Unbalanced: Growing Up
Unbalanced: Growing Up
by Airam
Summary: A sequel to Unbalanced: Epilogue. Jack and Sam's daughter is grown up and about to join the SGC.
Category: Humor
Season: future Season
Pairing: other pairing
Rating: GEN
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 2005-02-04
Unbalanced: Growing Up
A/N: So this is a sequel to my story Unbalanced, taking place about 21 years later. After I wrote the epilogue to that story, this story idea kept popping into my head until I finally started to type something up. You don't necessarily have to read Unbalanced to get this story, but I recommend it because there are a few references to the end of that story and it is a good story (at least so I'm told by my reviewers!)
For those of you who choose not to read Unbalanced, Sam and Jack are married were about 22 years ago and they had a daughter named Stella.
Spoilers: Unbalanced had spoilers through the end of season seven (except Janet didn't die in my world!). I don't think there are that many references or spoilers from later seasons in this story, but there are a few from season five.
And now, on with the story...
The group of ten cadets stood waiting outside the administration building for their escort to show up. It was a cold snowy March morning in Colorado Springs. The cadets tried not to grumble, but it was hard not to when it was six in the morning on a Saturday morning. As seniors, they had earned the right to sleep in at least until 8 on the weekends, yet there they were. There was one cadet who was jumping up and down with joy, she couldn't wait for this weekend to get underway.
Five minutes later two black suburbans pulled up in front of the group of cadets. When they saw an officer step out of the first suburban, they all snapped to attention. "At ease cadets," the Colonel told them as she stood in front of them and looked them all over. When she saw the familiar face she tried to hide her smile.
"Cadets, you're all here because the Air Force believes you are the strongest cadets coming out of this year's class suited for where I work. The nature of our work is highly classified, physically and intellectually demanding, and will blow your minds away. If any of you feel you are not up to it, then go back to your rooms and crawl back into bed." She looked out over all of them and none of them made a move. "For the next two days you will be introduced to the SGC and our mission. When you graduate you will become a member of the most important team on the planet. If you feel you can't hack it, don't bother coming with us." Everyone continued to stare at her, they didn't know where they were going, but the Air Force had handpicked them for this secret base.
The Colonel walked in front of the cadets and stopped in front of the female cadet she had recognized earlier. "What about you, Cadet? Are you ready to join the SGC?" she asked her sternly.
She tried to hold back her smile, "Yes ma'am. I've been waiting for this day for a few years, ma'am."
"Good. That's the kind of enthusiasm I want to see," she told her with a sparkle in her eye. She then looked at the other cadets. "You five are with me, let's get out of here," she told them as she dismissed them between the two vehicles. As they were filing out, she walked next to the female cadet, "You haven't told them anything have you, Stella?"
Stella smiled and shook her head, "And ruin the surprise of seeing their faces when they see `it' in action? No ma'am!"
The other cadets who would be riding with the Colonel and Stella noticed the familiarity between the two women and noted that Stella seemed to know where they were going. As they climbed into the middle row of seats one cadet quietly asked her, "You know what's going on?"
Stella turned and smiled at Cadet Kyle Young, "You betcha!"
"How?" he asked his girlfriend of two months.
"You sound just like your dad!" the Colonel called back.
"That's what mom keeps telling me!"
All the cadets by then were thoroughly confused, especially at watching Stella's familiarity with the Colonel. "By the way, congratulations!"
"Your mom told you?" she asked as she turned to look back at Stella.
"She emailed me last night right before she had to go... on that `fact-finding' mission," she added when the Colonel sent her a glare before she revealed too much.
"Yeah, she told me just before she left. I can't believe I'm going to be in charge of the SGC!"
"Oh come on! Mom's been waiting for you to be eligible for your next promotion for years. That's why she hasn't retired yet."
The Colonel in the front seat laughed, "Yeah she told me that!" She paused, "You remind me so much of myself when I was at the academy."
Stella balked, "That's funny, cause mom and dad told me that you almost didn't graduate from the Academy!"
Colonel Jennifer Hailey sent a stern glare at Stella who happily smiled back, "I can't believe they told you! ... Lucky for me, your mom saw something in me!" she told her as her face broke out into a smile.
"She always did have a knack for seeing talent..."
Jen laughed as she recalled the running joke among the close friends, "Yes, and what she saw in your dad is still a mystery to us all!"
"That's what he says!" she quiped.
As Stella and Jen had been happily catching up, the other four cadets in the suburban all traded unsure looks with each other. Finally Kyle, being the highest ranking cadet, decided to broach the topic they were all dying to learn about. "Excuse me, ma'am, but how do you know Cadet O'Neill?"
Jen and Stella shared a quick look and decided that Jen should tell their history. "I've known Stella since she was a baby. I've been working with her parents for over twenty-five years now. Served under her mom for the past ten years. Actually, you've probably all heard of Stella's mom at the Academy, I know I had back when I was at the Academy!"
Kyle turned to Stella, "I've never heard of a famous O'Neill at the academy."
Stella couldn't help herself, "A famous O'Neill at the Academy? Can you imagine what it would have been for?!"
Jen Hailey couldn't help but break into laughter as well, "Yeah, I don't think they have any awards for sarcasm and wit! No, Stella's mom is General Carter-O'Neill."
Kyle who was the closest to Stella was shocked, "Your mom is Samantha Carter! THE Samantha Carter!" Stella just shrugged her shoulders. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because I didn't want to be compared against her..."
Jen nodded, "I had a hard enough time being compared to her and I wasn't even related to her! She's a tough act to follow!"
"Yes she is ma'am!"
-----
"Do you still remember where the commissary is?" Hailey asked Stella when they were all in the elevators.
"Yes ma'am."
"Why don't you take them down there and get some breakfast... I'm going to go get Daniel."
Stella turned to face her friend, "He's here?"
"Yeah, he just got in last night. He's going to be doing the historical briefing... if I can wake him up!"
The elevator stopped and Colonel Hailey moved to get out, as the doors were closing Stella called out, "Make sure you use his coffee blend!"
When the elevator doors shut, all the cadets looked at Stella silently for a few seconds before the barrage of questions began, "Where are we?... What's going on down here?... How do you know what's going on down here?... You've been here before?..."
