Hackers
Hackers
by Dr Sarah Fraiser-Jackson
Summary: The SGC hire a hacker to bring down Kinsey. Who is her father?
Category: Action/Adventure, Humor, Romance
Season: any Season
Pairing: Daniel/Janet, Jack/Sam, other pairing
Rating: 13+
Warnings: adult themes, minor language
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: 2005-03-15
Carter's Lab.
Sam thumped the computer she was sitting at. She had been trying for hours to hack into the NID top-secret files on her computer. She had tried all the variations of different passwords and codes but she just couldn't do it.
"Something up Carter." Sam jumped as her CO came up behind her.
"No Sir, well yes Sir. I can't do it; I really need to be using one of their computers. The danger is that if we got into the system on their computers I could only use it for a short period of time before they track the hack."
"Okay I'll talk to Hammond. Don't kick yourself over this, I can't even log into my own file on my computer! Anyway, you did good." He smiled and turned to leave. "Just don't kill the computer Carter, they cost money!"
"Yes Sir." She laughed and turned off the darn machine. "Coffee time."
She picked up the receiver of the phone and dialled a number.
"Hey Daniel, meet you in five for coffee...Kay, see you then. Bye."
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Hammond's office.
"So Colonel, you think you have a solution to this?"
"Yes Sir, I kind of know someone who's in a gang of hackers, robbers, etcetera. I've been told that they are the best."
"How do you know that they'll help you?"
"Well if the prospect of hacking into one of the world's most secure systems doesn't tempt them then I have some information that if it got to the police, then...well who knows?"
"I see, well I'm sure you will enjoy your trip to Chicago with your team Colonel. Here's some spending money, be careful what you spend it on Jack."
"Thank you General, I will."
"Dismissed. Your flight leaves at 10:30 tomorrow morning."
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A back street in Chicago.
"Jack are you sure this is the place?"
"Yes Daniel, for the millionth time. Just watch your pockets."
"Is there any particular pocket you wish me to watch O'Neill? I cannot watch all my pockets at the same time."
"It's an expression T. Just watch out for pick pockets."
"I will do as you wish." The tall Jaffa bowed his head.
SG1 had gotten to Chicago fifteen minutes earlier wearing normal civilian clothes; they had caught a taxi from the airport, and had been dropped at the corner of the road they were on now.
A group of four twenty odd year old men and five younger boys went past the SG team, two on bikes and the others running behind all laughing and chatting.
"Hey Evan!" Jack shouted at one of the younger boys who looked about 18 years old. The boy stopped his bike and turned around, the others stopping further on.
"Jack! And you bought friends. What are you doing here?" He said walking the bike back towards the team a little.
"Just coming to check on you."
"Yeah like that would happen. You come to bust us?"
"Nope, I need a favour though."
"You better come and talk to TJ." The boy turned his bike around and cycled after his friends leaving SG1 to follow.
Two minutes later they were in the front yard of an old mansion. The mansion looked like it could do with a lick of paint and a good clean.
Most of the boys had gone around the back but Evan stayed out the front giving his bike to one of the older lads to put away.
"Coming in or what?" He said opening the front door with a creak. A large dog bounded up to the group barking and wagging its tail.
"Hey Buster!" Evan stroked the dogs messed up fur out of its eyes.
The house looked much better from the inside, it was clean and well decorated.
He let the dog go and find some food while he walked towards what appeared to be a study. "So what are your names if I have to introduce you?"
"Sam, Daniel and Murray."
The boy knocked on the door and waited.
"Who is it?" A muffled voice said through the door.
"Evan and some visitors, they need a favour."
The door opened and a man came out. He was as tall as Jack, with messy brown hair and blue eyes.
"What have I told you about visitors?"
"They know already, this is Jack, he...well he caught me before, I told you about it."
"Oh, hi Jack. I'm TJ." He held out his hand and Jack accepted the gesture.
"Nice place you've got here."
"Not too shabby is it? And who have we here?"
"This is Sam, Daniel and Murray. They are Jack's friends."
"Nice to meet you, care to sit down?" He pointed to another open door lead into the front room. When they had seated themselves on the couches he asked. "So what can I do for you?"
"Well we sort of need a favour." Said Daniel.
TJ nodded. "Do you want anything to drink? Coffee, water, a soda?"
"Coffee would be nice."
"Five coffees please Evan." He said waving the boy away. "Close the door on your way out."
The boy did as he was told and the conversation started again.
"What kind of favour are we talking about here?"
"Well we need a hacker, someone who can get past the..." Sam said before TJ interrupted.
"You need an experienced hacker, someone to do a big job?"
"Yes."
"How long would the job take?"
"Not too long."
"A week?"
"Probably about that."
The door burst open and a girl of seventeen walked in. She was wearing a short skirt, blouse and tie, obviously from some sort of school.
"TJ I have a parents evening tonight, no one wants to be my parent!"
"That surprises you why?"
"Oh come on, the only subject I'm doing badly in is IT and that's on purpose, the teachers think I'm a little angel and the only reason I have a parents evening at all is because you enrolled me into this stupid school as a frickin' cover up."
"Hey Paige, how was your day? Good, mine wasn't too bad thanks for asking, yes these are some visitors, they have a job for us."
"Fine!" She slumped into an armchair next to Daniel.
"Anyway, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I have just the person you need."
"What kind of job?" Asked the sullen girl.
"A big hack."
"Who you got in mind?"
"They want the best, they are gonna have the best."
"Really?" She sat up.
"Yeah."
"So what you want to hack into?" She directed her question at Daniel, as he was closest.
"You heard of the NID?" He asked.
"You want to hack the NID?"
"That was the aim."
"How much?"
"What?"
"How much you paying?"
"We haven't settled that yet Paige." TJ stepped in.
"Okay, keep your wig on!"
"Anyway, I'm not charging them full."
"Why not?"
"These guys are military, Evan told me everything. Also that they have something over us."
"Oh, alright."
"Jack, Paige is the best hacker we have. She might look like a handful, well she is but she is strictly professional on a job. She's the best liar I have ever met, she could fool the president into thinking she was his daughter."
"I try my best. Anyway, I still need a parent to drag to school in ten minutes."
"Ten minutes? Okay, I'll knock some money off the price if one of you takes Paige to her parents evening. Please?"
"Yeah, okay. Daniel you are now Mr..."
"Jones."
"Mr Jones."
"Why me, why not you? I always have to do this kind of stuff!"
"Because you are the most attractive, and Paige's school mates will all be jealous."
"Jack."
"Okay, it's because I don't want to and I am in charge."
"Fine I'll go to the parents evening. I've never been to a parents evening before."
"Don't worry, I'll give you the whole cover up story on the way." Paige said pulling him up and through the door. "We won't be long."
"Lets talk business."
-----------------------
An hour later Daniel was being dragged back into the mansion by Paige.
"Hey we're back!" She yelled as soon as they got through the door.
Some of the teenage boys came to greet them.
"Hey how'd you do? Fail every subject?"
"Shut your face Corbin!" She walked past him and straight up to one of the twenty odd year olds. "Hey Morgan."
The hansom guy lowered his head and kissed her. "How did you do?"
"C's mostly." She kissed him and whispered something in his ear.
"When? For how long?"
The rest of the boys were tired of the Morgan/Paige thing and had all gone off to do something more exciting like watching paint dry. They all new that Paige was the most wanted girl in the mansion, not that there was much choice out of three girls. Also they all knew Morgan was just a toy to her, just a bit of fun.
Daniel was left standing in the hall trying not to look at the couple, but he really didn't know where to go.
"I don't know when I'll be back. Look I could be gone a long time; maybe we should see other people."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, sorry." She kissed his cheek and he left the room.
"Can't we even have break up sex?" He walked back in.
"No!" He walked out again.
"Uh, Paige?"
"Oh yeah, Daniel. Look thanks for the whole Dad thing. I haven't even had a pretend Dad for years. I appreciate it."
"No problem, look maybe we should find TJ."
"Good idea." She walked up to the study door and barged in. "Honey I'm home."
TJ was sitting in his leather chair by the wooden desk, Teal'c was on one of the couches while Jack and Sam sat on the other.
"So how did it go?" Asked Jack.
"Good, she's doing alright at everything except IT."
"They chucked me off the course." She grinned. "When are we leaving?"
"As soon as you're packed." Said TJ.
The girl ran out of the room then ran back in. "Sam, could you help?"
"Yeah sure." Said the Major getting up and following her out of the room.
----------------------
Paige's room.
"So why do you want me to hack into NID?" Paige asked pulling a suitcase out from under her bed and chucking it onto the blue quilt.
"Sorry, that's classified."
"Thought as much." She pulled open a draw and emptied the contents into the case.
"So how did you end up here?"
"Well, I ran away from my "Parents" two years ago and ended up here with my cousin Evan." She opened her wardrobe and started puling things off hangers.
"Why did you run away?"
"My rents. Instead of spending time with me, coming to watch my school plays and little league matches they bought me presents, things I would never in my life use or play with. I told them I didn't want to be bought out; I even took half the things back to the shops and got the money back. One day they came home late with some stupid gadget thing that had no use what so ever, I told them I hated them and all I ever wanted was for them to spend a little bit of time with me. They said I was a spoilt brat and wished they'd never adopted me. So I ran away." She said in a very casual manner, stuffing half the contents of the room into her one suitcase. "I mean what a way to find out I was adopted, they could have had a little more consideration.
She slammed the lid of the case down and quickly did up the catches.
"The only thing I actually kept from the stuff they bought me was my laptop; top of the range, I had to upgrade it a couple of times but it's still the best." She pulled the laptop out of the bottom of the wardrobe and handed it to Sam who opened it.
"I have to change then we're done."
"So why did I need to help?"
"You didn't, I just don't like talking to myself."
"Fair enough."
--------------------------------
The hall.
Jack pushed Daniel out of the way as a suitcase landed inches away from him.
"Look out below!"
"You're supposed to say that before you throw things at us!" Jack yelled up the stairs.
"Sorry." Paige smiled, walking down the stairs with her school uniform bundled up in her hand. She was wearing a low cut, light blue spaghetti top and baggy jeans. Her long brown hair had been taken out of the ponytail she had before and was shining in the light as she moved her head.
She threw the uniform at the dog that was sitting on Teal'c's feet. Buster jumped up to catch the clothes and tore them apart giving Teal'c the chance to move before the dog wanted to sit on him again.
"Good dog, kill the nasty uniform." She laughed. "Can we go now?"
"Sure." Said Jack picking up the suitcase. "What have you got in here? It weighs a ton!"
"The kitchen sink didn't fit so everything except that. Bye TJ." She said hugging the older man.
