Familiar Faces
Finding Faces (Familiar Faces pt. 2)
Copyright March 2004 Cowbert, Inc.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. I'm just playing in their sandbox. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
****
"What do you mean the Major never came through?" Colonel Jack O'Neill bellowed upon his arrival back at the SGC. "She went through the gate right in front of me!"
Technicians and airman, especially those who had been working on the Stargate program for years knew enough to scatter and get out of Jack's way. They did not have any answers for him, and this Colonel Jack O'Neill was even more impatient and grumpy than the previous incarnation who had commanded SG-1 and later the SGC itself.
Teal'c reached out and put a comforting hand on the Colonel's shoulder. "Do not be concerned O'Neill."
Jack shook himself free of his friend's grasp. "Why the hell would I not be concerned? A member of my team is missing!" Jack's shoulders slumped and he lowered his head in frustration. Running his fingers through his rapidly graying hair he sighed. He knew that he should not be taking his frustration out on Teal'c. Hell, the Jaffa had been fighting by his side for two lifetimes now, but he had to admit, that he often found his friend's calm and silence in the face of calamity to be a tad annoying. He used to wonder if this feeling was unique to him, or had the original Jack O'Neill, felt this way as well. But after 30 years of being the younger Asgard clone of O'Neill, he had given up trying to decide where the old Jack's feelings ended and his had begun.
Teal'c sensed his friend's frustration and sympathized. "Major Jackson is not missing," he replied calmly.
"Well, she sure as hell isn't here, T, old buddy, old friend," turning around in a circle waving his arms as if to point out this fact to his calm companion.
"Nevertheless, Major Jackson is not missing, O'Neill," Teal'c repeated.
Junior had been watching the exchange between the two older men in silence. "Then where exactly is she?" He was just as concerned. Catherine was more than just his teammate, she was also his best friend. He had beaten her into this world by several months, but from the moment she emerged from her mother's womb he had felt a connection. Until she had gone off to military school and he had gone abroad to study archaeology, the two had been inseparable. It made sense, since their parents had remained good friends even after they had all retired from the SGC. But the two of them just couldn't stay apart and they both eventually found their way back to each other and to the Stargate that had united their parents in a lifelong friendship.
Teal'c sighed. Although he knew that this day would eventually come, he did not realize how difficult it would be. "She is here, " he stated stoically, "in Stargate Command... in 2004."
"What?" Both Jack and Junior stared at the Jaffa in disbelief.
****
"General O'Neill."
Jack looked up from his desk welcoming the diversion. He hated writing reports! "So, what's up Doc?"
The doctor handed Jack the file in her hand. "We've got the tests results back, sir."
"So is it time to break out the cigars?"
"General, the tests show a high probability, almost a virtual certainty, that Major Jackson is a direct relation to Doctor Jackson." The doctor added, "The match would definitely support the existence of a parent/child relationship between them."
Jack nodded, "Thanks Doc." As the doctor slipped out of his office, Jack picked up the phone, "Well, Danny-boy, congratulations! It's a girl!"
****
Daniel squirmed uncomfortably in the chair by his daughter's bed in the infirmary. He bit into his lip grimacing slightly, "So... this is...awkward." It was so strange to be looking into eyes that mirrored his own, and even stranger that those eyes would belong to his daughter, who at the moment was only a few years younger than he was. Though she shared his hair and eye color and many of his mannerisms, her face was rounder, almost heart shaped and golden freckles blessed her fairer skin. Daniel wondered about her mother. Who was she? What did she look like? Did he already know her?
Unconsciously mirroring the mannerisms of the father, Catherine scrunched her nose and bit into her lip, "Uh...yeah," she agreed. Although she remembered this youthful version of her father from the happy photographs that had documented her childhood, it was entirely another matter to be sitting next to him. "I'm just trying to get my head around all of this."
