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Story Notes: STATUS: complete, part two in the Without Resisting Series (yes, it’s a series now!)

SPOILERS: none I can think of

SEASON: Season four

FEEDBACK: ... Makes the world go round!

AUTHOR’S NOTES: I didn’t mention my best friend Chloe in the first part so I will now. I’ve known you for eight years and I didn’t forget you, I just… uh, *eyes dart around the room* remembered some other people… :) And mucho thanks to all those extremely wonderful people who gave me feedback – my inbox was very full :) A small warning – I’m still a new writer so you enter at your own risk!

The song’s written by Savage Garden and :: = lyrics


My feet squeaked on the polished floor, and I pressed all my weight onto the trolley in front of me, feeling too tired and lazy to hold myself up.

It had been a long mission, a long, tiring mission... And to top it off, I had had a... An unpleasant chat with Carter at her apartment.

I had wanted so much to talk to her about what had happened, but the moment passed (more so with Cassie there), and the words just wouldn’t come out.

She was uncomfortable with me there, I could tell. I had spent ages writing the letter I was going to place discretely under her door and then leave back to the sanctuary of my house, but I couldn’t be so cowardly. I had to talk to her – I had it all worked out in my head – but the moment passed, and... I couldn’t even give her the goddamned letter.

On the good side, she’s a *brilliant* violinist.

My eyes scan the supermarket shelf, looking frantically for a can of dog food... Yes, I tell myself, dog food.

Heidi, my next-door neighbour, is moving to Germany, and she has this dog, Elodie – a two year old Airedale Terrier – and she asked me if I’d like to keep it, knowing I was a dog person. She put me in a situation where I couldn’t refuse – something about getting it put down if she couldn’t find it a home.

And, well...

I place the dog food can in the trolley, resuming back to the mind-numbing job of late night grocery shopping, trying to forget about the mission, and my meeting today with Sam.

I hate shopping... Hearing the distant tune of the store radio, I pick up some of the words that echo throughout the shop.

::If we can’t find our way out of these problems,
Then maybe we don’t need this,
Standing face to face,
Like enemies at war we build defences,
And secret hiding places::

I don’t stop walking, but I slow down, and listen harder to the words of the song.

::More than angry words I hate this silence,
It’s getting so loud,
Well I wanna scream,
But bitterness has silenced these emotions::

I stop for a moment, as I slowly remember the mission that drained me so much, and pushed me away from Carter.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The glass catches my eyes as I walk past, my reflection glimmering on the shining surface.

“If you touch a crystal,” Talith – one of the natives – tells me, “You will see your past.”

I look at her – so does Carter, whose gaze meets mine as we dare to contemplate what the possibilities could be – and perhaps there is a flickering of hope that chases away any sense of reality growing inside of us.

“And if we don’t?” Daniel asks, raising both his eyebrows.

“Then,” she looks at us all, “No alliance will be formed between the Tau’ri of Earth and the Rai’als of Tiara.”

She turns; ready to leave us, and Daniel proceeds to tell us what this all means.

“It’s some sort of an initiation process,” he says, “A way for us to be accepted and trusted by the Rai’als.”

His voice is hushed, as if he does not want Talith to hear him.

“Well… If you say so.” I reach towards the glowing crystal in front of me – the others do the same – watching, waiting for a reaction.

I won’t say everything went black – it didn’t – everything went a mirage of stray colours instead, which slowly focused into what I presumed was my future.

***

I didn’t know how far into the future I saw – ten years, maybe – but when I looked around, I realised I was in the gate room, standing next to Carter, who was standing next to my future self.

She sighs, turning to speak to me… The older me.

“I’m glad,” She says slowly, “That Dad’s so happy.” She smiles, then, and I feel like smiling myself – not only because I just realised that I’m a General.

“So am I, Sam.” I raise my eyebrows at the mention of her first name – what happened to Carter?

Suddenly I’m outside, in a playground.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Blinking, I look at the two identical little girls running towards Future Jack.

“Mummy says you’ll buy us ice-cream.” They smile and start giggling -- and I see myself looking towards a blonde somewhere near the swings. I wave to her – and then I realise who I’m waving to.

“Madelaine Catheryn Carter and Piper Danielle O’Neill – what have I told you about giggling?”

The girls look at Future Jack with innocence in their eyes – but before I can see it myself I realise I’m back in the SGC – facing Carter in the debriefing room. The two twins are there as well, but they seem older.

“We’ve got to go.”

A Tok’ra – Anise – says, standing, motioning towards the gate. “The new Tok’ra home world is being prepared – your father, Colonel Carter, would like very much for your children to visit.”

There’s a silence as Carter smiles, and looks towards my future self.

“I don’t see a problem with that, General?” She asks me, but before I find out what the answer is, everything starts to fade.

***

Opening my eyes – I didn’t even realise they were closed – I look around the “crystal cave” and I see Carter ‘woke up’ the same time I did.

“Colonel…” she begins, her face starting to tinge red. “I…”

Daniel interrupts her, rubbing his eyes.

“Wow,” he says, and I agree with a nod of my head. “That was…”

“Something,” I finish for him, and there’s an uncomfortable silence echoing throughout the cave.

“Maybe,” Carter says, “We should head outside. I have a feeling there’s gonna be an alien waiting for us.”

“I don’t see a problem with that,” I tell her, and she almost freezes, turning from red to pale white. “No. I don’t.”

Teal’c and Daniel stare at us – not understanding anything we just said.

I barely do.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shaking myself from my reverie, I look at the contents of the trolley.

The final verse of the song’s still echoing throughout my head, and I can’t seem to shake the words from playing over and over in my mind.

::I’m willing to do anything,
To calm the storm in my heart,
I’ve never been the praying kind,
But lately I’ve been down upon my knees,
Not looking for a miracle,
Just a reason to believe::

I don’t know what else to do… Except that I have to talk to Carter, before we go back to the SGC. There’s nothing I can do to take back what I said to her after the mission to P3X987 – but there’s a lot I can say to her, this time without resisting.

~FIN~



End Notes: Okay… I know that was rushed – it reads like it, too – and I hope it made sense! I racked my little thirteen year old brain trying to make this work (I much preferred the first part, though) pretty please let me know how this part went, so I know if I should continue writing the series or not :)

Hugs,

Aenea ;p

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