"Calm down guys! Yeah I've been here before, I've known about this place since I was a kid. My dad was the base XO before he retired, and my mom took over eight years ago. My brother and I grew up in this place."
"What do they do here?"
She tilted her head back as she led them off the elevator to go to the commissary, "Sorry guys, I've been sworn to secrecy!"
Twenty minutes later the group of ten cadets were finishing up their breakfasts at a large table. The other cadets were continually amazed by the amount of base personnel who kept coming up to Stella and greeting her.
Jennifer and Daniel were just then making it to the commissary. Daniel was still in the process of waking up when he was walking up to the table of cadets. He quickly noticed the head of blond hair in front of him. His eyes went wide though when he saw that Stella's hands were playing with the hands of the man sitting next to her below the table. He paused and watched the affectionate touches for a few seconds before he walked up behind her and placed both his hands on her shoulders, "What are you doing?"
As soon as she heard his voice she quickly withdrew her hands from Kyle's and turned to look at the man who was standing and looking down at her, "Uncle Danny!" She swallowed the lump in her throat as she saw that he was now staring at the man she was sitting next to.
"Who is he?" he demanded of her.
Stella got up and faced her `uncle' as she began to lead him away from the other cadets, "Uncle Danny calm down!"
"Calm down! You were holding hands with that guy!" he accused her as his arms flailed beyond Stella and pointed at the man next to the empty seat.
"Yes we were!" she adamantly told him. "We're dating and there's nothing wrong with holding hands!"
"Dating?!" he stammered out as he stared at her in wide-eyed shock. His duty as godfather to Stella kicked in as he spoke in angered tones, "What's his name?"
"Kyle," she calmly told him trying to keep her own emotions in check.
"Who the hell does he think he is dating you?"
"Excuse me?" she asked him shocked by his question. "I am not going to let you or anyone else ruin my relationship with Kyle!" she told him as she turned on her heels and walked back to the table where her fellow classmates all stared at them silently. Daniel watched her retreating form before he left the commissary to make a phone call. After all, he did have a duty to his best friends, he had to protect his goddaughter!
As Stella rejoined the others at the table Kyle met her and whispered into her ear, "Is everything all right?"
Hailey walked up to the pair and spoke quietly, "Do your folks know about the two of you?" When Stella didn't look up Hailey's shoulders fell, "This is going to be ugly! Why didn't you tell them Stella?"
Stella looked up at her friend, "Come on Jen, you know what happened with my last boyfriend!"
She did remember Stella's last boyfriend, who had the unfortunate luck of being introduced to the extended Carter-O'Neill family, specifically the men, all at once. The boy had left not knowing what had hit him, granted he hadn't been right for her after all, it had still embarrassed Stella.
"Oh yeah..." she commented as she looked between Stella and Kyle who was unsure of what he had gotten himself into. With an un-envious look she spoke to Kyle, "Cadet..." She shook her head, not knowing what to say to the man, she didn't know if he would survive the day. She finally settled on pity, "I'm sorry..." She then turned to Stella, "I'll see what I can do to calm down your parents..."
"Thanks Jen, I really appreciate it! I was going to tell them last weekend, but I wasn't able to make it home..."
"I understand, but we better get going, we need to start the briefing soon..."
Five minutes later the cadets were all in the SGC conference room learning about the SGC's mission. To say that they were all shocked was an understatement. They all raptly paid attention to Colonel Hailey's presentation on the SGC, except for Stella. The secrets of the SGC were old hat for her and so she only heard a few words from the Colonel's mouth. Instead her attention was directed at the door, she was just waiting for her father and her uncle Danny to come charging through the door.
Twenty minutes later the klaxons of the base went off, "Off world gate activation!" Hailey rushed down to the control room as the cadets all stood at the window and watched the Stargate in action. Before she'd left, Hailey had told her to wait up there, and if it was her mom coming through, then she would tell her that she wanted to speak to her.
A few minutes later Sam and Jennifer entered the conference room. Sam briefly greeted the new cadets before signaling her daughter to follow her into her office. In the privacy of her office mother and daughter shared a long hug, they hadn't seen each other in over three months, since the start of the semester.
"How've you been sweetie?"
"Good, things are going really well for me... But we might have a problem..."
Sam raised an eyebrow, "We do?" she skeptically asked her daughter.
"I need you to hear me out before you say anything," she told her mom. When her mother consented, Stella began her story. "I've been seeing someone for the past couple of months. It was pretty casual in the beginning, and then a couple of weeks ago we decided to see each other exclusively. That's why I was anxious to see you and dad last weekend, I wanted to tell you about Kyle, but then Kelly's accident prevented me from coming home... Before you start, I didn't tell you or dad I was dating Kyle because I didn't know if we had a serious relationship going. And I wasn't going to scare him off before we decided where we were by introducing him to dad... You know how he is! You remember what happened to my last boyfriend that I brought home!"
"I know honey! It's okay, I'm sorry to say this, but I knew this would happen to you from the day you were born!" she told her daughter with a sympathetic smile.
"There's a problem..." she hesitatingly spoke.
"He hasn't hurt you has he?" a concerned Sam asked.
"No, Kyle is wonderful. He would never hurt me and I think you'll like him. But he's not the problem... Kyle's last name is Young."
Sam remembered the files of all the cadets who were visiting that day, "He's here?"
Stella nodded her head, "Yeah, and uncle Danny saw us holding hands in the commissary already, he was pretty upset. I have a bad feeling that he called dad!" she told her mom.
Sam was really concerned now, "You're right, this isn't good... I better go have a chat with the Cadet before your dad gets here then."
Sam and Stella walked out of the office and into the briefing room. They got there just in time too. "Cadet Young, I'd like to see you in my office!" Sam rushed out when she could hear her husband's angered voice. "Now!" she rushed the man toward her office as Jack stormed into the briefing room.
"Where is he?" Jack bellowed as he looked at the young faces around the table as Stella tried to divert his attentions as she ran up to him.
"Dad, calm down!"
"Calm? I'm perfectly calm! I just want to meet your friends and play with them," he told her with an evil look in his eye. Behind his daughter he saw his wife leading a cadet into her office. "Is that him?" he asked as he walked around his daughter.