"Look after yourself kid. But remember to come back eventually!"
"Yeah, yeah. See you soon." She waved walking out of the door.
"Look after her."
"We will." SG1 followed the girl out.
"Don't give her too much sugar or E-colours!" TJ yelled after them.
"Bye!"
-------------------------------
On the plane.
"Finally, she's asleep!" Daniel whispered to Sam. Paige was curled up on her seat between the window and Daniel.
"She's not that bad." Sam whispered back.
"You didn't have to take her to parents evening!"
"You were only gone an hour."
"She doesn't half talk though."
"She's just a bit boisterous, you'll get used to her."
"She told me that she likes to have fun. Not be stuck in a rut doing nothing but the same old thing all the time."
"Figures why she hates school so much."
"Yeah. She also said that about boys, likes to 'mess with their heads because it's so easy'!"
"I didn't say it like that." Said Paige turning around.
"I thought you were asleep."
"I was, you whisper really loudly." She poked her tongue out and turned back to face the window.
"And that is so mature!"
"Daniel, shut up!" Laughed Sam snuggling down further into her seat.
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"Ladies and Gentlemen, please keep your arms and legs inside the elevator at all times, that means you too Danny boy! Exits are here and...here. We would like to welcome you to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado Springs and hope that your trip will be as pleasant as possible!" Jack smiled in his cheesiest I'm-a-slut-of-an-air-hostess impression. Sam and Paige smiled; Daniel humphed and Teal'c raised one eyebrow.
"Your impression of an air hostess is impressive O'Neill."
"Thanks T...Murray."
"It's okay, you can call him Teal'c if you want. I hacked into the SGC files about a year ago."
"Why/How/What?" Jack, Daniel and Sam spluttered.
"Well I was messing around and decided to try a government agency, yours was a challenge I have to admit. Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone." She smirked to herself. "I didn't really believe it until you showed up at the mansion."
Teal'c pulled his hat off of his head. "There is no need for this anymore."
"So how exactly does someone become first prime of Apophis?"
"With much labour and hard work."
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Jack led the way out and into the briefing room to find Hammond already there.
"Sir."
"Welcome back Colonel, you must be the hacker." He said turning to the girl with a concerned look.
"General, I know you were expecting someone older and possibly male, but I assure you that I am the best at the price you are willing to pay. I have extensive knowledge of the Stargate program and am willing to do whatever you need me to do to get the information you need."
"I'm sure you can..."
"Paige Jones."
"Well Paige, maybe we should get you a room and something to eat. We can talk more in the morning."
"Thank you Sir."
"My pleasure. Major, can you escort Miss Jones to one of the VIP suites please?"
"Yes Sir." She put her hand on the girl's shoulder and steered her out of the room.
"So Colonel, how much did you pay for her expertise?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"TJ actually offered to pay us to take her. He said she was his best hacker, but she is a little bit stir crazy. She likes to be doing something constructive-mainly hacking-all the time, she hasn't been on a job for a while and the last one she took, she was gone a month. The clients only hired her for two weeks to hack into some animal testing laboratory or something."
"She seemed a nice girl."
"'Seemed' being the operative word." Mumbled Daniel.
"Come on Daniel, She wasn't that bad!"
"Sure, you think that. I'm going to bed. Good night Sir."
"Good night Dr Jackson. See you in the morning, you too Colonel, Teal'c."
"Yes Sir."
----------------
VIP suite 9am.
A knock at the door woke Paige.
"Argh!" She yelled throwing one of her pillows at the door. "Go away!"
"Paige, you have to get up." Jack yelled through the door.
The girl scrambled out of the double bed and unlocked the door.
"Morning." Jack smiled.
"Yeah, if you say so." She walked back to the bed and climbed back in.
"Up, now." He flicked the light switch then walked over to the bed. Grabbing her ankles he yanked her out from beneath the covers and onto the floor. She landed with a bump.
"Oww, go away!"
"You have to promise me you'll get up and get dressed, Dr Fraiser wants to give you a check up."
"I don't do Doctors."
"Oh, you'll love Janet then, she has really huge needles that she uses if you're not on time."
"Get out! I have to get dressed."
"Sure." He smirked and closed the door behind himself.
Ten minutes later Paige was dressed in a pair of tight, bootleg jeans and a tight T-shirt that said 'Touch me and I'll kill you'.
She opened the door of her room and walked out into the corridor. Jack was there talking to the SF stationed outside her door.
"Oh, I'm under armed guard am I?" she asked as she followed Jack towards the infirmary.
"Yep, nothing gets past you does it?"
"Don't we have to go get stabbed with giant needles or something?"
"You do, I have been stabbed today." He held open the door for her and she walked past him.
"Lucky you."
"Hey Doc. I've got another victim for you."
The petite red head walked over to them. "You must be Paige. Please sit on the bed." She smiled closing the curtain around her for some privacy.
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Twenty minutes later Jack, followed by Paige, entered the commissary. He walked over to the table where the rest of his team was sitting.
"Hey guys, how's it going?"
"Morning Jack." Said Daniel nursing his cup of coffee. "How did you sleep Paige?"
"Alright." She slipped into the chair next to Teal'c, leaving Jack to borrow one from another table.
"We have a briefing in half an hour." Said Sam eating a piece of toast.
"Cool, what you want to eat Paige?"
"What they got?"
"Fruit Loops, um...toast, coffee, uh..." He said looking around at other tables. "Eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, orange juice."
"Fruit Loops please, and some orange juice."
"Sure, you guys want anything?"
"No it's okay." Daniel said. "I can't eat until I'm actually awake anyway!"
"No thank you Sir, I have to teach Teal'c how to play Tomb of the Pharaoh before the briefing."
"Why?"
"I wish to be able to beat Daniel Jackson's top score."
"Okay, well you two go do that and I'll go get some food."
The pair said they would see the others later and walked out of the room, Jack went to get the food, leaving Daniel and Paige on their own.
"So..."
"Yeah..."
Silence. They had nothing to say to each other, at least not anything civil.
"So..."
"Hey I'm back and I have food." Jack smiled and handed Paige her Fruit Loops and orange juice. Jack had the same, but with coffee instead.
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Briefing room.
"Tell me again, you want me to find files linking Vice-President Kinsey to the NID?" Paige asked looking out of the large windows, down at the Stargate.
"Precisely."
"Okay, do you know how heavy the firewall is, or how many they have?"
"I managed to get past two of them." Sam said.
"So that's a no." She rubbed her nails over her lip in silence for a few seconds before turning to face the occupants of the room who were seated around the table. "Okay, there are a few conditions that you have to comply to."
"Go on." Hammond was intrigued.
"Well, I want to go through the Stargate, just once." She put on her best puppy dog eyes. "Please?"
"We'll see, don't get your hopes up."
"Yey!" The teenager did a little jump in the air and grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"Hey, you heard the man; hopes down, hopes down!" Ordered Jack.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Lets get started." She walked out of the room then poked her head around the doorframe. "Which way is it?"
---------------------
Jack strolled out of Cheyenne Mountain after signing out at the guard post. He took the path up behind the complex, which ran through the woods and out into a clearing overlooking Colorado Springs. As he wandered across the clearing, he could make out a blonde woman lying on her back in the grass near where a smaller brunette was sitting against a boulder with a laptop in her lap.
He plonked himself down next to his Second in Command and watched the girls' fingers whiz across the keyboard with skill that could only be learnt.
Paige was staring at the small screen and biting her lower lip. Her long hair was tied in a loose ponytail at the back of her head. She reminded Jack of someone, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Urgh!"
"What's up?"
"I can't do it," She sighed and hugged her self. "Well at least not from here."
Closing the laptop, she got up and started walking back to the base.
"If I got closer to the NID building then I might be able to break down that firewall, failing that I would have to get into one of their computers somehow." She mused to her self. "There should only be one more code to break after that and that one will be the worst. It took me quarter of an hour to do that much, so if I get into the building I can plug in my laptop and finish it off in about five minutes, give or take a few seconds." She said to herself.
"Sounds like a plan." Sam said walking beside her.
"What? Oh, yeah. We could probably pull it off; they'd be able to track the hack quicker if I'm linked to their systems. They would need about five minutes once I'm linked to realise that they are being done, then about three minutes to isolate the station I'm at. Doesn't leave me very long to find and download the files onto disk."
"I'm sure you'll manage. We'll be there anyway to stop the guards."
"No you won't."
"What do you mean?"
"Hacking is highly illegal, I am the one doing the actual hacking so I am the only one who goes into the building and gets caught, if it comes to it."
"No way," Jack stopped walking. "You are not going in there to get caught. We are going with you."
"No you are not. Let me tell you a few rules in the hacking world: 1. The only person who goes down is the hacker, we live in a world of risks and they govern us. To put that risk onto anyone else is, well stupid. 2. You don't take the gig if you can't please the crowd, the hacker only takes the job if they know what they are doing and can get results. 3. If anyone gets the blame it's a minor, they can only take away your computer and lock you up for awhile if you are underage. It's generally the parents or lack thereof that gets the blame anyway. Adults on the other hand get it much worse off. 4. I don't work with anyone else on stuff like this, okay I can get people into places they need to be but this is just pure computer stuff. 5. I passed braking and entering with flying colours; I don't need your help. I will however need you to stay out side the building inconspicuously and take the disk off me if there is any trouble."
"NO!"
"Jack, I have to do this on my own, if you get caught then the whole of the SGC will be bought into question."
"I don't like it, but I'll talk to Hammond."
"Thank you." She said and started to walk down the path to the SGC.
----------------------------
Hammond's office.
"Colonel, I know you don't agree with this, but I think that if Paige wants to do this alone then we should let her."
"Sir, she's still just a kid!"
"Colonel, she knows what she is doing, she is the expert after all. I can't risk compromising the SGC to someone like Kinsey, you of all people should know that Jack."
"Yes Sir. I still don't feel right about this."
"You may never feel right about sending a teenager to do your dirty work, I certainly don't, but there's nothing that can be done about it now. The only thing that we can do is wait for the files, if she gets caught we deny everything."
"I'll tell her."
"Thank you Colonel, I will arrange the tickets to D.C. Dismissed."
--------------------
Jack found Paige in Sam's lab; she was playing pinball on the computer while Sam played with one of her doohickeys. They were laughing at something when the Colonel walked in with his hands in his pockets.
"Hey kids."
"Sir." Carter smiled then burst out laughing again setting Paige off.
"Something funny?"
"No...No Sir..." Sam said while trying to stifle a giggle. "Absolutely nothing."
"Paige?"
The girl was practically rolling on the floor laughing.
