with a definite note of pride." Vala chuckled. "When I discovered you were his daughter, I knew I'd find you a kindred spirit from that comment alone. Then the other week, he told me about how much he missed when you were growing up, and how much he regretted. Made me actually consider responding to Jacek's attempts at reconciliation."
Carolyn stared at Vala in shock. She had no idea her father spoke of her like that, but she filed away her own confusion for later. What she focused on now was the wistful tone in Vala's comments. She remembered the conversation Sam and Vala had earlier and put it together with Jacek's visit to her infirmary a few weeks before, including with her orders to inject him with a transmitter because he was a flight risk. "What happened with your father?" she asked tentatively.
Vala poured the wine, rummaging through a cupboard before finding a third tumbler. "He was playing us...played me to the very end. Your subcutaneous transmitter helped tremendously though. Yep, we sure turned the tables on him."
"I'm sorry, Vala." Carolyn meant every word. It was strange; she felt a strange kinship with the alien woman. Perhaps absentee fathers and broken promises were an universal trait.
Vala shrugged it aside with a sad smile. "Yeah, well, nothing I shouldn't have expected."
Carter had returned by now. She had changed into a tightly fitting pair of leather pants, keeping on the black t-shirt, but forsaking the BDU blue overshirt. She was still patting down the too small pants which rode up the ankles of the taller woman and made the shorter Carolyn momentarily jealous. Sam groaned as she sat and accepted a glass of wine. "Vala, do you own any clothes for just lounging around?"
"Darling, I thought that was what Victoria's Secret was for."
Sam rolled her eyes. "We are so going on another shopping trip. I think Carolyn and I need to introduce you to relaxed fit jeans."
Carolyn couldn't hold back the laugh as she sipped her wine. She raised her eyebrow at the presumption of joining them for a shopping expedition but found herself liking the idea.
"So, what did I interrupt?" Sam asked as she opened a bag of gourmet chips.
"Mutual bonding over deadbeat dads and their attempts at redemption." Carolyn clapped her hand over her mouth. Perhaps she shouldn't have drunk the wine so fast. Especially on top of the wine she had at dinner.
Vala laughed. "That was a succinct and frank summary. Though it sounds like your father was much more successful than mine. Besides, at least he was doing an honest job and defending your home rather than hiding from authorities and planning the next big score. My childhood family vacations were when he was using me to scout for easy marks. He was barely there, and then complained that I was ungrateful after his nurturing me--broke his heart."
"That would be hard to top." Carolyn ruefully admitted. "But it wasn't all noble 'saving of galaxy', Vala. There was a lot of the mundane that served as excuses for never being around. When I was growing up, 'honor and duty' were trite excuses for breaking promises and missing birthday parties. Sometimes even now when I understand it, I still can't quite forget it."
Carolyn started at her own candor.
Sam spoke up. "It's not an easy life. Moving from station to station every year or two. Never knowing when "orders" may come. It's not where you want, it's where you're told. Adjusting to new schools with new teachers. Traveling can seem like high adventure, but it when it means uprooting your life and losing your friends again and again, it gets old fast."
Carolyn nodded, her eyes wide with understanding as she topped off Sam's glass. She'd forgotten Sam Carter was a military brat too. "My mom finally had enough when I was eleven. When my parents divorced, my dad's appearances in my life became even less frequent. After he missed my high school graduation, I took my mom's name and washed my hands of him. It's only since being here that I could let go of the hurt; it had been part of my life for so long."
Sam frowned. "My mother died in a car accident; Dad took care of Mark and me. It was rough, especially for Mark. Mom was our glue." Sam fingered a small hole in the fabric of the couch absently. "He did the best he could, but children aren't airmen. We don't just jump when ordered."
"If the military made you so miserable as kids, why did you both end up here?" Vala looked at them both with honest puzzlement.
Sam replied first. "It wasn't all bad. There's a bit of camaraderie when all the kids on base are in the same boat. Plus, it was always my dream to go into space, and the Air Force was my best chance...even if the reality turned out more unorthodox than I planned. Although, part of me was just trying to be that perfect daughter. Mark wasn't following the military route, and...well, Dad had been expecting 'Samuel', not 'Samantha' when I popped out. It was a long time before I stopped trying to be the perfect child." Sam furrowed her eyebrows, and Carolyn wondered if she was not the only one to be surprised at the candor expressed tonight.
