A giggling two-year-old ducked quickly into a nearby storage room and closed the door behind her. She crept back into the dark room and her foot bumped something on the floor. She bent down and picked it up in her little hands. It was smooth when she touched it and ran her baby fingers across the surface.
All of a sudden a large object turned on and gently lit the room. She dropped the thing she was holding and hugged her long, floppy bunny to her chest. She bit her lip nervously and gazed at the object in wonder. She moved towards the table where the big shinny object sat.
She stretched up on the tips of her toes and tried to touch it. It was too far away for her to reach. She tried several more times, first on one foot then another, before deciding it wasn't going to work. She slid back down on both feet and looked around the dimly lit room. Next to her was a chair so she put her bunny on the table and half pulled, half slid the chair over to the table. She then clambered up the chair and onto the table. Kneeling before the object she regarded it curiously then slowly reached out and touched the shimmering surface.
Suddenly she felt very bad, like she'd done something wrong and immediately pulled her hand away. She glanced fearfully around her and turning she lay on her stomach and began to slide off the table to the chair. Only the chair was longer there and instead she landed on the floor with a thud.
She quickly got up, ran to the door and stretching for the handle she pulled it open and ran from the room. She had to find Mummy or Daddy. Then everything would be alright. She ran down the corridor as fast as her toddler legs would carry her, which was surprisingly fast considering her age. Her parents were always sitting her down somewhere tuning away for a moment and when they turned back she'd be gone, and that was before she'd learned to walk and run.
As she ran past the elevators she saw one of them open and ran between the adults' legs inside. She knew she had to wait until the numbers said two and eight. Once they did she ran out of the elevator again, avoiding the hands grabbing for her as she ran past and ignored the calls for her to come back. She had to get to Mummy and Daddy and these people weren't going to stop her.
Running to the bottom of the five stairs she began to climb them one at a time. Thankfully no one saw her or tried to stop her. When she got to the top she stood up and looked around for her parents. She couldn't see them and she began to cry as she wandered through the busy room. Then she saw them. Mummy's legs! A big smile lit up her face and she ran quickly to them and threw her little arms around them hugging tight and not about to let go.
To say the least Major Sam Carter was surprised when she felt something hit her legs and wrap itself around her. Then she looked down and her eyes widened as she saw the tear streaked face of a little girl smiling up at her. Instinctively she bent down and picked the little girl up. The girl immediately wrapped her arms tight around Sam's neck.
"Hey, hey what's wrong?" she asked, concerned, the idea that this child shouldn't be here didn't even enter her mind.
"Nothing." the little girl then sat up straighter and kissed Sam on the cheek. "I love you Mummy." Sam looked at her.
"Um ok." She stammered. One of the technicians came over and offered to take the child and look after her but Sam refused and instead carried her to the General's office where she knew the rest of her team were discussing an aspect of their latest mission with the General. She'd been needed to work out a glitch in one of the programs she'd written so she'd let the guys tell the story, they could tell it just as well with or with out her anyway.
She quickly climbed the stairs with the little girl still in her arms and knocked on the door.
"Enter." came the General's order from inside and she opened the door and walked in.
When they saw her carrying the girl several confused looks flew around them room.
"Ah you have a small child attached to your neck." Jack informed her. Sam smiled.
"Um I'm not sure who she is or where she came from. She just ran into the control room and attached herself to my legs." Sam informed them. Before coming to sit down at the table beside her CO and placing the girl on her lap. Almost immediately the little girl held out her arms towards Jack.
"Daddy." She somehow managed to project herself out of Sam's arms and landed in Jack's lap.
"Um I'm not..." he tried to explain to the child but she wasn't listening.
"It's ok sir, I think she's a little confused. She called me Mummy before."
"Oh?" Jack looked at the little girl in his lap and looked confused. Then he picked her up and sat her on the table in front of him. "What's your name?"
"Ca'tlyn S'manfa O'Neill." she answered promptly but blurred the words together as she tried to get her tongue around them. Her parents often played this game with her and she grinned cause she knew she'd gotten the answer right. She waited impatiently for the next question to show she knew that answer too. When Daddy didn't ask it straight away she decided to give the answer without waiting for the question. "S'venteen Maple road Cheyenne." she grinned again.
Sam and Jack stared at her.
"Um Jack," Daniel asked "isn't that where you live?"
"Yes." Sam answered him softly.