"OW...my sides hurt." She gasped in between giggles. She managed to compose herself to a reasonable level and typed something into the computer. She turned the monitor around to show him and put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from bursting out into a fit of giggles again at his reaction.
On the screen was a picture of the Colonel at Janet Fraiser's house with a twelve-year-old Cassie in his lap. He had makeup on his face and his fingernails were painted bright red.
"Where did you get this?" He demanded looking very shocked.
"It's amazing the things you can find on the Internet." Paige smirked.
"We found Cassandra's website Sir. There are some very funny pictures of you and Daniel in similar states to this."
"But this was taken years ago!"
"Yeah, Cassie has a load of pictures and information about us on here." Sam walked over and clicked on something. A picture of SG1, Janet, Cassie and General Hammond in a park appeared on the screen. "This is the most sane one of the lot."
"You better not show anyone that picture Major."
"It's a bit late for that Sir."
"Yeah, I am so not used to your systems. I accidentally emailed the pictures to all personnel on the base."
"YOU WHAT?!" The girls burst out laughing uncontrollably, yet again. "Please tell me you didn't."
Sam shook her head laughing. "Just Daniel, Teal'c and Hammond."
"Anyway," He said quickly to change the subject. "I spoke to Hammond, he's arranging the arrangements and we will do it your way."
The girl's laughter quietened down.
"Thanks Jack. I need to go to town to visit a guy I know. He can get me all the stuff I'll need that's non-military so you don't get in the shit if I get caught."
"Carter, you get yourself and Paige top side while I round up Rock Boy and T. Meet you there in fifteen." He strolled out of the room and down the corridor.
The girl's exchanged glances.
"He's going to kill us when he finds out it's his desktop background."
"Especially as he doesn't know how to change his background."
--------------------------
In town.
Jack's truck was a bit cramped, Teal'c and Jack were fine up front, but Daniel, Sam and Paige were stuck in the back. The phrase packed like sardines, pops into mind.
"Park somewhere round here." Paige told Jack.
"How do you know your way around Colorado Springs?" Asked Daniel.
"Been here once, to get some stuff off this guy I'm going to introduce you to."
Jack pulled over into an empty space and the quintet got out. Paige led the way through the streets to a back alley with garages along each side. She stopped by a blue garage door and knocked out the theme to Mission Impossible.
A small side door opened to the side of the one they were at and a guy came out. He was wearing sunglasses on top of his head neatly placed to sit either side of his dreadlocks, an old Top Cat T-shirt and a tattered pair of jeans.
"Hey baby! How's my girl doing?" He asked walking up to Paige and hugging her.
"Alright, how are you Nate?"
"Not too shabby hun, not too shabby." He smiled at the others. "You bought friends?"
"Kinda. This is Jack, Sam, Daniel and T."
"They aren't cops are they? They look shifty." He whispered in her ear.
"No, they're Air Force. Don't worry, I'm on a job."
He blew on her ear sending shivers down her spine, so she slapped him playfully on the arm.
"Come on in, I'll fix you up with some crap." He hooked his dark arm around Paige's waist and pulled her inside. "So long time no see. Three years, what happened?"
"I left my parents and got hooked up with TJ's lot, had a few jobs. Same old, same old."
They walked through the garage that had an old car missing it's wheels and covered with a tarpaulin, and into a back room filled with desks and filing cabinets filled with computers and other electrical equipment.
"How big is this job?"
"Big, way big."
"Who?"
"NID."
"Shit Paige! You trying to get yourself locked up? Fuck!"
"I know what I'm doing."
"You may know what you're doing but it's too dangerous! You'll get done, trust me."
"I don't care, I am doing this and you can't stop me."
"Fine, be that way. So what do you need?"
"Sound, not military."
"How many?" He asked walk around his clutter looking for something.
"Two maybe more..." Paige continued to give a list of the things she would require for her trip to D.C. while Nate searched around for the stuff. SG1 had decided to wait outside because they were getting in the way in the crowded room.
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A while later, Paige and Nate walked out of the garage and into the street where SG1 were standing. Paige gave Nate a quick kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye as she walked towards the others.
"Be careful!" The twenty year old yelled after her.
"I will!" She yelled back.
"So you got everything?" Asked Jack walking down the street.
"Yep, and I got a free bag." She turned around to show them the tattered backpack she was carrying which was filled with the stuff Nate had given her.
"How did you pay for all that?"
"I didn't. In a month you will get a bill for it if it's not returned."
"Me or the SGC?"
"You, it's less conspicuous that way."
"Fine, but you better return it all so I don't have to."
"I wouldn't count on it." She smiled sweetly and got into Jack's truck.
-----------------------------
Briefing room.
"Colonel, you, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c will fly out to D.C. tonight. You are in Washington for a conference that will be cancelled at the last minute; Major Carter had to stay at the base for an extra day on base and will join you at the hotel in the morning. Paige will fly out at the same time as the Major to visit some friends she has there. You will be all staying at the same hotel but Paige is a floor lower than the rest of you." Hammond paused. "How you go about this is totally up to you, but remember that if you are compromised, the SGC will not take responsibility for your actions."
"Yes Sir." Said Paige. "I have to go pack."
They watched as she exited the room in silence.
"I believe that Paige is anxious." Stated Teal'c.
"You think?" Jack replied sarcastically as he got up and left as well.
"I do not think that this will end happily for Paige."
"Neither do I Teal'c, neither do I." Hammond sighed and went to his office.
----------------------
Paige's room.
A knock on the door startled the girl sitting on her bed with her clothes strewn around her.
"If your names not Bob then come in."
"Who's Bob?" Daniel asked poking his head around the door.
"I don't know anyone called Bob."
"Then why did you say..."
"I don't want to see any strangers, Bob would be a stranger because I don't know him."
"More of the Paige logic, you are a very interesting person."
"Yeah, psychologists can't wait to study me, they kept calling me so I had to change my number."
Daniel smiled and walked over to her bed, he found a reasonably free of clothes part of the bed and sat down.
"What's up?"
"Clouds," She smiled. "Planes, the sky."
"Funny, what's wrong then?"
"I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe I'm just beginning to realise that there is no way I am going to get out of this without being taken to court. Maybe I like being here, actually doing something useful that isn't illegal. I helped Sam put up two more firewalls in the SGC system." A stray tear rolled down her cheek. "Hey who knows, maybe I've gone soft and actually like you guys."
"Hey come here." He pulled her into a hug and let her cry into his shirt. "Shh, it'll be alright. You'll get out; I know you will. I'll come and break you out if necessary; bake you a cake with a nail file in it."
Paige laughed. "Chocolate please."
"Whatever, you'll be fine."
"Thanks Daniel, for this, I needed it." She said pulling away.
"Anytime. What exactly are you doing here?" He pointed at the clothes.
"Packing."
"Really? You want some help?"
"Sure, just don't touch my underwear."
"Deal." He shook Paige's hand and started folding her jeans.
----------------------
Jack, Daniel and Teal'c had flown out the night before. Sam and Paige were sitting next to each other on the plane making small talk.
"So, you always fly on your own?"
"Not usually, my parents fly out in a week because they have some business thing they have to do. I have to stay in a hotel till they get to D.C. it'll be fun, just me and a mini bar."
"Aren't you a bit young?"
"Depends on what country you're from. UK the legal age is eighteen, here it's 21, and in other countries it's younger."
"So where are you staying?"
"The Dolphin."
"Hey, me too. When we get there we could share a cab, it's cheaper that way."
"Sure."
--------------------------
Sam's hotel room.
SG1 including Paige were gathered around the small desk in the corner of the room which Paige's laptop and Sam's laptop were both on.
"So you will enter here when you hear the phone ring and the guard answer it." Jack said pointing to a window in the map on the screen. "You make your way up this back staircase to the fifth floor and to this office, Mr. Richmond's office. Major Carter will be running the link in the cameras you will pass, you'll have to keep in contact with us to make sure the link is working. It will show the last few seconds of the empty corridors, this will give you enough time to travel from one blind spot to another without being seen."
"Right, remember if I get caught you split."
"Yeahsureyabetcha. Lets get this thing started."
They were all dressed in black, Sam was helping Paige with the little black sound bug that she was fixing onto her top and into her ear.
"Can you hear me?" Paige heard Jack whisper into the sound bug.
"Yes." She whispered back.
"Okay we are set to go." Jack said heading out the door with his briefcase full of technical equipment. Sam followed with her laptop, followed by Teal'c. Daniel gave Paige a reassuring smile and held the door open for her.
She smiled back and walked down the corridor with the archaeologist.
Once outside the hotel the gang got into a hired van, Teal'c in the driving seat and Daniel in the passenger seat, the others crammed into the back with the equipment.
Paige set about breaking through the first lot of firewalls that she could do without being in the building. Sitting on the floor with her laptop in her lap, Jack thought she looked very like Daniel when he had lived with Jack after coming back from Abydos. Jack would often find his young friend sitting on the floor in that same position cataloguing rocks. Okay so Paige could type a lot faster than Jackson, but still.
Paige pulled a can of Pepsi(c) out of the rucksack she had acquired from Nate and opened it. Taking a huge gulp of the drink, she continued typing with one hand.
"We are nearly there O'Neill." Teal'c called from the drivers seat.
"Could you just circle the block for a while?" Paige asked.
"Certainly."
"Nearly there, nearly...yes. Okay stop when you're ready." Paige closed her laptop.
Teal'c parked behind a bush near the back of the NID building but kept the motor running. Paige, Jack and Sam jumped out of the back of the van and ran for cover. Teal'c and Daniel drove off to park at a safe distance.
Jack signalled to Paige to go around one side of the building while he and Sam went around the other.
-------------------
Sam and Jack crouched by a grate on the wall. Jack pulled a screwdriver from his pocket and started to undo the screws. He caught the grate before it hit the ground and Sam plugged in her laptop.
"Got it." She whispered.
"Paige, you can go through the door now." Jack said into his radio.
Paige.
Paige was crouched by the fire exit picking the lock. She managed to get the catch and pushed the door open.
"Alright I'm in."
"Sam's just putting the link in now, go!" The voice crackled in her ear.
Paige grabbed her laptop and sprinted past the first camera.
"Second camera, go!"
She sprinted up the stairs to the first floor. They repeated this process until she reached the fifth floor. She could hear the guard outside the door.
"Wait for the phone. Daniel ring now!"
She held her breath as he paced past the door and back. Then the phone rang and the guard cursed.
"Who calls at this time of night?" He sighed to himself and walked around the corner.
Paige let out her breath with a sigh and opened the door slowly, and stuck her head out. The coast was clear.