Carolyn ripped open a pair of cupcakes and handed one to Sam while she spoke up. "I had vowed never to have anything to do with the military, but Gen. O'Neill approached with an offer I couldn't refuse. Even before I signed the non-disclosure, he hinted this job opportunity would be cutting edge medicine. Of course, he left out the fine print that I'd be working with my dad." Carolyn crumbled one of the cupcakes and licked some of the filling from her finger. "Ironically, it was through the Air Force that I reconciled with Dad again. Realizing how much he sacrifices for everyone here, and then...almost losing him to the Prior's plague, when even with all my knowledge and experience I was helpless to stop it. I never like to admit defeat to death, and when it was Dad lying there..." Carolyn bit her lip. "I'm glad Mom's giving him a chance; I'm glad I did."
"That's the telling moment, isn't it?" Sam's eyes were haunted. "Deathbed realizations and making sure you don't have more regrets?"
Carolyn was still caught in her memories of her vigil, but she recognized the expression on Sam's face and remembered a notation in Sam's file. "You lost your father recently, didn't you?"
"Relatively, I suppose. It's been a couple years. But it's something you never quite get over. When the other SG-1s from alternate universes were here, he and Selmak were still alive in a few of them. I wondered if there was something we missed." Sam spun her wine glass around in her hand. "But we thought we were going to lose him years before this, so I'm grateful for what I had. Some of Sams never had the Tok'ra's intercession." She blinked at the blank looks on Carolyn and Vala's faces. "Dad had untreatable cancer eight years ago, was in a critical state. It was only by blending with Selmak he was saved. My job--meeting the Tok'ra--saved Dad's life."
"Your father was Tok'ra?" Vala straightened in her seat. "And this was after your own experience?"
Sam nodded. "Even though Dad and I got along okay before then, we really weren't close. Blending with Selmak softened up the rough edges. He and Mark reconciled. He had a relationship with his grandchildren. We worked together on missions, and...we talked. I'll always be grateful to Selmak for that."
"Hmm." Vala clinked the bottle against her glass as she poured out a bit more wine for both her and Sam. Carolyn begged off for the moment. "The Tok'ra can come in handy on occasion. They certainly saved my hide, but I can't say they struck me as the most selfless of peoples. Healed me and saved me from the angry mob, but were just looking at the information I could provide them about Qetesh and the system lords. Ended up just being another in a long list of people wanting to use me. That's when I decided to be on my own: be a user, rather than being used. I guess you could say I followed my father's footsteps as well." She toasted her glass ironically.
Sam gave Vala a piercing look, but her question was tentative. "Did Jacek know? I mean, about...Qetesh?"
Vala leaned back into the cushions and crunched on a candy bar. Finally she responded. "I'm not certain. He was always careful to avoid close attention by the Goa'uld wherever he traveled. Keeping the guise of a simple peddler--complete with icons for whatever Goa'uld was prominent at the time. Sometimes using my mother, me, even my witch of a stepmother after Mum passed on." She shook her head. "But he was always able to keep up on intelligence: what worlds had easy to lift treasure, what worlds were locked down with Jaffa guards. He could've found out if he wanted to." She crossed her arms, and Carolyn noted her eyes were glistening. "He certainly didn't look for me afterwards."
Sam and Carolyn exchanged looks, not sure how to respond. Sam finally spoke up, changing the subject. "Vala, I've been meaning to ask. Why haven't you gotten off-base quarters like your father? Gen. Landry authorized it months ago--not too long after you became a full member of SG-1."
Vala cleared her throat and wiped her eyes surreptitiously. "I don't know. Many reasons I suppose. I can save up treasure if I don't spend it for rent. Plus there's all the lovely security guards. After all, just going out to dinner can be a loaded experience, can't it?"
Carolyn instantly sobered and looked at Vala with professional interest. Vala was either sidestepping again, or there was a real concern from her experience with Athena. She reached for her penlight before remembering she was not wearing her lab coat, but instead a wrinkled cocktail dress. "Are you still having memory issues? Flashbacks to your experiences?"