Sam looked over her shoulder and saw Jack coming up to them, she quickly pushed Kyle into her office and told him to wait there. She stood in her doorway though and summoned a nearby SF, "Calm down Jack."
"I just want to talk him!" he wildly told her as he tried to force his way into her office.
But she wasn't going to let her husband crucify another one of her daughter's boyfriends. "Jack, you are not going to talk to anyone in the mood you are in. Right now I need to speak with Cadet Young concerning his future... alone."
She glared at her husband, she really wanted things to work out for her daughter and she wasn't going to let her husband get in the way of that. She whispered, "Jack, you are not going to do anything that is going to hurt our daughter. And that includes hurting her feelings! Now if you'll excuse me," she told him as she turned on her heels and headed into her office and shut the door.
Jack momentarily stared at the closed door in shock. He was absolutely furious. He then turned and stormed back into the conference room, "Hailey, do you mind if I borrow my daughter?" he asked her through clenched teeth.
Jennifer looked between the retired Colonel she deeply respected and Stella, the girl she saw as a niece and friend. She decided to not piss anyone off, "If she wants to."
Stella nodded her head as she grabbed a hold of the arms of her father and Daniel and led them out of the conference room. They were barely outside the conference room before Jack started with his questions, "Your mom knows about that flyboy?"
"Dad, I'm not going to talk to you until you and uncle Danny calm down. And mom just found out about him."
Back in Sam's office Sam closed the door and leaned against it as she closed her eyes, "Why do they have to be such men?" she quietly asked herself. When she opened her eyes she saw the young handsome cadet standing nervously before her. "Cadet..."
"Ma'am."
Sam took a deep breath before she walked up to him and extended her hand. "I'm Samantha Carter-O'Neill, CO of the SGC. I'd like to congratulate you for being selected to join us," she welcomed him with a warm smile that Kyle recognized was very similar to the ones he got from Stella.
"Thank you ma'am. It's an honor to have the opportunity to work here and serve under you ma'am."
Sam sat down and motioned for him to follow suit across from her, "Actually you won't... I'm retiring in a month when Colonel Hailey will be promoted and become the new base commander... Anyways, I'd like to apologize for the welcome you've received," she sincerely told him with a lopsided grin.
"That's allright ma'am, I understand. I myself am very protective of my younger sisters and the boys they date."
"I'm sure you do, but you haven't met Jack, Daniel or Teal'c!" she chuckled. "I love them to death, but I swear they are going to be the death of me one of these days... You see, we all served together on the same team in the early days of the SGC, we became a very tight family. When Jack and I had Stella, Daniel and Teal'c became her uncles and treated her like she was their own daughter. They are all so protective of her... And I'm sorry to say that she was `doomed' the day she was born when my father warned Jack of what it would be like when Stella started dating. Needless to say, they all got some scary images in their minds, and so not many meet their standards of whom Stella should date. I'm sorry," she sympathetically told him.
Kyle nodded his head, "Yes ma'am. She warned me about them. That's why she really wanted to come home last weekend. Since she couldn't tell you in person then, she decided to wait `til after this weekend to tell you all, she didn't want to ruin my experience here at the base, ma'am... I guess that idea's out the window now," he lightheartedly told her.
Sam smiled at the young man, she was getting a good feeling for the man. "Yeah... I think you better hide out in here for a bit while Stella talks to her dad... So tell me about yourself?"
"Are you in charge of reconnaissance, ma'am?"
Sam smiled as she leaned back in her chair, `Yeah, I'm going to like this one...' "Let's put it this way cadet, having me as an ally won't hurt. Lucky for you, I want my daughter to be happy and I have an open mind."
"I'll count my blessings ma'am... Well, what would you like to know about me ma'am?"
Forty minutes later Sam and Kyle emerged from her office and rejoined Hailey and the cadets in the conference room. Sam finally took the time to properly introduce herself to the other cadets and welcome them to the base. An hour later Stella, Jack and Daniel hadn't returned yet, Sam hoped that was a good sign. They were taking a break when the missing trio walked into the conference room. Stella sent a timid smile to her mother and boyfriend as she followed her father in.
Jack and Daniel nodded at the two Air Force officers in the room before they approached Kyle. "I'm Stella's father, Colonel O'Neill. This is Dr. Jackson, my best friend and one of Stella's godfather's." Jack didn't hide his disdain or his attempts at intimidation.
Kyle stood up even straighter, "Cadet Kyle Young, sir. A pleasure to meet you both, Stella's told me a lot about you."
"Isn't that nice of her to tell you about us and not tell us about you?" Jack grimaced.
"It is quite unfortunate that she couldn't come up last weekend, she was really looking forward to it, sir."
"So she says," Jack replied as he looked back at his daughter. He looked at his best friend as an evil thought entered his mind, surely Stella hadn't told her about her other godfather! When he looked back at Kyle, he could hardly contain his evil grin.
Sam noticed it and wondered what he was up to. "Jack?" she warily called out.
He ignored her as he looked away from the attention of his ire and at the other cadets in the room. "I'm sorry everyone. I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, Retired." He watched with amusement as all the eager young faces looked at him and nodded at him.
"Jack?" Sam reiterated her request.
He finally looked back at her. "Yes dear?" he sweetly asked her.
"Can I see you in my office?"
"Nah, you're busy! How about I take these recruits off your hands and take them on a tour of the base?"
"Jack!" she called as he tried to start ushering them out of the room.
He spun around with an amused and disappointed look, "For crying out loud, I just want-"
"To help?" she asked him, challenging him to lie to her.
Jack knew better than to try that, she knew him too well.
"In my office, now!" she ordered her husband. "You too Daniel!"
Daniel looked up with a startled look, "What'd I do?"
Sam just glared at them both until they both caved and headed for her office. When she saw that they were safely hidden away in her office, she turned back to her 2IC. "Jen, do you mind showing them around and getting them kitted up for their trip through to the alpha site?"
"Not at all, ma'am. I'll take care of these fine young recruits!"
"Thanks," she replied before smiling at her daughter and hoping to reassure her that she could further calm the fire of her husband and dear friend.
When she entered her office she found them both standing and trying to shoot daggers at the young cadet with their eyes. She shook her head as she closed the door behind her. "Will the two of you grow up?"