"Okay, the links for the next few cameras are in place. Hurry!"
She closed the door and ran down the corridor stopping to check the names on the door until she reached the right one.
"Link in the room is up and running."
She closed the door behind herself and set to work plugging her laptop into the hard drive of the main computer. She continued from where she left off in the van trying to break the last couple of firewalls.
"How you doing Paige?"
"Fine, just shut up. This room smells of old people." She whispered, her fingers never leaving the keyboard. "Almost done."
She smiled to herself. "I'm in. Just searching for files with references to Kinsey."
She tapped her fingers on the desk while the computer searched the files. A little icon in the corner of the screen told her there were lots of files found.
"Ah crap!"
"What's up?"
"There are a lot of files." She said while copying the contents of all the files. She worked for five minutes copying the files and wiping the hard drive of all traces of her antics.
"Freeze!" A gruff voice shouted behind her.
"Well it looks like you've caught me."
"Ah crap!" Jack said in her ear. "We are out of here. Paige, I'm sorry. Good luck."
Jack and Sam.
"Pack it up." Jack said unplugging Sam's laptop from the contents of the grate. Sam called Daniel up on the radio while Jack screwed the grate back on to the wall.
The pair then ran behind a bush as the van came into sight, it's side door open ready for them to jump in without the van having to stop.
Paige.
"Hands behind your back girly." The guard said.
Before he could handcuff her, Paige pressed the enter button on the laptop and the chip inside burned out taking the hard drive from the computer she was plugged into along with it. She also pulled the earpiece and mike out from her clothes and ear very quickly and threw them on the floor without the guard seeing.
"You're in a lot more trouble now missy!" He grunted as another guard ran into the room. "Check her for disks and bugs."
"Alright girl, what's your name? Ergh!" He yelled as he stepped onto Paige's bugs and crushed them. He stepped over to her and quickly frisked her. "She's clear."
"So why are you here? You haven't got anything on disk and you can't go anywhere, tell me!"
"I thought it would be a laugh." She smiled sarcastically.
"Alright, you can tell the judge then." He dragged her out of the room while his friend collected the laptop and bug remains.
-----------------------
Briefing room.
SG1 were seated around the briefing room table waiting for Hammond to arrive, they were all sullen and silently thinking of Paige.
"SG1." Hammond said as he walked in noticing that none of them had seen him.
"General." They all acknowledged.
"Sir, it didn't work!" Carter started.
"Major, this morning I received an e-mail form an anonymous sender, this e-mail was sent to the President, myself, the chairman of the Joint-chiefs, the head of every secret government agency and the FBI. Half an hour after the President had opened and read the e-mail it was sent to the Vice-President Kinsey. The e-mail contained every last bit of information that linked Kinsey to the rogue NID projects and other illegal operations. As soon as Kinsey had opened the e-mail he was arrested and awaits his trial. I would say that this mission was successful."
"But Sir, Paige..." Jack started.
"I know son, she awaits her trial as well. Luckily they have come to the conclusion that she sent the e-mails, so representatives of all the organizations involved are going to be there. Unfortunately I can't make it so SG1 are going to go instead. Kinsey's trial is on the same day in the morning, which you will also attend."
"Yes Sir."
"Colonel, you and major Carter will be witnesses at Kinsey's hearing. Have fun in D.C."
-----------
Ten days later SG1 were standing in Washington's court of law waiting for Kinsey's hearing to start. Jack had with him the morning's paper, the headline read:
TEENAGER VS VICE-PRESIDENT TRIALS TODAY
"There's the chairman of the Joint-Chiefs," Daniel was scanning the crowd. "The Presidents walking towards us, Jack put the paper down."
"Hello, Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c I presume?" He smiled and shook their hands, excepting a small bow from the Jaffa.
"Mr. President, lovely to meet you at last." Jack smiled. "How's the job going?"
"Fine Colonel, just fine. Are you staying for both trials?"
"Yes we are Sir."
"I hear the child's parents couldn't be contacted." He sighed. "What is the world coming to? Parents don't seem to take any interest in what happens to their children anymore."
"They are not all like that Sir, just a few no good ones."
"I'm sure you're right, anyway nice to meet you at last."
"You too Mr President." He waved after the leader of the USA. "Nice man."
Everyone started to take their seats and Kinsey was brought in. They all rose for the judge then sat back down.
The trial was tiring; Kinsey denied all accusations to have them thrown back in his face by one witness or another. Sam and Jack had both been up; tempted, as they were to insult him they acted with the utmost professionalism.
"I call witness 12, Paige Jones to the stand." Cried the prosecution.
The doors at the back of the room opened and Paige was brought in with her hands handcuffed behind her back. She was wearing a tight Little Miss Naughty T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
She was un-cuffed at the stand and she massaged her wrists, she swore on the bible to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
"So Miss Jones, you sent the e-mail did you not?"
"I did."
"Where did you find this information?"
"In the NID mainframe."
"Could you please explain to the court how you got into the NID mainframe?"
"I thought my hearing was this afternoon."
"Miss Jones, please answer the question."
"I hacked in. It was simple enough once I had access to one of the computers there."
"You found these files that discriminate against Vice-President Kinsey and thought what?"
"Well, I thought that someone should know, if he does all this behind the governments back then he should be stopped. I mean I thought he looked dodgy enough before I found out about this stuff anyway."
"What exactly did the files say about the Senator?
"That he had collaborated with the NID to illegally find and steal alien technology to help with the fight against, well anyone who gets in their way really. It also said that he had gotten several people killed because they found out about his plans and he has also tried to shut down and/or take over the SGC on several occasions to suite his ways of doing things."
"And what would these things be?"
"Stealing from Earth's allies like the Tollan, the Asgard and the Tok'ra."
"Need I say anymore?" The prosecution asked the judge.
"Defence, would you like to ask the witness anything?" The judge asked.
"Yes your honour, we would." The man got up. "Miss Jones, why did you hack into the NID in the first place?"
"I like a challenge."
"Would you answer truthfully?"
"It is true, I wanted the challenge. Life is boring if you don't stretch yourself. Anyway, this has nothing to do with Kinsey!" She glared at the man.
"Why were you only looking at Kinsey's files?"
"How is this going to get your employer off the hook? Think of something that could actually help Kinsey or shut up."
"Miss Jones!" Warned the Judge.
"Fine, I'll be good."
"Now answer my question." Mr defence ordered.
"Like I said before he looks dodgy."
"That is not an answer."
"It is, if it makes sense to the question then it has to be an answer."
"I give up." He said exasperatedly. "No more questions your honour."
Paige was hand cuffed again and taken out of the room. The court adjourned for ten minutes while the verdict was decided.
"Court is back in session. Vice-President Robert Kinsey, after all the evidence has been shown we hereby find you guilty. You will do a life sentence in prison. Court dismissed."
Kinsey was escorted back through the doors he came out of and the whole room was talking.
"Lunch?" Jack smiled to his team mates.
"Sounds good to me." Sam smiled back.
"Indeed."
-----------------------
"All rise."
The judge walked in to the room and scanned the crowd; it was the same one as earlier, not really surprising, the cases were defiantly linked.
Case number...blah, blah, blah.
"Paige, you are here because of illegally hacking into top government agencies and classified operations. How do you plead?"
"Guilty."
"Why did you do it?" Asked the prosecution.
"Which one?"
"Okay, why did you start hacking?"
"Um, I'm not sure really. It could have been the fact that there wasn't anything else to do."
"What about joining an after-school club, or a team?"
"I did, I joined the computer club. I quit because they were doing really boring stuff."
"Did you ever take part in school productions, swimming gala's, little league or anything else?"
"Yeah, all the time when I was younger. It kind of has no meaning when your parents never turn up to watch you though." She said casually.
"So how often did you see your parents?"
"Hey, is that the President?" She said looking at the crowd.
"Yes it is; would you please answer my question?"
"Okay! My "parents" always got up really early and left for work, they would come home really late. Sometimes they would buy me presents to make up for it, but bribes aren't any kind of substitute for actual quality time together. There was this one time where I had to go to hospital for a long period of time; they'd take turns in coming to see me. Their excuse was the visiting hours are at difficult times for them, I was on the children's ward so they could come whenever they liked!" She started to get upset.
"Why did you runaway?"
"Why?" She asked in disbelief. "Because they came home one night later than usual, they'd stopped to buy me some stupid gadget that I would never use. Well I had had enough; I told them that I would rather have parents than presents any day. They said they wished they had never adopted me in the first place. So I packed my bags and I left." A tear trickled down her cheek.
"Your honour, I have managed to get a copy of Paige's adoption certificate." The man pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to the judge.
"Do you want to know who your parents are Paige?"
"I don't see the point, if they gave me up they didn't want me in the first place."
"Do you or don't you?"
"Okay, I do."
"Your mother's maiden name is Natalia Ferretti,"
"Any relation to Lou?" Jack whispered to Daniel.
"I know a Natalia Ferretti, I went out with her about eighteen years ago." Daniel whispered back.
"Your father's name isn't on here, but we could find out."
"Your honour, Natalia Ferretti is the daughter of Primo Ferretti, the suspected mafia leader."
"We'll try our best. Carry on."
"Paige, which government organisations have you hacked into?"
"The first one was the Chicago police department, I wiped my criminal record from hacking into television studios and making them play the programmes I wanted to watch. They were showing re-runs of MASH for about a week. The next one I did was the PAS department in the FBI. PAS standing for Purple Animal Scares, that was funny, a farmer's prize cow gave birth to a purple calf, very strange. I hacked into the SGC and read all the personnel files and mission reports, which were kind of weirder than the purple cows. I've done the Pentagon and the Magic Roundabout, did you know that they use children's programmes to post coded messages?"
"Well, that is quite a lot you've admitted to."
"I swore on the bible, what do you expect?"
"At least you're honest. What possessed you to hack into the NID and search for files on Kinsey?"
"The publicity. I've never been in the paper before."
"Paige."
"I was being paid, actually I wasn't but this guy I know was."
"Who was this guy?"
"I don't know, we never saw him or even new his real name, we called him Santa and got the messages from the Teletubbies Christmas site."
Sam smiled; the government were going to be all over mentions of Santa for at least the next few years.
"Do you know who you were employed by?"
"Rudolph I think."
"Stop playing games with me."
"I honestly don't know." She said crossing her fingers out of sight.
"You must have had help getting into the building?"
"Yes, let me see, there was Pugh, Pugh, Barney Magoe, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grubb."
The prosecution glared at the girl.
"Honestly, they called themselves that! I don't know their real names."
"Would you please explain exactly what happened and how you got into the NID building?"