Vala waved her off and laughed. "No, nothing like that." She picked up another snack cake and opened it, smirking mysteriously as she glanced at the ingredient label. "I remember everything from then just fine. I don't know. I just realized how...fragile things can be." She shrugged and bit into the pastry. "Maybe it's just that worry about relapsing that Daniel always goes on about. I can stay out of trouble without exposure to so many possibilities."
Carolyn nodded. By this point she was used to Vala's misdirection and bravado from her experiences with her as patient in the infirmary.
Sam Carter seemed to see through the disguise as well. "There's also the ability to be instantly aware of any news on the Ori--and Adria."
Vala studied Sam and nodded in acknowledgment. "And there's that," she replied softly.
"We're quite the trio, aren't we?" Carolyn laughed bitterly. "Look at our pasts, and now we save the galaxy from disease and alien crusaders."
Sam quirked a small smile. "Sometimes I think you have to be crazy to do this job."
"Or at least lucky survivors." Vala topped off all three glasses. "Perhaps our fathers have taught us more than we think."
Carolyn raised her glass. "To our fathers' daughters."
"The survivors." Vala clinked her glass to Carolyn's.
"Salut." Sam raised her glass to join the others.
Teal'c was drawn to the sound of recognizable laughter coming from the recreation room. Perhaps Vala Mal Doran was watching another movie. Teal'c enjoyed spending time with his alien teammate on such adventures from time to time. She too was fascinated by and recognized the incongruity of Tau'ri culture that his other friends just accepted as natural.
As he approached, he realized the other sounds were not the television, but more voices. He recognized Colonel Carter speaking.
"So by now we're in a panic, not knowing in what condition we'll find Cam or Vala, based on the blood at the accident scene. And we bust in and find Cam. There he is lounging on the bed, covered in cake crumbs and chocolate, stripped to his underwear--"
"Handcuffed, no less."
"Oh yes, I didn't forget. Handcuffed to the headboard. His free hand is flipping the remote control. He spots us and suddenly grabs the covers mumbling: 'it's not what you think!'"
Another loud round of laughter echoes down the hall.
"So why did you need to remove his pants to treat the bullet wound in his arm?"
Teal'c retreated silently, moving to his quarters before the women were aware of his presence. After the theater, he felt he had experienced enough "female bonding" for one evening.
Fin.
Category:Gen; Friendships (see characters)
Main Characters:Sam, Vala, Carolyn Lam
Genre: Episode Tag; Character Studies
Warnings: SPOILERS for "Family Ties"
Rating: Family/General
Summary: Late night snack raid and female bonding on a Friday night.
Disclaimer: The characters and settings of Stargate: SG-1 are owned by MGM, Double Secret Productions, Sci-Fi, and a host of others who are not me. No money is sought or exchanged in this fan work, nor is it intended to infringe on their rightful copyright or trademarks. Merely an homage.
Authors Notes: This fic was inspired by a comment discussion in paian's episode review for Family Ties between her and whisper99. The comments stuck as a plot bunny to me, so hopefully they won't mind my usurping the idea (even if there is no porn :-p, hee). Many thanks to beanpot and redbyrd_sgfic for beta duties.
Final warning, this is an episode tag for Second Half of S10. Spoilerphobes, turn back now (but come back after you've seen the ep, please)! Feedback always appreciated.
Carolyn Lam opened her mouth and let her ears pop to adjust to the change in pressure as the elevator lowered into the depths of Cheyenne Mountain. She laughed to herself at the irony. She had harassed her father frequently about all the hours he put in at work and had to cajole him into dinner tonight. Now here she was: Friday night, heading back into the office while her divorced parents were still talking over coffee back at Bistro 5.
It was surprising to see how easily her parents related to each other after so long without speaking. Surprising, and a little disquieting. Her mother was skeptical when Carolyn had first approached her, but there was no sign of any of the lingering bitterness Carolyn had expected. Instead of playing referee, she was starting to feel like a fifth wheel at dinner. It was great they were getting along, but it was stranger than her usual day of working with alien illnesses and infections. So she left the duo at the restaurant. Work seemed a better alternative than her apartment, and she had no doubt her father would see Kim Lam to her hotel safely.