They both stared at her, "What?"
"You're acting like bullies!"
"No we're not," Jack tried to assure her.
"Yes you are! Jack, when you got here you were ready to tear his head off! And you," she turned to Daniel, "You aren't helping things either!"
"Hey, I take my role as godfather very seriously!" he defended.
"And I don't take my role as mother seriously?" she challenged them. She closed her eyes and tried to calm down, "Look guys, I know you mean well and all, but you can't just attack and scare off every man that Stella's interested in without getting to know him first."
"Why can't we?" Jack asked.
Sam looked down at her desk as she gathered her argument for this discussion that they had many times. Before she looked up at her husband she muttered under breath, "I'm going to kill my father, alliance or no alliance!" She rubbed her temples as she spoke, "You guys haven't even gotten to know him!"
"But you have!" Jack reminded her.
"Only a few hours ago! Look, Jack, Daniel, he seems like a really nice young man..."
"He's in the Air Force!" Jack reminded her. He remembered what young hot shot Air Force cadets were like, they were all kids who wanted to fly fighter jets.
"So were you, and look how we turned out."
Jack couldn't help but smile, "Yes, well, you couldn't resist my charm and witty sense of humor! And I wasn't some flyboy-fighter-pilot-adrenaline-junkie like Kyle!" he added before either of them could interrupt.
"See you don't know anything about him! He doesn't want to be a fighter pilot, he wants to be a doctor."
"Great! Another science geek!"
Daniel now took offense, "Hey, if you don't like `science geeks' then why have you surrounded yourself with them?"
Jack turned to his best friend, "Shut up Daniel!" who smirked back at him.
"He's not a science geek Jack... Actually he reminds me of you..."
Jack sat up straight in his seat, "What!?!?"
Sam's eyes went wide as she realized what Jack was thinking, "Shit... Jack, he-"
"Like hell am I going to let Stella date anyone like me!" he told her as he motioned to move.
Sam stood up and reached over her desk to grab his arm. "Hold it right there Jonathan O'Neill! First of all, I married you and I have been happily married for twenty-two years. There is nothing wrong with a man like you! Second of all, don't you think she might be drawn to him because he reminds her so much of her father who has always been there for her and protected her? And thirdly, he also reminds me of Daniel. He seems to have the best qualities from both of you."
Jack looked at Daniel and smiled, "What are you talking about? Daniel doesn't have any good qualities!"
"Hey! I resent that! You should be grateful that he reminds Sam of me, that's probably why she's giving him a chance!"
"Hah!" Jack replied back. "You wish! You know you always wanted to be like me!"
Daniel laughed, "Hah! Are you kidding me! You getting a few loose screws in that head of yours old man?"
Sam watched with amusement at these two important men in her life as they continued to trade barbs back and forth. `Some things never change...' She let them play their little game a little longer in the hopes of building up their good moods. After a minute of letting them have their fun, she interrupted them, "Look guys, can you please just give him the benefit of the doubt for now until you get to know him?"
Jack and Daniel shared a look. When Jack looked back at Sam he had a gleam in his eye, "Okay. How about Danny and I accompany the recruits to the Alpha Site to get to know him better?"
"No. No way Jack! Stella will freak out!"
Jack shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, you said we needed to get to know the guy!"
"Well, yes... But not on another planet!"
"Sam..." he called out.
Sam clenched her eyes shut, as she muttered something under her breath again, "Stella's going to hate me..." When she opened them she stared at the men in front of him, "You guys can go, if, and I do mean IF, you promise not to terrorize that man!"
"We won't lay a finger on him! We just want to get to know the guy!" Jack assured her.
She looked between the men and studied them. "Okay... Fine, but you promised!" she warned them. "Remember, the Air Force has picked these cadets because they are the best... I don't want you to mess with that!"
Jack and Daniel jumped up out of their chairs, "Yes! Come on Danny, let's go get packed!"
As she watched them leave her office and talk to each other she shook her head in disbelief at her own acquiescence to his request, "God, please don't let me regret this!"
A couple hours later, Sam stood in the control room with her husband as Hailey, Daniel, Stella and the rest of the recruits assembled in the Gate room. "Dial up the Alpha Site, Sergeant." She then turned to her husband, "Jack, remember, you promised me that you wouldn't terrorize that young man."
"Why would you ever think that I would do such a thing?"
She glared at him. "Jack, would you at least give him a chance! J.D. approves of him, he even introduced them, he can't be all that bad!"
Jack's eyes went wide, "J.D. knew about Kyle and he didn't tell us? I am so going to have some serious words with your son when he comes home next time!"
Sam shook her head in mild frustration, "Jack, you will do no such thing to our son. And you will not terrorize our daughter's boyfriend! Am I understood?"
"Hey, I'm just looking out for my little girl!"
"Jack!" she threatened as the last chevron locked into position as the event horizon formed.
"What? ... Oh, fine I promise!"
"And Daniel!"
"Yeah, yeah!" he told her as he gave her a quick kiss and headed down to the Gate room.
Once they were all gathered before the Stargate, most of the cadets were staring at it open mouthed, Sam gave them the go ahead for their overnight mission to the Alpha base. Jack and Daniel were the last ones to start up the ramp. She keyed the intercom before they stepped through, "Jack, Daniel. No terrorizing him!"
Jack turned back to his wife and smiled sweetly at her, "I promise we won't do anything to him!" he told her as he motioned between himself and Daniel. Before he stepped through the Stargate, he flashed her one last look.
Sam saw the sneaky look on his face, the one where he thought he would outsmart and pull something over on his wife. As the wormhole disengaged she continued to stare at the space that her husband recently occupied. She muttered to herself as she headed for her office, "Why do I have a bad feeling about this..?" She was halfway to her office when it dawned on her and she rushed back to the control room. "Where's Teal'c?"
The startled Sergeant monitoring the Gate looked up at his CO. "Ma'am?"
"Where's Teal'c at currently?"
"Uh," he stumbled as he called up the files on his computer. "Uh... he's been visiting with his son Rya'c for the past week... And, he's..." his voice trailed off as he silently continued to read Teal'c's next mission.
"What is it Sergeant?"