"Well, it was pretty simple; I waited for Pugh, or the other Pugh, I'm not sure which one, to set up a loop in the security cameras before going to the next one. I got in through the fire exit at the back of the building, climbed the stairs to the fifth floor and found one of the computer terminals. Oh, Grubb called the security man's phone so I could get past him. I burned the hard drive after I had found the information and e-mailed it to everyone."
"Then you got caught."
"Yep."
"No more questions your honour."
The prosecution sat down and the defence took the stand.
"Paige, have you ever been to see a psychologist?"
"Yeah, once, the school sent me after I bit one of the boys in my class. I was six; the shrink said I wasn't getting enough attention so I was creating some for myself. He started spouting a load of Freud quotes and I lost interest so I stole his lighter and set fire to his chair."
"Right..."
"I was a kid, kid's do stuff like that."
"You are still a 'kid', your honour I propose that Paige sees a child psychologist before we continue the hearing, she obviously has issues."
"I'm not going to see a shrink, let alone a kid shrink!" She shouted.
"Court is adjourned until Miss Jones has been psychologically evaluated by Dr. McKenzie and her mother is contacted. We will continue at 12pm tomorrow afternoon."
"Why McKenzie?" Jack asked as Paige was escorted out.
"He's the only one with high enough clearance." Sam answered.
---------------
Natalia Ferretti paced the hall outside the small room where Paige was being psychoanalysed; her father was sitting in a leather seat watching her.
"Natalia, you're making me dizzy." He patted the chair next to him. "Sit down, walking in circles won't make any difference."
"You're not angry with me are you?" She whispered.
"No, I'm not angry with you, the lowlife scumbag who got you into this mess in the first place, yes, but not you." He put a tanned hand on her knee. "It explains where you were for a year anyway."
"What if she doesn't like me? What if she blames me for..." She was cut off.
"Natalia, she'll love you, what's not to love?" He cupped her tearstained face in his gigantic hands. "Don't worry."
The door opened and Dr. McKenzie walked out.
"Miss Ferretti, I think Paige is ready to see you now. Mr Ferretti, you should probably wait out here." He said nervously.
The Italian waved his arm and let his daughter go in.
The psychologist moved into the room and the judge pulled a chair out for Natalia, she ignored him and went to her daughter.
"You look like your father." She sobbed. "You are so pretty."
"Miss Ferretti, would you take a seat?" The judge asked.
She complied but never took her eyes off Paige.
"I'm sorry, I had no other choice but to leave you. I hope you understand."
"What happened?" Paige took the crying woman's hand.
"My father didn't approve of my boyfriend, he said he wasn't Italian enough. I kept seeing him until I got pregnant. I didn't know what to do so I ran away, away from him, away from my father. I ended up in Chicago with old school friends, the Jones', when I had you and went back to my family they took you in. I'm sorry for what I have put you through, I knew that they were both being promoted, but I had no idea that they would neglect you like that."
She paused and wiped her eyes.
"I guess I never really expected to see you again, but I'm glad I have, you are so beautiful."
"Who's my father?" Paige said with tears in her eyes.
"He was a brilliant man, so caring and passionate. He was very clever, and loved his work. I haven't seen him in seventeen years. His name was Dr. Daniel Jackson."
"What?" Paige said in disbelief. "No way, there has to be some mistake."
"How do you know Dr. Jackson Paige?" Asked the judge.
"I, uh, read his file." She lied, okay so she had read it but still.
"I think we should tell Daniel." Said McKenzie.
Natalia sniffed. "What about my father?"
"We should tell him too."
"Not together, my father will kill him."
"Okay," The judge opened the door. "Mr Ferretti, you can come in now."
The man walked in and studied his granddaughter for a moment. He walked up to her and gave her a kiss on each cheek.
"Get used to it kid, you're Italian." He smiled. "You are pretty like your mother. That archaeologists the father isn't he?"
"Yes father."
"Never mind, she is still a Ferretti." He clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't speak much do you?"
"Well, if you've just met your real mother and found out who your father is you wouldn't be very conversational."
Primo smiled. "I stand corrected."
------------------
Daniel paced the hall in a similar manner to Natalia had earlier.
"Daniel, would you stop with the pacing? You're giving me a headache." Jack said from one of the leather seats. Sam was in the other and Teal'c was standing next to Jack.
"Sorry. Why do they want me?" He asked no one in particular. "Why can't I go in yet?"
"Daniel, calm down. They probably want to talk to you because Natalia mentioned you or something."
"You're right." He said leaning on the opposite wall and sliding down till he was sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Oh my God." Jack whispered as the cogs turned in his head. "Daniel, do you know that Paige sits in that exact same position when she's trying to think?"
"So what, lots of people sit like this."
"Yes, but she runs her hands through her hair just like you do and she looks like you."
"What are you saying?"
"You think Daniel's her father?" Sam asked.
"I can't be, I mean I haven't seen Natalia for ages."
"Danny, you said it yourself, seventeen/eighteen years. Paige is seventeen."
Daniel sat staring at the floor until the door opened and Primo Ferretti walked out, then he stared at the man and tried to make himself as small as possible.
"Daniel." He nodded and left.
"He's not mad, she can't be mine. If she was I'd be dead by now."
"Daniel, no matter how many bad things you hear about the Mafia, they aren't all true. The Italian's love children and grandchildren, he's probably pleased with you."
"Thanks Jack, but back to reality." He said sarcastically.
Natalia opened the door and walked out. Her face was red and blotchy from crying, she smiled at Daniel then walked down the corridor after her father.
Paige came out next with her two guards; her face was also blotchy from crying. She smiled at SG1 and sat down on the floor next to Daniel. The rest of the team and the two guards backed away to give them some space.
"Daniel, you're my..." She started.
"I know, looks like I'll be seeing more of you then?"
"I guess. Look I don't expect anything from you, you know."
"Hey, you're stuck with me now. We have to make up for lost time." He smiled.
"Oh, great!" She grinned sarcastically and put her head on his chest. "So, how are you taking this Dad?"
"Quite well, I think." He put his arm around her shoulders. "How about you?"
"It's weird, I thought I'd hate my parents for leaving me, but I'm not mad. I guess I'll have to get used to having people who care about me, not just my hacking skills."
"You know I'll always be there for you, and if you get sick of me you can talk to the others, my family is your family."
"It's 'mi casa es tu casa' Daniel, I mean Dad."
"Don't worry, call me what you feel best with. As long as it's not insulting!"
"Would I do a thing like that?"
"Yes."
"Okay, bad example." Fiddled with a button on his shirt. "What was it like being dead?"
"Honestly, I don't remember. I wasn't exactly dead, just ascended."
"Oh, I think they want us." She said pointing to the others. "I'm special, I have an entourage!"
"Yeah, not the groupies I'd pick though."
"Nah, they're too old." She stood up and pulled her newly found dad up as well.
They walked up to the group of people and went their separate ways.
----------------------------
Jack had somehow managed to acquire the daily paper which he was reading while they waited for Paige to be brought in. The headline read:
KINSEY FOUND GUILTY Teenager still to be charged.
"So Daniel, how are you taking this?" Sam asked.
"It's kind of weird, an hour ago I was just worried what would happen to her if she went to the young offenders' institution but now I'm worried about what happens after that." He shrugged. "I guess I want to be a father at last, you know?"
"Yeah," Jack agreed. "You'd make a great dad."
Paige was brought in without the handcuffs this time, still with her entourage. The judge entered soon afterwards.
"Court is back in session."
"The accused has been psychologically evaluated by Dr. McKenzie and has met her natural parents. I ask that everyone refrain from mentioning anything that is classified in this session. Dr. would you like to take the stand?"
The psychologist rose and addressed the judge.
"Your honour, Paige Jones puts on an act, she appears strong and confident in her actions but inside she is insecure and scared. Her criminal past times are her way of escaping the disappointment and neglect of her adoptive parents, she feels that she is incapable of doing anything else with her life. Before she met her mother, she was afraid of how her mother would react to her and what she had done." He paused and looked at the girl who was sulking. "What Paige needs now is a normalish life with one of her parents, a young offenders' institution would only make her more insecure and likely to resort to her criminal past, a foster home is likely to have the same effect. My opinion is that you use Paige's skills along side the government so that she doesn't work against us."
"Thank you," The judge said. "Natalia Ferretti, would you please take the stand?"
She walked up and sat down on the chair.
"Miss Ferretti, you are Paige's mother. You will not be asked about why you gave up Paige because I know that it is distressing, I will however say that it was the best solution for your situation at the time. Due to your family situation which cannot be proven I know, but could effect Paige, you will not gain custody of your daughter."
She nodded and went back to her previous seat. Daniel was called to the stand.
"Dr. Daniel Jackson, archaeologist, linguist and many more things, you are a civilian consultant for the air force also the father of Paige. Would you be willing to take Paige to live with you?"
"Yes, I would."
"To look after her and make sure she doesn't so anything illegal?"
"I would try my best."
"That's all we are asking. You may take your seat."
"Paige I hereby find you guilty of all charges, you will serve ten years working for top secret organisations within the air force, during this time you will be called upon to advise and do what you are told. You will live with your natural father because he has the highest security clearance. You will be permitted to visit your mother and her family as long as you are supervised. Do I make my self clear?"
"Crystal." She smiled sweetly.
"Dr. Jackson, if at any time you feel that you can't take it anymore you can send her to live on the base she would be working at, she could live there."
"Yay." She whispered sarcastically.
"Your adoptive parents will be tried at a later date. Case closed." The judge stood and walked out.
Paige smiled at her two guards and walked towards Daniel.
"So, can I paint my room?"
"It depends what colour." Daniel smiled and hugged his daughter. "This is going to take some getting used to!"
"Oh yeah." She grinned back.
"Hey Paige," Jack put his hand on her shoulder. "You ever met the President?"
"No." She said as she was steered through the crowd of people who looked at her as she passed.
"Paige!" The President cried as he saw her. "So nice to meet you at last. Loved the e-mail by the way."
"Thanks, I think." She smiled and shook his out stretched hand. "Nice to meet you too."
"It looks like you'll have four parents in Cheyenne?" He motioned to SG1 as they were chatting to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and other important looking people.
"Yeah, not including George and Janet." She looked at her new family then met her mother's eyes. "Excuse me Mr President."
"Sure kid."
She walked over to her mother. "I'll see you soon right?"
"Anytime you like." She smiled and hugged her daughter. "Phone, e-mail, fax, write a letter. What ever, just keep in contact."
"I will." Daniel came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders.
"Hey Natty."
"Hi Danny."
"I'll bring her over to see you soon."
"Thanks, I look forward to it. Don't worry about my father, he loves her and has forgiven you."