Friday night was a dead time on these levels of the complex. Regular maintenance was off-shift. Most civilian employees were gone, and whatever crisis her dad had overseen seemed to have been resolved with no casualties. So, with an empty infirmary, Carolyn should get a good grip on her backlog of paperwork.
That was why she was surprised to hear a clatter coming from one of the nearby labs, its door slightly ajar.
"Shh!" A voice loudly whispered. "Now I know why you had to change your clothes before coming to see me. You're a klutz!"
"Siler ran into me!" Another voice protested in an equally loud whisper. "It's not my fault I was doused in sauce. You're lucky I salvaged the wine!"
The first voice snorted. "You still would never make it as a thief."
"Hey!" The second voice was now normal sounding and indignant. "I'd challenge you to a lock-picking contest anytime. Like when the team was trapped on P3Q-968? Five different mechanical locks in a Goa'uld stronghold in less than four minutes during a firefight. Got us freed from prison, found a trinium storehouse, and saved the enslaved people!"
"You've had too much wine."
"I can show you the report!"
"Hmph. How did you learn how to do that, anyway?"
"I'll never kiss and tell."
"Oh, so there was kissing involved?"
There was a sheepish laugh that was instantly stifled. "How much wine do you think I drank?"
Carolyn blinked at this odd conversation. "Hello?" she called out, her hand straying to one of the base alarm buttons as she peeked into the room.
She was shocked at the sight she found. Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter was staring at her wide eyed, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Perhaps that analogy was not far wrong. Beside her, Vala Mal Doran was hastily hiding packaged food in her pockets. Two members of the flagship team nicking junk food from the pathology lab?
"Um...what's going on?" Carolyn wondered if she should call a med team. SG-1 had been listed on her active mission roster for this afternoon. Maybe they had gone offworld and been infected by some alien disease.
"Dr. Lam." Vala's smile widened. "We're on a raid. The commissary's stock looks congealed. The vending machine is jammed, and I've already discovered they keep the best variety of snacks here."
Col. Carter shot her companion a warning glance.
"Of course, we were going to let them know," Vala hastily continued.
"Exactly." Carter nodded, gesturing to a pad on the counter.
"Oh, for..." Vala grabbed the pad and blinked at her teammate. "You really were going to leave a note, weren't you?"
"Just in case someone returned before I could replenish the supply!"
"You are worse than Daniel!" Vala exclaimed.
"And you're supposed to be changing your ways!" Carter countered defensively.
"I hardly think that grabbing chips and packaged chocolate cupcakes with creamy centers is a capital offense." Vala shook her head. "I knew Daniel was a stuffed shirt, and I've heard the lame and labor intensive stunts Mitchell enacted as a 'rebellious' high school youth, but you...it's hopeless." Seeing Carter's glower, she rolled her eyes. "Besides it's Teal'c's turn to resupply this weekend. I'm sure it'll be restocked by Monday."
Carter's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? What's Teal'c got to do with this?"
Vala waved her hand dismissively. "Who do you think alerted me to the stash?"
Col. Carter folded her arms and glared at her teammate. "All right. Explain."
Vala huffed out a large breath in exasperation. "The pathology lab keeps the best goodies on base. They share with a few of us who live on base, and we take turns replenishing the supply."
"Teal'c's never shared that with me. I'm here a lot." Carter's tone sounded slightly insulted.
"Working yourself to death, not looking for snacks. I think his goal is mostly for you to leave or rest, not ply you with more sugar. And-and we're getting off point. Wha-what I've never understood is why the best stuff is here rather than maintenance or even supply?"
Carolyn spoke up, even as she noticed Vala had changed the topic of conversation. "It comes from the gallows humor you develop in this specialty. There's a strange sense of macabre and irony. Everyone in med school knows the coroners and pathologists have the best snacks. Plus, they have refrigeration." She pointed to the refrigerator behind them.
They blinked at her in surprise, and she wondered if they had forgotten about her presence in the midst of their argument. They looked from her to the cooler, taking in the various lab equipment also filling the room.
Finally Carter shook her head, her face wrinkled in distaste. "No, I don't think I'm checking that out." She turned back to Vala. "Okay, so if you're entitled to the snacks, why did we sneak around?"