Outside they heard a bunch of people arguing and then someone being slammed against the door. Then it opened and two people burst in followed by a bunch of soldiers. Everyone in the room stood up and faced the intruders. They appeared to be Sam and Jack's identical twins, and all of a sudden the whole situation began to make sense. These alternate reality versions weren't like the other realities they'd bumped into at all. These two were exactly the same, nothing was different, hair, uniforms, ranks, everything was the same.
Caitlyn squirmed down out of Jack's arms and ran to her parents. Then she stopped about halfway and turned around. She looked from one couple to the other very confused. Then the other pair moved towards her. They picked her up between them and hugged her tight. Sam eventually letting her go and Caitlyn saw swung up to sit on her father's arm.
"Caitlyn." he said firmly "Did you run away from Aunt Sha're again?"
Caitlyn didn't answer his question, instead she reached up and wound her arms around his neck and kissed him "I love you Daddy." she said trying desperately to get him not to punish her as she knew she deserved. All the adults did their best to stifle smiles as they knew this would only encourage her.
"I love you to Cait" he told her and her face lit up in a smile "but we will continue this later." her face fell.
Her mother turned to face the others in the room. "Thankyou so much for looking after her. I know she can be a handful sometimes. She was supposed to stay with Sha're and Daniel but she ran away. She seems to like running away and getting others to try and find her." She turned and absently patted her daughter's arm. "This time she touched a quantum mirror though. We were just fortunate it hadn't been turned off before we got there."
"How did you know she'd gone through the mirror?" Daniel asked.
"Well this was a pretty good clue." She held up a floppy bunny.
"Bunny!" Caitlyn squealed, her mother smiled and handed the toy to her. She immediately lay back against her father and holding the bunny in one hand against her cheek, she began to suck her thumb.
"We found it lying on the table in front of the mirror."The alternate Sam explained.
"We hate to run like this but her grandfather should be coming through the gate any minute and we have to get back." the alternate Jack said taking their leave.
"We'll walk you to the mirror." Sam said. Moving to follow them out the door, Jack behind her.
"Thankyou once again." the alternate Sam said as they reached the mirror.
"It was nothing." Jack assured her, "Didn't do much anyway." They all said goodbye and the two relieved parents reached out and touched the mirror, Caitlyn still safe in her father's arms. On the other side they waved goodbye once more and turned the mirror off.
"Well." Jack said.
"Yes." Sam turned to go back to her interrupted work. But before she got to the door Jack caught her arm and spun her around to face him. He pressed her up against the door she'd closed as he'd spun her. He bent his head slightly and kissed her passionately. She lifted her arms to wind around his neck, she leaned into the kiss and opened her mouth to admit his tongue entrance. The kiss increased in intensity until they broke apart, breathing heavily.
"You know much more of this alternate reality stuff and someone's bound to figure out that we're together too." Jack said leaning his forehead against hers.
"Yes." Sam agreed "We'll have to tell them sooner or later. But in every one of the alternate realities General Hammond never had a problem with us being together. Maybe he won't here either."
"We can hope." Jack kissed her forehead and then backed away. She took a tissue out of her pocket and wiped the smudge of lipstick off his mouth as he combed his fingers though her hair until it sat perfect once more.
"I'll see you tonight." She said quietly as she opened the door and they left to go their separate ways.
Story Notes: Spoilers: None that I can think of.
Season/Episode: After 'Point Of View' (3rd Season)
Archiving: SJRA and Heliopolis although could you wait till I get the whole address thing worked out? thanks. Everyone else ask first.
Author's Notes: Um I'm not sure how you write addresses in America so if anyone can tell me how to do it properly that'd be great ;D also whatever city or town would be closest to Cheyenne Mountain. Sorry about posting it before I've sorted this all out but I really wanted to get it sent tonight. Now enough of me rambling...
Feedback: oh one last thing I need feedback! please! pretty please gimme feedback!
Season/Episode: After 'Point Of View' (3rd Season)
Archiving: SJRA and Heliopolis although could you wait till I get the whole address thing worked out? thanks. Everyone else ask first.
Author's Notes: Um I'm not sure how you write addresses in America so if anyone can tell me how to do it properly that'd be great ;D also whatever city or town would be closest to Cheyenne Mountain. Sorry about posting it before I've sorted this all out but I really wanted to get it sent tonight. Now enough of me rambling...
Feedback: oh one last thing I need feedback! please! pretty please gimme feedback!
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]