"If I'd have known..."
"I know, you couldn't, not then."
"I understand. Well take care of yourself."
"You too, take care of my baby."
"You can count on it." He gave her a small smile and left with Paige.
-------------------
"This is my house, our house." Daniel corrected himself as he unlocked the front door. "You want a drink?"
"Yeah, what you got?" Paige asked following him into the kitchen, stopping to look at pictures on the walls and some artefacts on his shelves.
"Coffee mainly," He glanced up just in time to see her pull a face. "I guess we should go shopping."
"Who are they?" She asked picking up a photograph.
"My parents, they died when I was little." He smiled and put it back. "So do you want the grand tour?"
"Sure."
"Okay, this is the kitchen obviously," He led her through to the front room. "Here we have a TV and video player, a radio, couch, blah, blah. If it looks like it might brake, don't touch it." He said as she looked at a small Egyptian statue.
"You have a lot of junk."
"Well I'll have to sort out a lot of stuff to make room for you so it'll probably be packed into storage or something." He said. "Good thing really, every time Jack comes over he manages to brake at least one of my artefacts. So, upstairs we have my room, the bathroom and this will be your room."
He pushed open the door; the room was white washed with an old carpet. There was a bed by the window and lots of crates full of Daniel's work.
"Okay so it'll need decorating and clearing out but we can sort something out for tonight." He pulled some crates out of the way so they could stand in the centre of the room.
"It's great. Thanks Daniel, or should I call you dad?"
"What ever you feel comfortable with."
"Okay. What time is dinner?"
"Oh yeah, sorry, I forget sometimes. What time is it now?" He looked at his watch. "Six, I better order something then. You want Pizza or Chinese?"
"Pizza." She smiled and followed her slightly eccentric father down the stairs.
-----------
"Pizza was good." Paige said finishing the last slice.
They were watching an old film on the TV, the pizza boxes were on the floor and they had their drinks in their hands.
"You know, this won't be an reoccurring event, the beer I mean." He said putting his bottle on the floor.
"Yeah, I know. The whole underage thing."
"That and I don't normally have beer in my fridge, they were left over from one of Jack's little visits." He sat up in the chair and turned the television off. "Paige I want to talk to you, novice father to unruly daughter."
"Shoot." She said sitting up.
"Well, um, this is kind of stupid but if you have any girl problems, uh, I wouldn't know how to..."
"Don't worry, I'll talk to Janet, she's the doctor right? Or Sam, and don't worry about 'the talk', I know everything I need to know. Oh and by the way just for the record, I am still a virgin."
"O-kay." He said uncomfortably.
"Sorry, I have a tendency to spout crap that no one needs to hear." She shrugged. "Well, I'm glad we had that talk, see you in the morning."
Daniel watched her head towards the stairs; he certainly hadn't expected her to admit to anything like that. He picked up the rest of his beer and downed it before the phone rang.
"Hello, Jackson residence." He answered it.
"Hey Daniel."
"Hey Janet."
"How is she?"
"Fine, I think."
"She's a teenager, you'll get used to her."
"Thanks, look Jan, um, if she, you know, has any problems or stuff, I mean girl stuff, would you..."
"Yes Daniel, I'll talk to her." She laughed. "Anyway, I was thinking maybe we could do something tomorrow, us and the teenagers."
"That sounds great, what did you have in mind?"
"Well, you said something about decorating her room last time we spoke, so I thought that we'd hit the town, see a movie or something, then go and get some paint to start with."
"You sure Cassie would want to do that?"
"She's the one who came up with the idea. She wants to meet Paige."
"Alright then, pick you two up at ten?"
"It's a date, I mean it's a deal."
"It could be a date." Daniel said meekly.
"Daniel, I think that your daughter has been messing with your brain. A date it is."
"See you Janet."
"Bye." They both hung up.
Smiling to himself, Daniel cleared up the mess they had made then went upstairs.
He knocked on Paige's door.
"Yeah."
"Find everything okay?" He said stepping into her room.
"Yep, everything is funkydory." She smiled and sat on her bed.
"Janet just called, she asked if we wanted to go to town tomorrow with her and Cassie to see a movie and get your paint."
"Sounds great. What time?"
"Ten, we're picking them up."
"Okay, you'll have to wake me up though. I don't do mornings."
"Yeah, Jack told me." He grinned. "Good night, sleep well."
"Good night Dad." She smiled and climbed under the sheets.
Daniel closed the door and went to get ready for bed.
-----------
Daniel woke up half way through the night, he had no idea why he had woken up until he heard whimpering coming from Paige's room. He slowly got to his feet and walked to her door.
"Paige." He said. "Are you okay?"
When he got no reply he opened her door and walked to her bed.
"Paige?" He sat on the side of her bed and stroked the hair from her face. She was crying in her sleep and thrashing around. "Paige it's just a nightmare, nothings wrong." He soothed.
It must have worked because she soon quietened down; she rolled over and gripped Daniel's hand in hers. He smiled and kissed her forehead before untangling his hand from hers and leaving her to sleep.
---------------
The next morning Daniel walked into her room and opened the curtains.
"Wakey, wakey, rise and shine." He smiled and stole her pillows from under her head.
"Go away." She grunted form under the covers.
"Up, we have a film to see and some paint to get." He walked out of the room calling behind him. "Breakfast is in ten minutes."
"It's too early!" She yelled after him.
-------------
They had picked Janet and Cassie up a little late, but earlier than they would have if Daniel had been going on his own-he'd be late for his own funeral.
"So guys what do you want to see?" Daniel asked as they stood outside the cinema.
"Scooby Doo 2."
"The Cat in the Hat." They said in unison.
"It amazes me that two seventeen year olds would want to watch two children's films." Daniel said.
"Coming from the man that loves Harry Potter." Janet smiled at him.
"I like his glasses." He smiled back.
Meanwhile Cassie and Paige were whispering to each other.
"We have come to a decision." Cassie said.
"We'll go and see a film and you can go and see whatever you like." Paige added.
"What are you going to see?" Janet asked.
"Big Fish."
"Fine by me, Daniel?"
"Sure, just don't corrupt Cassie, Cassie don't corrupt Paige." Daniel teased.
"What ever, just give us some money and we'll get out of your hair. " Paige grinned.
The adults reluctantly handed over the money.
"Just meet us here at 12 for lunch okay?"
"Yes Mom." Both girls said and ran into the cinema.
"So Miss Fraiser, what would you like to see?" Daniel held his arm out for her.
"Why Mr Jackson, you are quite the gentleman." She took his arm and grinned. "I honestly don't mind."
"Well we could see Starsky and Hutch and relive the 70's or we could see Mona Lisa Smiles."
"I think I'll go with Mona Lisa Smiles." They both walked arm in arm into the cinema.
---------------
"Jan, does Cassie still get nightmares?" Daniel asked as they waited for the teenagers out side the cinema.
"Only every now and then, why?"
"Well, Paige had one last night, I don't know what it was about but this morning she denied having it."
"Did she wake up?"
"No, I went in to see if she was alright, but she didn't wake up."
"I wouldn't worry about it, even adults get the occasional nightmare. If it keeps happening you should think about talking to her about seeing a psychologist, that'll get the truth out of her."
"Thanks, I just don't know how to deal with a teenager, let alone a girl."
"Well, anytime you feel like a break, just give me a call and I'll get Cassie to drop by. They seem to be getting along really well."
"Yeah." He smiled at Janet. "You could come over with Cassie, I mean to talk. Adult to adult."
She put her hand in his. "Or we could send the girls to go and bug Jack." She grinned evilly.
"Oh, yeah anytime." He looked up to see their two girls coming towards them, both had noticed their parents holding hands and were whispering to each other.
"Why do they make me feel paranoid?" Janet whispered to Daniel.
"I know what you mean, it's a conspiracy."
"Hey guys, good film?"
"Yep, how was yours?" Cassie asked.
"Or didn't you see to much of it?" Paige raised her eyebrows with a glint in her eye.
"So you want grey walls and bars on the window? I think we can manage that." Daniel glared back.
"Love you." Paige put on her innocent little girl smile.
"Sure you do, come on I'm starved." Daniel pulled Paige and Cassie across the road to a small diner leaving Janet to bring up the rear.
-------------------------
"Did you enjoy?" Daniel asked once they had dropped Janet and Cassie off at their house.
"Yep, they're great."
"Good, I'm glad you enjoyed."
"So we painting my room tomorrow?"
"You bet!" He pulled into his drive way. "So you hungry?"
"Always."
"Chinese?"
"Sure."
--------------------------
One month later. -Okay so I won't get it all done if it ain't one month in!
"Paige." Jack walked into her little computer room on base.
"Yeah," She said not looking up from her screen. "What do you want?"
"About your friend Nate and his...love of money." He said putting the bill down on the table.
The girl looked across at it and winced. "Sorry, look I'm sure Hammond and Sam and Danny would be willing to help you out there, but I have no money. You should know that, I scrounge off you all the time!"
"True, I was just wondering if you could talk to him, get him to lower the price?" He put on his I-am-an-adorable-little-puppy-please-do-what-I-say look.
"Look Jack that look may work with Sam, but I am not madly in love with you!" She logged out of the computer and walked out of the room.
Jack ran to catch up with her two seconds later. "What do you mean madly in love with me?"
"It does what it says on the tin!" She said quickening her pace.
"Carter's not...where did you hear...did Janet say..."
"Whoa Jack!" She said and stopped. "Is this Question Time?"
"But..."
"Jeez, you sound like a geeky fifteen year old about his first crush on a cheerleader." She started walking again. "Hurry up!" She called back at him. "Inspection time, remember?"
"What? Oh yeah." He said looking down at his uniform, bemused.
They quickly made it to the gate room where all the other teams were standing waiting and talking. Jack and Paige rushed in as Daniel came running up behind them with a notebook in his hand.
"Uh Danny boy, the book?"
"Oh, yeah. Right, um where should I put it?" He looked around at the full room. Finally Paige took it off him and shoved it into the back off his trousers and under his t-shirt. "Thanks."
"Sometimes I feel like your mother."
"Well sometimes I feel like your father!" He snapped back.
"Ah, the regular sound of family-banter in the morning!" Jack sighed and stretched.
"Hey guys!" Sam called as she walked up to them, Teal'c following closely behind.
"Hey Sam!" The two Jackson's smiled.
"Morning Major." Jack smiled with a twinkle in his eye.
"Colonel." She smiled back with a similar twinkle.
"Get a room!" Paige muttered under her breath.
The gate room doors started to open and the base personnel snapped to attention-okay the air force personnel snapped, the civilians just stood there quietly.