"To get you to loosen up a bit." Vala averted her eyes.
"Vala..."
"Well, I already know they're out of chocolate chocolate fudge ice cream in the commissary. Then the choices in the display cases--as you pointed out, even the Jell-o shouldn't have that film, much less the pies..."
Sam said nothing but stared at the other woman.
"All right, I just...wanted to make sure I hadn't completely lost my touch. After Jacek--I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going soft." Vala swayed back and forth, running her hands along the counter and continuing to avoid eye contact with either of them.
Col. Carter chuckled sympathetically. "There are many words I'd use to describe you, Vala, but 'soft' isn't one of them."
A tepid smile graced Vala's features.
Carolyn felt like an intruder by this point to the women's conversation. She murmurred her excuses. "Well, since everything's fine, I'll just..." She jerked her thumb behind her as she started to back out of the room.
"No." Vala replied. "You don't have to leave."
Col. Carter also spoke up. "You're free to join us in our binge." She seemed to take in Carolyn's outfit for the first time. "Unless, you're on your way out?"
"No," Carolyn admitted. "Returning. All dressed up and no place else to go." She shrugged.
Col. Carter wrinkled her nose in sympathy. "Bad date?"
Carolyn chuckled. "Actually a good date." She paused for a moment, not used to confiding in others, but the frankness she had witnessed between the two women and her own mixed feelings about tonight made her feel unusually open. "My mother came into town, and she and my dad are getting...reacquainted after a long estrangement." Carolyn was surprised at the slight smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"So that's the reason Gen. Landry wasn't on base when we returned to the Mountain." Col. Carter was smiling at Lam. "We wondered."
"And it seems like your mission was even more successful than ours." Vala approached and swung her arm over Carolyn's shoulder. "It sounds like you definitely need to join us in celebration and commiseration. It's good to hear some attempts at family reunion worked out well."
Carolyn stiffened at the unfamiliar contact. "I don't know that I'd go that far," she backtracked.
Vala refused to be put off, squeezing her arm tighter around Carolyn and winking. "That's where the commiseration comes in. It's a shame there's no more alcohol to share. We emptied the wine fifteen minutes ago."
Carolyn hesitated, glancing from Vala to Col. Carter.
Col. Carter nodded. "Please, join us. We're just hanging out."
"Okay." Carolyn nodded slowly. "But just let me run an errand in my office first."
Vala and Carter gathered the variety of snacks. "We'll be in either my quarters or more likely the rec room down the hall. It has quite the dvd collection," said Vala.
Carolyn smiled shyly. "I'll be right there."
Carolyn was surprised at the interest she felt at such a casual get together. Col. Carter had always been friendly to her, but they'd never connected on any kind of social level. Then again, Carolyn tended to remain engrossed in her work, and hadn't socialized much. As for Vala Mal Doran, Carolyn had gotten to know her mostly as a patient. The woman was in the infirmary more often than Carolyn liked.
Having secured the object of her quest, she went down a couple levels to where the VIP quarters were set up and quickly found Vala and Samantha Carter setting up their food on tables by a couple of large cushioned sofas. Carolyn knocked on the door jamb and waved her find.
"You said you needed more wine?" She waved the extra large bottle in front of her.
Col. Carter blinked. "Where did you come up with that so fast?"
"It was a 'thank you' present by a patient."
"Are we supposed to give you gifts after treatment?" Vala looked up with alarm. "Is this another Earth custom no one bothered to explain to me?"
"No," Carolyn laughed. "No, you're not. This was an unexpected bonus after a medical emergency...and doctor-patient confidentiality prevents me from saying more." There was no way she was going to expose Sgt. Bradley's secret of the extent of his allergic reaction to the plant of M5C-998. Those details never found their way into the report, and a topical solution cleared up the problem. The thought of proper procedure made Carolyn think of something else, and she blinked at Col. Carter. "I presume it's okay, Colonel. You mentioned drinking some earlier."
"Call me Sam, and of course it's..." Sam seemed to realized what Carolyn was looking at. "Oh. I'm off-duty, and there's a story behind...this." She gestured to her uniform.