Watching Catherine mirror his movements, was disconcerting, but Daniel realized at the same time it was quite thrilling. It was finally dawning on him, he was this woman's father, or at least he someday would be. She was an intelligent, beautiful woman and in a fashion, she had followed in his footsteps. He could feel the pride welling up within him. "So you're Catherine, do I call you Catherine, or did I... I mean we... your mother and I..."
Catherine smiled, a smile that could brighten up a room. This was the man she knew as her father, awkward and tongue-tied, and full of love and kindness. "You always call me Catherine, after Catherine Langford, your...."
Daniel continued for her, "my mentor." He smiled back and took hold of her hand giving it a fatherly squeeze.
"Yes," she agreed. "Everyone calls me Catherine, except Uncle Jack." She rolled her eyes and sighed, "He calls me 'Kitty Cat'!. Can you imagine? Especially at my age!"
The two laughed. "Actually, I can see that," Daniel agreed remembering some of the nicknames Jack had given him over the years. "So you know Jack, Sam, and Teal'c?" he asked curiously. If that was true, he was pleased to know that the team's friendship would last beyond the Stargate project.
Catherine nodded in agreement. "Aunt Sam... I mean your Sam... the one from this time... she says I shouldn't discuss anything about my life with you," she told him. "We wouldn't want to corrupt the time-line or anything."
Daniel shifted uncomfortably again. If they didn't talk about her life, that wouldn't really leave them much to talk about. He assumed since she was his daughter that she had probably already heard all of his stories, and would probably be bored by them now. Besides, how many times are you given the opportunity to meet a living breathing representation of your future. He had so many questions. "Uh... I guess that would be a bad thing," he agreed reluctantly.
****
"We've got to call my mother!" Junior insisted vehemently, "If anyone can get Catherine back it's Mom."
Jack looked at the young man. The young man who could have been, well who was, in some strange way his son. "Junior, I'm sure these techno-geeks," he indicated to the scientists buzzing around the command center speculating on the latest catastrophe, "can figure things out without bringing Carter back to active duty."
Junior looked puzzled momentarily, no one called his mother Carter, except for his father, that is. It had taken him by surprise when he had first met the younger "clone" of his father when he had joined the SGC a few years back, but despite the almost their almost identical mannerisms and appearance, Junior rarely associated his CO, Colonel Jack O'Neil, with his father, retired General Jack O'Neill. "Then we should at least see if the triumvirate will call Grace back," Junior sighed, "she might be able to help figure this out." He had a passion and a gift for languages, probably from spending so much time with Catherine and Uncle Daniel, even occasionally following them on expeditions and digs. That was what had spawned his desire to become an archaeologist. His sister Grace, on the other hand, was a gifted engineer and physicist, his father called her his little 'Carter-copy'. She was currently working off-world assisting the united Tok'ra/Jaffa army in a necessary update of their ships and weaponry.
Jack agreed leading the younger man up the stairs into the command center, "Let's call on the triumvirate."
****
Jack stood awkwardly by the bedside of their young time traveler. "So, Cat, can I call you Cat?" he asked.
Catherine nodded. "You know Aunt Sam told me I can't discuss the future with you," she reminded him.
Jack gave his dopey puppy-dog grin, "Yeah, something about time... yada, yada, whatever... But I have to know..." He sat down beside her bed looking around to ensure that no one was paying attention. "How much longer will the Simpsons be on the air, and will Maggie ever speak?"
Catherine giggled. She had forgotten about Uncle Jack's passion for the Simpsons. She supposed a little bit of knowledge couldn't hurt. "Many more years, and yes," she answered curtly.
Jack gave her a gentle jab in the side, "Come on Kitty Cat, you can do better than that, give your good ol' Uncle Jack some more details."
****
Teal'c sat silently at the briefing room table as the triumvirate was seated. He nodded proudly to his son Rya'c and then acknowledged Jacob/Selmak Carter, and Jonas Quinn. Jack and Junior joined them moments later.