General Hammond, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the head honcho of the NID walked into the room.
"At ease." Hammond ordered and the room relaxed slightly.
The three men walked to the centre of the room and up onto the metal ramp. Scanning the room, Hammond shot a disapproving look at Paige who was standing with her hands in her jeans pockets and looking very bored, no matter what anyone said, she wouldn't wear anything suitable for on the base.
There was a brief inspection of all the SG teams together then they were dismissed to go and do their normal work.
"So Paige, want to go and visit your friend?" Jack asked walking beside her.
"Sure, hey you still have that other equipment don't you?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Well if you give it back your bill will be a lot less."
"Good point." He started to walk towards his office. "Meet me topside in ten."
-------------------------
Outside Nate's garage.
Paige knocked out the theme from Mission Impossible like the last time they were there. The door swung open and Nate pocked his head out.
"Paige!" He cried running forward to spin her around. "You're alive!"
"Okay, you can put me down now." She said dangling in the air.
"Sorry," He dropped her to her feet. "You did the job?" He asked eyeing Jack in his uniform.
"Yep, got busted and all. Ten years playing lackey for the air force, and I found my real parents." They walked into his garage.
"Wow, that is wow isn't it?"
"Oh yeah, Natalia Ferretti and Daniel who was with me last time."
"The guy with the glasses?"
"Yep."
"That is some sweet shit, Natalia Ferretti, man I have to meet your momma." He sighed. "So you here for the money?"
"Yeah, we managed to save some junk but we also managed to lose some." She handed over the bag Jack had kept with the equipment in.
"You saved most of it then?" He emptied the contents out onto a workbench.
"Yeah, you cutting the bill?"
"Sure," He grabbed the piece of paper from her hand and crossed out the salvaged items before handing it back. "That better?"
Jack took the paper and looked it over. "Yeah." He handed over the cash then left leaving Paige to say goodbye.
"So how is family life?"
"Good, better than before anyway. We have the odd argument but otherwise it's fine."
"Have you told him?"
"Told him what?"
"About your nightmares?"
"No, he asked me after the first night, but he's left it alone now."
"You'll have to tell him girl."
"I will, eventually."
"The sooner the better, does anyone else know?"
"Janet, she's the doctor on the base. Cassie, her daughter knows."
"Don't worry 'bout it. See you soon?"
"Maybe, take care." She said as she walked out of the garage.
"Look after your self!" He yelled after her.
Jack was waiting on the street for her.
"Why does everyone tell me to take care? I'm not incompetent!"
"You're wild, people don't want you to get hurt or in trouble." He said.
"It was a rhetorical question. I'm not that wild, I can be good." She said trying to persuade herself more than anything.
"Yeah, because your last night out with Cassie was proof of that." He grinned sarcastically.
"Well Janet and Daniel weren't meant to find out." She huffed.
"Well if you hadn't answered your phone to your father at eleven o'clock in the middle of a very load club when you were supposed to be sleeping over Emma's house, you wouldn't have been." He said getting into his car.
"Least he didn't phone Emma's mom and get the rest of them in trouble. They would have killed me! Cassie in a mood is bad enough, but all four of them I could not handle." She said rubbing her thumb over her right side.
"You know what I've noticed in the last month? You rub your side a lot."
"Habit." She said too quickly. "One of those weird and wonderful things that yours truley does when thinking; is nervous or is annoyed."
"Thank you for that little insight into your mind."
"Shut up and drive." She laughed.
-----------------------------
More time has passed-maybe a month.
"You all packed?" Daniel shouted up the stairs.
"Yeah!" Paige walked onto the landing dragging her suitcase.
"What have you got in there?" He ran up to help her. "It ways a ton!"
"I didn't unpack from visiting Natalia." She said leaving him to take the case.
"So you just stuffed a load of things on top?"
"Yeah."
Daniel shook his head and dragged the case down the stairs and out to the car.
"Come on, we're going to be late." He yelled as she went back up to her room for something.
She sprinted back to the car with a camera in her hands. "Chill, you've never been this upset about being late before!"
"Well we have to pick up Janet and Cassie and it's a long drive to Jack's cabin."
"Yeah, yeah, just go." She said strapping herself in. (Warning-Always wear a seatbelt!)
-----------------
Jack's cabin-I have no idea where it is exactly!
Daniel pulled up beside the rest of the cars parked along the side of the cabin.
"We're last, why am I always last?" Daniel asked.
"It's a skill." Cassie assured him.
"You have perfected the art of being fashionably late!" Joked Paige getting out of the car and looking around at the scenery. "Wow, this place is cool."
Jack came out of the cabin with a group of followers.
"Hey guys, good trip?"
"Yeah, Daniel drives like an old lady!" Cassie said joining them.
"Hey Jack!" Daniel said ignoring Cassie's comment.
"Hey Danny boy, Doc."
"Hello Colonel. This place is beautiful." Janet said looking at the lake.
"To think that none of you ever wanted to come fishing with me!"
"We're fishing? I don't fish, ever!" Paige said with disbelief written all over her face.
"Fishing with all you lot here? Not in this life time, you'd scare all the fish away!"
Teal'c walked up and bowed his head at the group. "There are no fish to scare away O'Neill."
"Just because you have never seen a fish, it doesn't mean that there aren't any!"
"Sure General." George Hammond said.
"We believe you Jack." Jacob joined in.
"Hey, where's Sam?" Cassie asked.
"She's teaching Bra'tac and Ry'ac the finer points of putting up a two man tent." Jacob smiled.
"Speaking of which, we should probably help." Jack said grabbing two suitcases from the boot of Daniel's car. "You two are in the spare room." He said to Paige and Cassie. "You two have the main bedroom." He said to Daniel and Janet.
"So the rest of you are willing to sleep in the tents?" Janet asked.
"Yep, we all agreed. Well, the Jaffa are sleeping in the four man tent, Jacob and George are sharing the two man tent so Carter's sharing with me."
"Cool, um, Teal'c, what's that smell?" Paige asked.
"Insect repellent." He replied.
"Nice." She said sarcastically and followed Jack into the cabin to unpack.
"Two weeks here, can't be bad." Janet said as she helped Daniel with their luggage.
"Well, we deserved some time off. Anyway, with Jack running the SGC now we could be coming here a lot more."
"Yeah, hey, you know that bet Jacob and George are running?"
"Sure, I am aiming to make a bit on that."
"Well, do you think now would be a good time to change it, with the current situation and everything?" He said raising his eyebrows.
"I'll have a word with George." She said and dragged her case to the cabin.
------------------
"Okay, while we are here no one is allowed to call anyone by their rank or titles or surnames. Only first names." Jack said. "Is that clear?"
"Sir, yes Sir!" Answered half of the group.
The three tents had been put up and everyone had unpacked. It was a very hot day and people (and Jaffa/Tok'ra) needed cooling down.
"So who's for a swim in the lake?" Jack asked everyone as they sat around the table drinking beers and orange juice (not in the same glass for obvious reasons!).
Everyone agreed that a swim in the lake and lounging around would be a good idea.
"Hey, where's Paige?" Sam asked as they were setting up towels on the grass.
"I'll go find her." Offered Cassie and ran into the cabin to look for her friend.
Paige was sitting on her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs.
"What's up Paige?"
"I can't do it Cass." She said quietly. "I thought it would be alright, but it's not. Just being near it is hard enough, but to think that you're all going to be swimming in there...it scares me."
"It's okay," She said sitting next to her friend and wrapping an arm around her. "Jack has been swimming in that lake since he was a little boy, there's nothing in there."
"I know that, the rational part of my brain is saying that if there's no fish then nothing would be able to survive in there. But the irrational part of my brain is saying that there could be something in there, something horrible. I can't get the images out of my head."
"Look, you stay in here and do something, I'll tell them you don't feel too well."
"Thanks Cassie, I've never really talked about this to anyone."
"It's understandable, I mean, it only happened three years ago. It'll just take time." She smiled and left the room.
"Paige isn't feeling too good so she's having a lie down." Cassie told Sam.
"Does she want anything?" Janet asked.
"No, she said she'd be fine." She made eye contact with her mother.
"Okay." Janet went over to talk to Daniel.
----------
A knock on the door startled Paige. She pushed down her top and turned towards the door.
"Come in." She called.
Her father walked in. "Hey, Janet said you weren't feeling well."
"I'm okay, I just..." She stopped. "Dad, I need to tell you something. Well, show you something." She pulled up her baggy t-shirt to reveal a mass of scars covering her stomach and back.
"What happened?" He asked. "How...when?" "Three years ago, my parents took me on a business trip with them. There was a beach there and lots of people were surfing, so I rented out a surfboard and went out everyday. On the fourth day I was attacked by a great white shark, taken to hospital and stitched up."
"Oh my God." Daniel whispered.
"Apparently sharks can't see too good, so they think that people on surf boards look like big fat seals." She laughed.
"You must have been so scared."
"Still have nightmares, I suppose I never actually got over it. I can't go near large amounts of deep water because I think something will happen." She started to cry. "I thought I could deal with a lake with all you guys, but I can't. I keep thinking...oh I don't know, it's stupid I know, but I can't help it."
Daniel walked over to her and pulled her into his embrace. "It's okay. It's alright to cry, especially over something like this." He stroked her back. "Don't worry."
She pulled away. "You've got a wet t-shirt now and you haven't even been for a swim yet!" She laughed.
"So you beat Jack to it, he was threatening to throw me in before I got changed, but there's not much point now." He joked.
"One nil to me."
"Look Paige," He said seriously. "You could have told me sooner, I know you never told your other parents anything but you can tell me everything. Absolutely anything."
"Thanks, just don't tell anyone else. Cassie and Janet know already, but no one else okay?"
"If you try and make an effort to at least sit outside, then I won't tell anyone. Deal?"
Paige thought it over for a while. "I'll try."
"Good, I'm going to go and have a swim, in a lake with no life in it what so ever. You come out when you're ready."
"Okay, thanks Daniel."
"Anytime." He said closing the door behind him.
Half an hour later he smiled as he saw his daughter walk out of the cabin and sit with her back up against it. He waded over to the side of the lake and pulled himself out, he walked over to his towel next to where Janet and Sam were sun bathing.
"She's out." He whispered to Janet.
"Really?" She said sitting up.
"Yep."
"How did you manage that?"
"Skill." He grinned.
"What are you on about?" Sam said sitting up.
"It doesn't matter." Janet said and lay back down again.
Daniel shrugged at Sam who lay back down next to Janet. Daniel shook his head and waved to Paige, she waved back. Daniel ran back to the lake and dive bombed in splashing Cassie and Ry'ac who were having a race to the centre.