He looked up at Sam and hated to have to be the one to tell her the news that she already suspected, "Uh, he and Rya'c are going to the Alpha Site, ma'am. They both wanted to see Stella..."
Sam looked up and glared once again at the spot where her husband had been standing not two minutes ago. "Damnit Jack! This is going to be so much worse for Kyle!" Part of her wanted to dial up the Alpha Site and warn her husband not to sic Teal'c and Rya'c on the young cadet. The other part of her wanted to see how he would hold up. She had a good feeling about the young man and felt that he could handle his own against the men in Stella's family.
Then again, Kyle was walking into an ambush set up by the best of them, and two aliens! Two very strong and intimidating, at least to the casual observer, aliens! "Dial up the Alpha Site!" she ordered Sergeant Williams.
When it finally connected, she had the Sergeant open a video channel with the Alpha Site, "This is General Carter-O'Neill, I need to speak with Jack O'Neill right away!"
The face of the airman manning the controls was replaced by a familiar face. "Sam, is everything all right?" he asked his old friend with concern.
"I hope so! Is Jack around?"
"He just left to take the cadets to the training facility, is there a problem Sam?" General Paul Davis, CO at the Alpha site asked.
"Can you send someone for him?"
"Yeah, no problem." There was a pause as he issued a command to an airman. "What's going on Sam?"
"I have a feeling that Jack is going to terrorize one of those cadets through Teal'c and Rya'c."
"What? Why?"
Sam closed her eyes as she told him the truth, "Stella is dating one of the cadets there now."
Paul's eyes went wide as he quietly mumbled an, "Oh..."
"Yeah! Paul do me a favor and make sure that they're on their best behavior!"
Paul raised an eyebrow, "You want me to stop Teal'c from trying to `protect' his goddaughter?"
Sam couldn't help but let a small smile show on her face. He was right, it was often next to impossible to ever stop Teal'c from pursuing a noble course of action, and making sure that men stayed away from Stella was one of them in his mind. "Yeah... Right... Okay, I'll talk to Jack... Can you talk to Daniel though?"
"And say what to him?"
"That if he makes Stella unhappy or allows anyone else to make her unhappy, that I'm going to have a nice long chat with Janet who will be very disappointed in him if he makes her goddaughter unhappy!"
Paul couldn't help but smile at the idea, they both knew how much Daniel was scared to make his wife upset. "Okay, I'll do that. What's the cadet's name?"
"Kyle Young."
"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for him and make sure he doesn't end up in the infirmary! Okay, Jack's here. I'm going to go... do that favor for you Sam!" he smiled as he slid out of the camera's view frame to head to the training facility.
Jack's face came into view on the video screen at the SGC, "Jack you lied to me!"
"I did no such thing!" he innocently stated.
"You said you weren't going to terrorize him!"
"And I won-"
"But you're going to make sure that Teal'c and Rya'c do!" she told him.
Jack shrugged his shoulders with a small smile across his face, "Well..."
Sam shook her head at her husband, he could be so smug sometimes and she just wanted to wipe that lop-sided smirk off his face. Unfortunately she couldn't because he was a few hundred light years away. When she spoke again, she was calm, "Jack, would you please give the man a chance?"
"Why?"
"Because I trust Stella..."
"Come on you remember her last boyfriend!"
"Jack, she was 17!" Sam closed her eyes and gathered her emotions and calmed down. "Jack, she's grown up a lot since then... And Kyle seems like a nice man."
"You hardly know him!" he reminded her.
"I know... But Jack, please," she pleaded with him, "do this for me?"
"I am. I'm making sure that our little girl doesn't get her heart broken," he told her matter of factly.
Sam closed her eyes as thoughts of killing her father reentered her mind. As the images floated across her mind, she got an idea. Maybe she did have one more card to play, "Jack..."
Jack squinted at her as he detected the mischievous tone in her voice, "Sam..."
"Jack, don't make me bring my father into this..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means... he won't be happy to know that you are making his daughter and granddaughter unhappy."
Jack stared at her and tried to laugh it off, "Your dad loves me! And besides I'm just looking out for his granddaughter!" He tried to express his confidence in his voice, and for the most part he was doing a good job with it. "He'll probably thank me for this!"
Sam detected his false bravado as she stared straight into his eyes, "Not when I'm done with him! Never underestimate the power of Daddy's Little Girl!" she warned him.
Jack tried to laugh it off... But she was serious he noted. "Do you remember what he told you about hunting you down across the galaxy if you made me unhappy?"
Jack's eyes bulged out of his head, "You wouldn't dare!"
"Try me Jack!" she challenged.
"You wouldn't..." he continued to gauge her face. "... You would..." he finally accepted as he swallowed a lump in his throat.
Sam slowly and silently nodded her head.
"All right, fine... I promise not to let anyone hurt him!"
Sam's face softened as she smiled warmly at her husband. "Thank you Jack!"
Jack looked at his wife and melted under her smile as he had done many times in the past thirty years of knowing her. "Yeah, yeah... I'm still going to reserve the right to see if he's good enough for her!"
"Fine, but only within reason and you will not treat him any differently than any of the other cadets!"
"Fine..." Jack grumbled.
"Jack," she called out.
Jack looked up and saw her smile affectionately at him again, he couldn't stop himself from smiling back at her. "I love you Jack."
"I love you too, Sam... I'll see you tonight?"
Sam nodded her head, "Yeah, I'll be heading to the Alpha Site at around 1900 hours."
"Okay, I'll see you then," he told her.
"Yeah, bye," she told them before they both disengaged the video feeds.
----
General Paul Davis headed over to the training facility. He wasn't going to let anyone deliver this message to Daniel but himself, he couldn't wait to see his face. As he walked up, he noticed that Daniel and Teal'c were in silent conversation as they nodded over at the cadets. Paul had a feeling that they were talking about one cadet in particular. Before he arrived, Teal'c left Daniel's side and approached the cadets with a fierce sense of determination.
"Uh oh..." Paul muttered as he walked up to Daniel. Best to work through channels he figured. "Hey Daniel!"
"Hey Paul, what are you doing here?"
"Doing Sam a favor... She wanted me to pass along a message to you."