"Gentleman, this is our situation," began General Davis explaining the what had happened to the SGC civilian ruling counsel. The triumvirate needed very little convincing that something needed to be done, even if it meant a delay in updating the Tok'ra/Jaffa ships and weaponry.
"Of course, every effort should be made to recover, Major Jackson," Jonas asserted, "SG-7 should be recalled, perhaps Dr. O'Neill will be able to assist in the recovery." Jacob/Selmak and Rya'c both agreed before adjourning the meeting.
****
Teal'c sat beside the bed of the daughter of Daniel Jackson. "When you first arrived, you mentioned Junior. To whom were you referring?" he asked curiously. It had been bothering him since she had arrived. Junior was the name O'Neill had given the symbiote he had once carried, but Junior was long since gone. He did not wish to believe that he would one day in the future carry another "Junior" within him.
"Sorry Teal'c, Aunt Sam said I can't discuss the future," Catherine explained, "not with anyone."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow and stared intensely into her puddle blue eyes. How unfortunate. He really wanted to know. Regardless of respecting the timeline, he did not want to be implanted again.
The intensity of her companions stare was too much for Catherine. As it often was with her Teal'c, the one from her own time, this Teal'c was able to make her give in and tell him anything. "Junior is my best friend, my colleague, and..." she looked around the infirmary nervously, "Aunt Sam and Uncle Jack's son."
Teal'c smiled at this. Not only would he not be implanted with another symbiote, but two of his closest friends would finally achieve their desire to be together. "Hmmm, Junior, an interesting name."
Catherine grinned, in for a penny, in for a pound, "It's Jonathan, Junior," she informed him. "If I remember correctly, the story was growing up, that you started calling him Junior to get back at Uncle Jack... and I guess it kind of stuck."
Teal'c rarely emoted, so the broad grin encompassing his face, seemed somewhat out of character. "Indeed."
****
"She's a good kid, Carter." Jack motioned to the infirmary monitor as he entered the observation lounge.
Carter grinned playfully, "Sir, you just think that since she gave you plot all of the plot summaries for future Simpsons episodes."
Jack gave a mock stunned look. "Not all of them." He sat down beside the Major, his expression becoming more serious, "So how do we get her back home?"
Carter sighed deeply and her brow wrinkled in a worried expression. "I'm no sure we do." She turned to face him, her deep blue eyes unable to hide her concern. "Think about it, when we were sent back in time, we only got back because General Hammond was able to provide us with the exact timing and coordinates of those two solar flares. We don't even know why she was sent back in time, and even if we could use solar flares to get her back, its not like we have the knowledge today to predict them with the kind of accuracy that we would need to send her back to her own time."
Jack understood her concern and sympathized, but he also knew that the woman sitting so close beside him was a certifiable genius. If anyone could pull the proverbial rabbit out of her hat, it was Sam. He placed his arm around her shoulders, allowing her head to lie against his own. "Come on now Carter," he gently chided, "there's nothing you can't figure out."
****
Dr. Grace O'Neill had questioned Jack and Junior upon her return through the Stargate. If she was going to help get Major Jackson back she was going to need all the information she could get. She walked down the corridor to Teal'c quarters and knocked at his door. Right now the only one who seemed to know anything concrete was Teal'c and she hoped he would be able to give her some valuable information.
"Enter," came the Jaffa's voice from inside.
"Great to see you again T," she grinned taking a seat across from him as he sat in meditation on the floor. "Now what can you tell me about Cat? You were in the SGC in 2004. Do you remember anything that might help us get her home?" Grace was hoping that her mother had also tried to send Catherine home, in which case, Teal'c might be able to tell her what they had tried.
The Jaffa sighed, he had not said anything until now in hopes that someone would figure a way to bring the young woman back. "Catherine Jackson does not return," Teal'c answered stoically and bowed his head in silence.
Fin
Author's Note: Hopefully people like part 2. I'll finish it off in part three... a work currently in progress.
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