"What? What did I miss now?" Vala queried.
"Technically alcohol on base is an unwritten permissible here at the SGC, but not on duty and not while in uniform." She blushed. "I was in civilian gear at first. There was an accident." She turned to Vala and raised her eyebrows accusingly. "See, you said I wasn't rebellious. I'm breaking regs right now!"
"Yes, you live on the wild side for sure." Vala rolled her eyes, but laughed good-naturedly. "If you had just said something, Sam. I can lend you an outfit. In fact..." Vala steered Sam out of the room. "Go forth, change. There's some pants in the third drawer of my bureau. That's an 'order'."
After Sam was ushered out, Vala turned to Carolyn and explained. "Apparently, Sam was wearing a dress and had some decent things to nosh, but she collided with Sgt. Siler, literally, and the groceries she was embracing splattered everywhere, including some tasty jam-filled pastries from what I understand."
"What about Siler?" Carolyn groaned. "He didn't hit his nose again did he? I swear, that man is the most accident-prone individual on base."
"I think he's fine. He's already left anyway." Vala shrugged as she grabbed the wine bottle and proceeded to open it. "I didn't know the uniform thing was an issue."
Considering Vala's own unconventional tailoring of BDUs, Carolyn wasn't surprised. She still didn't understand how the woman had managed to shorten the overshirt without shrinking the shoulders and keeping the hemline. She shrugged. "I guess it's the military brat in me. I note the anomalies, even when I chafe at the silliness of the regulations and 'calls to duty' myself."
Vala gave her an appraising look. "You know, your father spoke of you from practically the first time I met him."
Carolyn couldn't hide her surprise. "He did?"
"Oh yes." Vala smiled. "Well, at the time, I wrote it off as an interrogation tactic, but the way he spoke, it was very obvious he cared for you. Said you were stubborn and hadn't listened to him since you were twelve, and with a definite note of pride." Vala chuckled. "When I discovered you were his daughter, I knew I'd find you a kindred spirit from that comment alone. Then the other week, he told me about how much he missed when you were growing up, and how much he regretted. Made me actually consider responding to Jacek's attempts at reconciliation."
Carolyn stared at Vala in shock. She had no idea her father spoke of her like that, but she filed away her own confusion for later. What she focused on now was the wistful tone in Vala's comments. She remembered the conversation Sam and Vala had earlier and put it together with Jacek's visit to her infirmary a few weeks before, including with her orders to inject him with a transmitter because he was a flight risk. "What happened with your father?" she asked tentatively.
Vala poured the wine, rummaging through a cupboard before finding a third tumbler. "He was playing us...played me to the very end. Your subcutaneous transmitter helped tremendously though. Yep, we sure turned the tables on him."
"I'm sorry, Vala." Carolyn meant every word. It was strange; she felt a strange kinship with the alien woman. Perhaps absentee fathers and broken promises were an universal trait.
Vala shrugged it aside with a sad smile. "Yeah, well, nothing I shouldn't have expected."
Carter had returned by now. She had changed into a tightly fitting pair of leather pants, keeping on the black t-shirt, but forsaking the BDU blue overshirt. She was still patting down the too small pants which rode up the ankles of the taller woman and made the shorter Carolyn momentarily jealous. Sam groaned as she sat and accepted a glass of wine. "Vala, do you own any clothes for just lounging around?"
"Darling, I thought that was what Victoria's Secret was for."
Sam rolled her eyes. "We are so going on another shopping trip. I think Carolyn and I need to introduce you to relaxed fit jeans."
Carolyn couldn't hold back the laugh as she sipped her wine. She raised her eyebrow at the presumption of joining them for a shopping expedition but found herself liking the idea.
"So, what did I interrupt?" Sam asked as she opened a bag of gourmet chips.
"Mutual bonding over deadbeat dads and their attempts at redemption." Carolyn clapped her hand over her mouth. Perhaps she shouldn't have drunk the wine so fast. Especially on top of the wine she had at dinner.
Vala laughed. "That was a succinct and frank summary. Though it sounds like your father was much more successful than mine. Besides, at least he was doing an honest job and defending your home rather than hiding from authorities and planning the next big score. My childhood family vacations were when he was using me to scout for easy marks. He was barely there, and then complained that I was ungrateful after his nurturing me--broke his heart."