Daniel smiled at Paul, he knew what the message was going to be. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, "And what message might that be?"
"She said that if you make Stella unhappy or allow anyone else to make her unhappy," Paul paused and watched Daniel absently nod his head in mock understanding. Paul figured that that was about to stop in a few seconds as he continued, "that she'd tell Janet, who would be very disappointed in you for making her goddaughter unhappy." `Yep, that did it!'
Daniel's head stopped bobbing up and down as he stared at Paul with mild fear. "She said that?"
Paul bit back a smile and nodded his head.
"She wasn't kidding when she said that was she?"
Paul shook his head no.
"She would do it wouldn't she?"
Paul nodded his head again.
Daniel stared at him momentarily before he turned around and looked for Teal'c and took off at a sprint. Paul watched the archaeologist run off, `Not bad for a sixty-year-old archaeologist!'
When Daniel caught up with Teal'c, he was standing before Cadet Young. As he ran up he heard Teal'c speaking.
"Daniel Jackson has informed me that you are dating Stella O'Neill. Is that correct?"
Kyle stared back at the man and refused to be intimidated, Stella was worth fighting for. "Yes, sir."
"And what are your intentions with young Stella O'Neill?"
"Only honorable one's, sir."
"And yet you have proceeded to date her without seeking permission from her family. On Chulak, Colonel O'Neill would have every right to challenge you... to the death."
Kyle's eyes widened at learning the rights and rituals of Teal'c's home world. As he stared into the eyes of the imposing alien before him, he tried to come up with a response. "Sir, you are correct in that I have not sought permission from Miss O'Neill's parents. In my defense, I received the blessing of J.D. O'Neill; he introduced us, sir. And if we were on Chulak, I would willingly die at the hands of Colonel O'Neill because I would never mean to disgrace Miss O'Neill nor rob her of her father, sir," he calmly stated as an impressed Daniel watched on.
"Teal'c come on," Daniel said as he grabbed his friend's arm and tried to lead him away.
Teal'c bored into the young cadet's eyes that never backed down. As Daniel continued to pull Teal'c away, he offered one last piece of advice, "Cadet Young, if I learn that you have hurt Stella O'Neill in any way, then-"
"Teal'c!" Daniel yelled as he pulled him away before he could finish voicing his threat.
Teal'c threw one last look over his shoulder.
"I have no intention of ever doing that, sir," Kyle assured him. He watched the two godfathers walk away before joining the rest of the cadets who were checking their gear one last time before their first training exercise.
Stella walked over to him, "Kyle, I'm so sorry for all of this!"
Kyle offered her a small smile, "Don't be. I'd probably act the same way if you were my daughter or goddaughter..."
"You're not upset or anything?" she asked him.
"Over what?"
"You're not scared?"
Kyle smiled at her, "I'll admit, Teal'c can be a bit intimidating. But I don't ever plan on getting on his bad side..."
"Yeah, but they're probably going to make your two days here a living hell!"
Kyle shrugged his shoulders, "It's worth it for you... And besides, I'll consider it as supplemental training."
She looked at him quizzically.
"Hey, if I can hold my ground with your family and get them to accept me, or at the least, not want to kill me, then fighting the Gold should be easy, right?"
Stella smiled back him. "Goa'uld. Not Gold."
Kyle nodded his head, "Yeah, them too," he added lightly.
Stella nodded her head in amusement. "Thanks Kyle... And if my dad ever gives you a chance, the two of you will get along great."
Kyle's face lit up, "Really? Why's that?"
Stella shrugged her shoulders, "You both have the capacity to be serious and childish at the same time."
Kyle happily smiled back at her as he finished checking his own gear.
By the end of the day, the team of young cadets had been put through an arduous series of training exercises. Including each of them getting zatted once with a zat gun, Kyle was the first unsuspecting victim. Throughout the exercises, Jack was especially critical of Kyle's actions, who listened intently and worked on improving and learning from his critiques.
As they continued throughout the exercises, Stella's respect and admiration for Kyle grew. She saw him take it all in stride and never back down. He was a strong man, like her father.
At the end of the day, they were all granted an hour of free time. Kyle and Stella took off for a walk around the perimeter of the Alpha Base. They ended up heading up the mountain a bit to talk. They stopped on an outcropping just over the hangar entrance.
"So what do you think of the Stargate program?"
"It's amazing! I can't believe we're on another planet! I mean look at that, this planet has two moons!" he told her as he leaned back and pointed up at the two moons overhead.
She lied down next to him, "Yeah, it is pretty amazing... And there are so many places out there to explore..."
"That's the coolest part! If you think of the number of stars there are in this galaxy, and assume that there are thousands, if not millions, of solar systems like this one where there is sustainable life... I mean there could be like... Gazillions of planets to explore!"
"Gazillions?" Stella chuckled!
"Yeah... gazillions... somewhere between a billion and infinity!"
Stella shook her head in amusement, `yep, definitely like dad!'
"Hey kids!" a voice called out.
Kyle scrambled to his feet as Stella sat up and watched her parents approach. "Hey mom, dad."
Sam spoke first, "Hey Stella, Cadet. How was your day?"
"Good..." her daughter offered.
"And what about you Cadet?"
"Ma'am... It was... Awesome... I feel so honored to be selected for this assignment!"
Even though there wasn't that much light, Sam and Jack knew that the young cadet had a huge smile on his face. "It is pretty cool getting to travel to other planets, isn't it?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Silence settled on the group. After a few moments, Jack spoke up, "Cadet, can I have a word with you?"
"Dad!"
"Jack!"
"Yes, sir," he replied as he followed Jack's indicated direction.
"Kyle you don't have to," Stella told him as she shot a look at her father.
"Jack, what did I tell you earlier?"
"I just want to talk to the man and get to know him," Jack exclaimed.
"It's okay, I don't mind," Kyle reassured his girlfriend. He then turned to Jack, "Sir."
As the two men walked away, Sam and Stella shared a worried look with each other. "This isn't good is it?"
Sam watched the retreating figures before looking back at her daughter. "I don't know sweetie..."
"Do you think he has a chance?"
"Well Daniel and Teal'c didn't have anything unfavorable to say about him. They said he was a strong man... He didn't back down against Teal'c... And Daniel likes the fact that Kyle's minor is Philosophy..."