"That would be hard to top." Carolyn ruefully admitted. "But it wasn't all noble 'saving of galaxy', Vala. There was a lot of the mundane that served as excuses for never being around. When I was growing up, 'honor and duty' were trite excuses for breaking promises and missing birthday parties. Sometimes even now when I understand it, I still can't quite forget it."
Carolyn started at her own candor.
Sam spoke up. "It's not an easy life. Moving from station to station every year or two. Never knowing when "orders" may come. It's not where you want, it's where you're told. Adjusting to new schools with new teachers. Traveling can seem like high adventure, but it when it means uprooting your life and losing your friends again and again, it gets old fast."
Carolyn nodded, her eyes wide with understanding as she topped off Sam's glass. She'd forgotten Sam Carter was a military brat too. "My mom finally had enough when I was eleven. When my parents divorced, my dad's appearances in my life became even less frequent. After he missed my high school graduation, I took my mom's name and washed my hands of him. It's only since being here that I could let go of the hurt; it had been part of my life for so long."
Sam frowned. "My mother died in a car accident; Dad took care of Mark and me. It was rough, especially for Mark. Mom was our glue." Sam fingered a small hole in the fabric of the couch absently. "He did the best he could, but children aren't airmen. We don't just jump when ordered."
"If the military made you so miserable as kids, why did you both end up here?" Vala looked at them both with honest puzzlement.
Sam replied first. "It wasn't all bad. There's a bit of camaraderie when all the kids on base are in the same boat. Plus, it was always my dream to go into space, and the Air Force was my best chance...even if the reality turned out more unorthodox than I planned. Although, part of me was just trying to be that perfect daughter. Mark wasn't following the military route, and...well, Dad had been expecting 'Samuel', not 'Samantha' when I popped out. It was a long time before I stopped trying to be the perfect child." Sam furrowed her eyebrows, and Carolyn wondered if she was not the only one to be surprised at the candor expressed tonight.
Carolyn ripped open a pair of cupcakes and handed one to Sam while she spoke up. "I had vowed never to have anything to do with the military, but Gen. O'Neill approached with an offer I couldn't refuse. Even before I signed the non-disclosure, he hinted this job opportunity would be cutting edge medicine. Of course, he left out the fine print that I'd be working with my dad." Carolyn crumbled one of the cupcakes and licked some of the filling from her finger. "Ironically, it was through the Air Force that I reconciled with Dad again. Realizing how much he sacrifices for everyone here, and then...almost losing him to the Prior's plague, when even with all my knowledge and experience I was helpless to stop it. I never like to admit defeat to death, and when it was Dad lying there..." Carolyn bit her lip. "I'm glad Mom's giving him a chance; I'm glad I did."
"That's the telling moment, isn't it?" Sam's eyes were haunted. "Deathbed realizations and making sure you don't have more regrets?"
Carolyn was still caught in her memories of her vigil, but she recognized the expression on Sam's face and remembered a notation in Sam's file. "You lost your father recently, didn't you?"
"Relatively, I suppose. It's been a couple years. But it's something you never quite get over. When the other SG-1s from alternate universes were here, he and Selmak were still alive in a few of them. I wondered if there was something we missed." Sam spun her wine glass around in her hand. "But we thought we were going to lose him years before this, so I'm grateful for what I had. Some of Sams never had the Tok'ra's intercession." She blinked at the blank looks on Carolyn and Vala's faces. "Dad had untreatable cancer eight years ago, was in a critical state. It was only by blending with Selmak he was saved. My job--meeting the Tok'ra--saved Dad's life."
"Your father was Tok'ra?" Vala straightened in her seat. "And this was after your own experience?"
Sam nodded. "Even though Dad and I got along okay before then, we really weren't close. Blending with Selmak softened up the rough edges. He and Mark reconciled. He had a relationship with his grandchildren. We worked together on missions, and...we talked. I'll always be grateful to Selmak for that."