"And dad?" she asked worriedly.
"Your dad... hasn't formed his opinion yet... I guess we'll find out soon enough..."
"Great... I hate waiting! ... What do you think of him?"
Sam looked over at her daughter, "I'm inclined to like him... And as long as he makes you happy and respects you..."
"He does on both accounts... You know, he reminds me a lot of both dad and uncle Danny..."
Sam smiled at her daughter, "I thought the same thing..."
They sat in silence again waiting for the men to return. Stella spoke, "Mom?"
"Yes dear?"
"How did you get them not to make Kyle's time here hell?"
A huge smile appeared on her face. "Well... I told Daniel that I would tell Janet that he was making you unhappy and-"
"You didn't!" a shocked Stella asked her mom. "That's why he was sprinting over to Teal'c when he was talking to Kyle and practically dragged him away!" She laughed openly thinking of the fear that Daniel must have felt. "You're too good mom!"
"Well, when you've been friends and worked with someone for almost thirty years, you know how to make them do what you want!"
"Nice... And dad?"
"Do you remember the story that my dad likes to tell about how your father asked him for my hand in marriage? Well, I just reminded your father of my dad's threat to hunt him down if he made me unhappy..."
"Oh my god! You threatened to get a hold of grandpa!"
Sam nodded her head, "Yep, and luckily your father didn't call my bluff!"
Her eyes went wide! She then wrapped her arms around her mother, "Thanks mom!"
----
Jack and Kyle walked away from the two women in silence. Jack led them further up the mountain for ten minutes before he stopped and sat down on a few rock slabs.
Jack put Kyle through his first test. Jack just sat there in silence and looked down on the base. He sat there like that for ten minutes. The entire time he watched Kyle out of the corner of his eye. He was impressed at how cool Kyle was, he wasn't looking around worriedly or speaking for the sake of speaking. Rather Kyle sat there patiently waiting for Jack to say something. Kyle occupied himself as he calmly stared up at the night sky and marveled at the majestic beauty of looking at the night sky from a different planet.
"What are you thinking?"
"Honestly, sir?"
"I don't want to hear anything but the truth from you," Jack warned him.
"Yes, sir. Well, it might sound kind of silly... But, I was trying to decide if that group of stars up there looks like a dragon spewing fire from it's mouth or a dinosaur holding a bouquet of flowers," he replied as he pointed up at the stars.
Jack followed his arm, "Where?"
Kyle leaned over and pointed out the stars more carefully, "You see that row of stars, kind of looks like the back of an animal... And there's the legs... And the tail... And you see that cluster of stars in front of the `head'? ... I can't decide if that's a fireball or a bouquet of flowers..."
Jack stared at the `constellation' in question. As he was coming to his own decision of the star cluster himself he realized how funny it was... Trying to find shapes in the stars was something he would do. As he continued to look up, the corners of his mouth curled up in a small smile. He then seriously answered, "Definitely a fireball."
"I was leaning that way myself, sir." Kyle calmly replied as he continued to stare at his constellation.
Both men continued to look up at the stars in silence for another few minutes.
Kyle broke the silence this time, "Do you know if anyone here has charted the stars and come up with constellation names, sir?"
"Don't know... You come up with a name for your dragon?"
"Yes, sir. St. George."
"Wasn't that the knight who fought the dragon?"
Kyle looked over at the retired colonel next to him. "Yes sir. But it was the best story reference I could come up with concerning a dragon... So it was either St. George or Puff the Magic Dragon, sir."
Jack laughed at the alternate name as he looked over at Kyle. Once he stopped laughing he spoke again, "St. George it is."
Kyle smiled and nodded his head in agreement.
They sat in silence once again as they looked out over the planet. Jack's mind was having a very hard time. He wanted to dislike the man sitting next to him, but he was finding it hard to. The man had stood tall (`Except for when T zatted him!' he mused) during the day's exercises and his constant nit-picking. He listened to his criticisms and then incorporated what he'd learned into future scenarios - marks of a true leader. The man wasn't reckless. He did want to be a doctor though! But he couldn't hold that against him... `As long as he doesn't come near me with any needles!' And he also kept his cool as evidenced in their recent chat... And the guy wasn't serious all the time... `Kind of like me... Damnit Sam, why do you have to be right?'
"Sam tells me you want to be a doctor."
"Yes, sir."
"You're at the top of your class and could have your pick of any field, why be a doctor?"
"There's the obvious reason that I want to help people, but more than anything... The human body fascinates me, sir. We're this amazing machine that has so many little parts and processes that have to work in concert together for us not to trip over our own feet. I guess you could say I want to be the repair man you call when something is wrong with your body..."
Jack nodded his head as he listened, he'd never heard a reason like that before. "What field?"
"I like Emergency Medicine... I like the adrenaline of it and thinking fast on your feet when someone's life is in your hand... But I guess if I work here at the SGC, I'll probably look into internal medicine as well, sir."
Jack smiled as he heard Kyle's reason for liking emergency medicine-adrenaline. `I knew he was an adrenaline junkie!'
Another silence ensued between the two men. "Sam tells me that J.D. introduced you and Stella."
"That's correct, sir." Kyle thought about Jack's choice of words, both times he had broached a topic with him, it was about information he had obtained from Sam, not Stella. He began to wonder what Stella, Jack and Daniel had talked about that morning. "J.D. and I are on the hockey team together."
Jack looked over at the young cadet who scored another point in his book, "You play hockey?"
"As long as I can remember," Kyle revealed with a smile.
"What position do you play?"
"Center... I take it you're the one who taught J.D. how to play."
"Yep... Had to pass it on to one of my kids!"
"J.D.'s a good player. He's got good puck skills and he plays the ice well both ways... He just needs to work on seeing the whole rink... But he's working on it... I won't be surprised if he's named team captain his senior year..." Kyle told him seriously.
"You're not saying that just to get on my good side, are you?"
Kyle shook his head emphatically, "No sir! I meant what I said about your son's playing skills! And the other player's respect him and see his potential as well. I've spoken with the Coach about your son several times and the future of the team."