"Hmm." Vala clinked the bottle against her glass as she poured out a bit more wine for both her and Sam. Carolyn begged off for the moment. "The Tok'ra can come in handy on occasion. They certainly saved my hide, but I can't say they struck me as the most selfless of peoples. Healed me and saved me from the angry mob, but were just looking at the information I could provide them about Qetesh and the system lords. Ended up just being another in a long list of people wanting to use me. That's when I decided to be on my own: be a user, rather than being used. I guess you could say I followed my father's footsteps as well." She toasted her glass ironically.
Sam gave Vala a piercing look, but her question was tentative. "Did Jacek know? I mean, about...Qetesh?"
Vala leaned back into the cushions and crunched on a candy bar. Finally she responded. "I'm not certain. He was always careful to avoid close attention by the Goa'uld wherever he traveled. Keeping the guise of a simple peddler--complete with icons for whatever Goa'uld was prominent at the time. Sometimes using my mother, me, even my witch of a stepmother after Mum passed on." She shook her head. "But he was always able to keep up on intelligence: what worlds had easy to lift treasure, what worlds were locked down with Jaffa guards. He could've found out if he wanted to." She crossed her arms, and Carolyn noted her eyes were glistening. "He certainly didn't look for me afterwards."
Sam and Carolyn exchanged looks, not sure how to respond. Sam finally spoke up, changing the subject. "Vala, I've been meaning to ask. Why haven't you gotten off-base quarters like your father? Gen. Landry authorized it months ago--not too long after you became a full member of SG-1."
Vala cleared her throat and wiped her eyes surreptitiously. "I don't know. Many reasons I suppose. I can save up treasure if I don't spend it for rent. Plus there's all the lovely security guards. After all, just going out to dinner can be a loaded experience, can't it?"
Carolyn instantly sobered and looked at Vala with professional interest. Vala was either sidestepping again, or there was a real concern from her experience with Athena. She reached for her penlight before remembering she was not wearing her lab coat, but instead a wrinkled cocktail dress. "Are you still having memory issues? Flashbacks to your experiences?"
Vala waved her off and laughed. "No, nothing like that." She picked up another snack cake and opened it, smirking mysteriously as she glanced at the ingredient label. "I remember everything from then just fine. I don't know. I just realized how...fragile things can be." She shrugged and bit into the pastry. "Maybe it's just that worry about relapsing that Daniel always goes on about. I can stay out of trouble without exposure to so many possibilities."
Carolyn nodded. By this point she was used to Vala's misdirection and bravado from her experiences with her as patient in the infirmary.
Sam Carter seemed to see through the disguise as well. "There's also the ability to be instantly aware of any news on the Ori--and Adria."
Vala studied Sam and nodded in acknowledgment. "And there's that," she replied softly.
"We're quite the trio, aren't we?" Carolyn laughed bitterly. "Look at our pasts, and now we save the galaxy from disease and alien crusaders."
Sam quirked a small smile. "Sometimes I think you have to be crazy to do this job."
"Or at least lucky survivors." Vala topped off all three glasses. "Perhaps our fathers have taught us more than we think."
Carolyn raised her glass. "To our fathers' daughters."
"The survivors." Vala clinked her glass to Carolyn's.
"Salut." Sam raised her glass to join the others.
Teal'c was drawn to the sound of recognizable laughter coming from the recreation room. Perhaps Vala Mal Doran was watching another movie. Teal'c enjoyed spending time with his alien teammate on such adventures from time to time. She too was fascinated by and recognized the incongruity of Tau'ri culture that his other friends just accepted as natural.
As he approached, he realized the other sounds were not the television, but more voices. He recognized Colonel Carter speaking.
"So by now we're in a panic, not knowing in what condition we'll find Cam or Vala, based on the blood at the accident scene. And we bust in and find Cam. There he is lounging on the bed, covered in cake crumbs and chocolate, stripped to his underwear--"
"Handcuffed, no less."
"Oh yes, I didn't forget. Handcuffed to the headboard. His free hand is flipping the remote control. He spots us and suddenly grabs the covers mumbling: 'it's not what you think!'"
Another loud round of laughter echoes down the hall.
"So why did you need to remove his pants to treat the bullet wound in his arm?"
Teal'c retreated silently, moving to his quarters before the women were aware of his presence. After the theater, he felt he had experienced enough "female bonding" for one evening.
Fin.