Jack's eyes went wide, "Wait a minute! You're the captain of the team! J.D.'s talked about you a lot!" As the pieces fell into place in his mind he recalled everything that his son had said about Kyle. That he was a good captain, treated all the players fairly, even the freshmen. Apparently, Kyle ran a tight ship among the team and didn't allow any hazing of the freshmen. His son really respected the man he was sitting next to... `So that's why J.D. introduced you to Stella...' he mused. But Jack wasn't going to share any of that information with this young man... Well, maybe just a little.
"J.D. has a lot of respect for you," he revealed somberly.
Kyle didn't respond, he was a humble man.
"So, who's your favorite team?"
"The Red Wings, sir."
"You got to be kidding me?"
Kyle shook his head, "Nope. I was born in Detroit."
"I thought you lived in Colorado?"
"I do. But I could never root for the Avs!"
Jack nodded his head happily, "At least we're in agreement on that!"
"I take it you're a Blackhawks fan like J.D."
"Yeah. Luckily he got that from me and didn't choose Sam's team."
"Who's that?"
Jack looked over at him out of the corner of his eye, "The Red Wings."
Kyle smiled widely, but didn't say anything to that as he looked back over the planet.
Jack continued to process what he'd learned of the man next to him. The more he spoke with him, the more he was inclined to like him. Sam's words rang in his mind again, `Maybe she's drawn to him because he's like you?' But she was right about something as well, Kyle did seem to have the best parts of both himself and Daniel, without the added baggage both men had carried. Maybe this man wasn't bad for his daughter?
"We should probably head back," Jack finally offered as he began to stand up. "Stella's probably thinking that I've thrown you off the mountain."
Kyle laughed, and not in a hesitant fearful laugh. Rather in a confident laugh to a funny suggestion. He was standing up as well and turned to head back down the mountain when Jack reached out for his arm.
"I'm going to tell you something that Sam's father told me..." Jack stared into the young man's eyes and with the utmost seriousness continued on, "If you ever hurt Stella and I find out about it, there won't be a place in this galaxy where you can hide from me and stop me from hunting you down and killing you. Am I making myself perfectly understood?"
"Yes sir... For the record, I don't plan on ever giving you a reason to."
Jack nodded his head before he started heading down the hill, "Good... Now shall we go sneak up on the O'Neill women?"
Kyle's face lit up, "Excellent idea, sir! What do you have in mind?"
Jack reached into his pockets and withdrew two small objects and held them out for Kyle to see.
"Excellent choice of ammunition, sir!"
Five minutes later Jack and Kyle were walking down the mountain to join Sam and Stella.
"Then there was this one time when she was about three years old. You should have heard her squeal!" Jack mentioned to Kyle who was laughing uncontrollably.
"What'd you do?"
Stella looked at her father and boyfriend confused, `Are they laughing?'
"Well being as young as stubborn as an O'Neill, she decided that she didn't want to wear clothes anymore and so-"
"DAD!" she yelled out begging him to stop from embarrassing her.
Jack looked at his daughter as if he was shocked to see her there. He then turned to Kyle, "No it wasn't quite like that either..." He sent a silent nod to Kyle, "It was more like this!"
And at the same time both men withdrew their weapons and began to fire the small water pistols at Sam and Stella who, being caught completely off guard, squealed. Both women raised their hands to their faces to protect them as they charged towards their men to attempt to disarm them.
Both men ran out of ammunition just as their victims were able to wrestle the guns from their hands. With both hands free they wrapped their arms around their respective targets and held onto them for dear life.
"I love you Sam!" Jack whispered in her ear. "And you're right, he's not so bad after all!"
Sam who was about to yell at her husband had the biggest smile on her face as she turned to her husband and whispered back, "Thank you Jack!"
Stella whispered to Kyle, "I take it things went okay?"
He planted a quick kiss on her cheek, "Yeah!" He then leaned even closer and whispered into her ear, "I hope I didn't hurt you just now."
She shook her head.
"Good, because I'm told on good authority that if I do hurt you, there isn't a place in this galaxy where I can hide!"
Stella's eyes went wide as she raised her voice, "DAD!"
Jack spun around as he released his wife, he recognized that voice. It sounded exactly like Sam's when he was in trouble. "What?" he asked innocently.
"Dad, you threatened him!"
He raised his hands innocently.
"Jack," Sam drawled out as she glared at her husband.
"I didn't say anything new," he defended. He was feeling very uncomfortable under their stares. He looked at Kyle, "Sell out!"
"Jack, don't you dare and try to turn this on Kyle!" Sam warned him.
Jack sighed as he finally spoke, "I may have used your father's words."
Sam's head fell. "Stella... Please remind me to kill my father the next time we see him," she asked her daughter as she rubbed her forehead.
Jack stood up to defend Jacob, "What? Why? It's a good piece of advice! Father's of a Carter are very protective of their babies! I'm sure if Kyle and Stella were to have kids - and this under NO circumstances gives you permission to marry my daughter and get her pregnant!" he sternly warned, "Kyle would say the same thing to any potential suitor to his little girl."
"DAD!"
Kyle's face reddened.
"Jack," Sam finally looked up at her husband. "Shut up!"
"But-"
Sam raised her hand to his mouth. "You are digging yourself a very deep hole with your daughter! If you don't stop now when you're only ten steps behind, she WILL leave you behind. And in case you haven't noticed, she's younger than both of us and can out run us!"
Jack's mouth gaped as he tried to find any set of appropriate words.
Watching him drag his foot out of his mouth, Sam smiled at the man she so desperately loved and couldn't live without. She placed her hands on his cheeks as she pulled him closer, "What am I going to do with you?"
Jack sent her a suggestive smile and raised an eyebrow, "Well, you know you are a VIP!"
"Ah! I'm not hearing this!" Stella cried out as she brought her hands up to her ears and buried her face in Kyle's chest. Trying to protect her from the images she was forming, he protectively wrapped his arms around her.
Once everyone had calmed their wild imaginations down the four of them continued back down the mountain.
"So Cadet, what else did my husband tell you?"
"Well ma'am, I know that you and I will be having some nice memories between April and June."
"Whatever!" Jack flippantly stated.
Sam looked around her daughter at Kyle, "Excuse me."
"When the Red Wings make a race for the Cup!"
The End
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