Sam was dozing off when she felt freezing coldwater splash onto her stomach. Sitting up screaming, she could see Jack with a water pistol laughing his head off.
"That's it!" She yelled and chased him halfway around the lake.
Jack managed to wrestle Sam to the ground, pick her up and throw her into the lake. Everyone was laughing, including Teal'c and Bra'tac who were wearing swimming shorts and t-shirts supplied by Jack, and were swimming back to the edge of the lake to challenge George and Jacob to a diving competition.
When Sam surfaced she was covered in algae, she glared at Jack. Her CO offered her his hand to help her out of the water. She accepted his hand but pulled him in instead.
"You deserved that Jonathan O'Neill." She said swimming away from him.
"Maybe I did, but I'm going to beat you to the shower!" He yelled and started to swim to the other end of the lake. Closely followed by Sam.
Sam managed to get to the cabin first and locked him out.
"Play fair Sam!" He shouted through the glass.
"No!" She yelled and ran to the bathroom to get the algae off her.
--------------
The sun had set hours before and everyone was sitting around a small bonfire that Teal'c and his son had made. Jack was clearing away the paper-plates left over from the barbeque and getting more drinks for everyone.
Paige and Sam were sitting on one of those swinging seats for three, well Sam was sitting, Paige was fast asleep taking up the rest of the room that was vacated moments before by Jack.
"Hey!" Jack cried as he went back to sit down. "Daniel can't you control your daughter?"
"Sorry Jack, it's been a long day." He pointed at Cassie the other side of Janet who was nodding off as well.
"Cassie, it's time for bed." Jack said.
"No," She opened her eyes. "I want to stay out here."
"Cassie." Janet warned.
"Okay, good night everyone." She sighed and made her way to the cabin. Daniel followed her with Paige asleep in his arms.
Jack sat down next to Sam and handed her a beer. When Daniel got back she proposed a toast.
"To Georges retirement!" She held up her beer bottle.
"Way!!!" All parties, slightly tipsy agreed.
"To Jack's promotion!" Daniel called. "And the down fall of the SGC in the near distant future!"
"Way!!!"
"Hey, I'm not that bad."
"Sure you're not Jack." Jacob grinned.
-----------
Everyone had gone to bed and were asleep. Jack rolled over to find that something was wrong-Sam was gone; he was alone in the tent. Silently he opened the tent door and creeped out.
He saw a silhouette sitting on the small wooden dock, dangling their legs in the water. The moon reflected off the persons golden hair. He walked over silently and sat next to her.
"It's beautiful." Sam whispered still looking out at the lake.
"It is. I bet you wished you'd come fishing with me now." He smiled at her.
"I always wish I could go fishing with you." She turned her head to look at him.
"Why can't you?"
"You know as well as I do." She smiled and looked back out at the shimmering water and the ripples her feet were making.
"There's nothing stopping two friends going fishing together."
"Two male friends maybe..." She trailed off. "Remember when Daniel had appendicitis and you asked me? Well I was going to say yes."
"Why didn't you?"
She looked into his eyes. "Because I love you and coming here with you alone would kill me because I knew that nothing could ever happen. Not going at all would mean I could bury myself in work and forget about you, not that that ever worked." Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Sam," He stroked her cheek expecting her to shy away, but she didn't. "I love you too, more than you will ever know. It kills me everyday to wake up on my own without you, to go to work and you'll be there and there's nothing I can do to right the situation."
He moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders. They sat there in silence, neither one knowing what to say.
"I wish...I wish that one day we could be together but I don't see how." Sam said.
Jack turned her head slowly and kissed her, not fast or passionately but savouring every last moment of it.
"That's a promise," He said pulling away. "A promise that when I retire or the rules change, when we defeat the Goa'uld that I am yours and only yours."
Sam pulled him back into the kiss. "That's my promise to you, that there will never be anyone else."
She rested her head in the crock of his shoulder and they sat there, in that position until the sun came up. Okay so they were slumped together asleep, but they stayed there all night.
Jack and Sam slept through Breakfast in that position, they even slept through the rest of Jack's guests setting up the chairs behind them.
Jack was the first one to wake up, he stretched and yawned and woke Sam up quietly.
They were blissfully unaware of their audience until Jacob coughed. The pair spun around and stared at their friends.
"W...wha...?" Jack managed to stammer.
"We were just about to ask you the same thing." Janet said trying to quell the urge to grin.
"I...uh...we...um..." Sam started.
"Yeah...you see...it was...what I mean is..."
"Oh shut up both of you!" George ordered throwing a book at them.
Jack picked it up. "What's this?"
"Oh, just a little something we have put together for your promotion." Paige grinned.
"Dear Jack aka the General and Sam," Jack read. "Congratulations on the promotion, we have compiled a list of people and their views from the SGC and other friends, family, politicians etc... We hope you enjoy. From everyone."
"A list of what views?" Sam asked.
"Read and find out." Cassie urged.
Jack opened the book to the first page. It was full of names of the people they knew, it looked strangely like a petition. He turned the page to find a certificate:
This is to certify that the
President of the United States of America
Has agreed to the petition started by the members of the
USAF of the SGC
Allowing officers and Air Force personnel in special military bases where work is strictly classified leading to a difficult social life outside of their work to fraternize as long as they maintain strict professionalism in their work and do not let personal problems hinder their performance.
Jack reread the last paragraph again, not wanting to make a mistake. He dropped the book and pulled Sam into a hug, which turned into a kiss.
Everyone else was clapping and cheering. Hammond had managed to find a bottle of champagne and several glasses and was passing them around.
Jack looked into Sam's eyes and wiped a tear away. "Hang on." He grinned and walked up to Jacob.
"General Carter, do I have permission to ask for your daughters hand in marriage?"
"Jack, I have been waiting for you to ask her for six years, now you can have her you ask me first? Are you mad? Of course you can-I get $100 and you get my daughter, I think that's fair."
"You bet on us?" Sam asked shocked.
"Yeah, by the way could I borrow $10, I owe Manners." Paige asked Jack.
"Who?"
"The air man that stands at the entrance of Cheyenne Mountain and signs you in everyday. Honestly!" She huffed over to where Cassie was explaining to Ry'ac the complicated relationship Jack and Sam had before the regs were changed.
Epilogue-7 years later.
Jake stood next to his coach Matt waiting patiently as the other boys on his team got picked up by their parents. Matt put his hand on the little boys shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll drop you home if they don't turn up."
The little boy tilted his head to look up at Matt. "They said they'd be here."
"I know, maybe something came up." He didn't want the boy to feel that his parents had abandoned him again.
"Look, there they are!" He yelled pointing into the crowd.
A young brunette was walking towards them with a blonde girl on her shoulders and another little girl running alongside her. She put the little blonde girl back on the ground and carried on walking towards them.
"Hey Jake!" She smiled and ruffled the little boys hair. "You were amazing!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, Daddy said you hit better than Uncle Danny!" The little blonde girl said.
"I got it all on tape so your mom can see it when she gets out from hospital!" Paige smiled.
"Cool. Oh, Paige this is my coach Matt, he's single. This is my cousin Paige, she's single too." The boy giggled and ran up to the grey haired man that was walking their way with the rest of the family. "Dad!"
Paige turned to look Matt in the face. "Hi, we met before." She said nervously.
"Right, when I dropped Jake off."
"Yeah, well I'm sure I'll see more of you soon. I just got my licence so I'll be driving Jake to practice."
"Great, you could stay and watch some time."
"I like that." She smiled. "Um, about why no one came to pick Jake up. There was a family emergency, his mother and uncle were hurt badly in an accident and we, well, you know."
"I understand."
"I better get back to the rabble." She waved while walking towards her family. "Bye."
"Bye." He whispered watching her interact with the people around her.
-------------
Jack's house.
"Remember, this is her fist proper boyfriend for a while so play nice." Janet glared at Jack.
"What? I wouldn't do anything to embarrass or maim the boy in any way." He put on his most innocent looking face.
"What about Craig?" Daniel asked.
"I didn't like him."
"Just don't." Cassie warned.
They were all in Jack's back garden. He had had to move when Sam had had Grace, their little three-year-old cherub, their second child together. They now lived next door to Daniel and Janet with their three daughters, Cassie, Paige and Chloe.
Sam and Teal'c were sitting on deck chairs on the patio; both were recovering from their last mission and almost fatal accident. Daniel, Janet, Jack and Cassie were setting up the barbeque and food table. The children were playing with Cassie's fianc and their Uncle George in the sand pit.
---------------
"Don't worry, they don't bite hard." Paige grinned at Matt.
"From what I hear from Jake, his father scared your last boyfriend away." He said nervously walking next to her down the street.
"That's only because he didn't like him, look he'll love you. Honest."
"What do I say to a load of air force people?"
"Well talk to Jack about baseball, hockey, fishing. Talk about how good Jakes homerun was." She grabbed his hand and stopped. "Just be you."
He reached down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I'm only doing this for you."
"I know, and I love you for it." She smiled and pulled him up the path to the house and around the corner to the back yard. "Hey guys!"
"Hey Paige." Daniel walked towards her and smiled. "You must be Matt, we've heard a lot about you."
"Nothing bad I hope?" He took the man's out stretched hand and shook it.
"Would I do a thing like that?" She smiled innocently.
"Yes!" Replied most of the guests.
"But she didn't." Daniel reassured him.
"Anyway, this is my dad Daniel, this is my step-mom Janet and sister Cassie," She pointed them out. "This is Jack, avoid him."
"Hey!" He yelled. "I'm not as bad as they say I am."
"Those two playing in the sand are Cassie's fianc Greg, and George, there's Sam and Teal'c sitting on the deck chairs and these two." She said picking up the two three-year-olds. "Are trouble and trouble."
"Am not trouble." Said Chloe.
"Prove it."
"How?"
"Go and look after Uncle George and Greg in the sand pit. Make sure they don't misbehave."
"Okay." The two girls smiled and ran off leaving the adults laughing.
"Want a beer?" Jack asked Matt.
"Sure."
----------
A couple of hours later, Jack, Paige, Cassie, Matt, Greg, Jake, Daniel, Chloe and Grace were all playing a distorted version of baseball.
"Matt's nice." Sam said from her deck chair.
"He is indeed." Agreed Teal'c next to her.
"He's cute as well." Janet grinned lying on the grass.
"Well just be glad that Jack hasn't tried to kill him yet." Hammond said as Jack high-fived Matt. "She has his approval."
"Good, I really didn't like that last guy she went out with."
"Me neither." Sam agreed. "Well I think it's time for the munchkins bed time."
Paige walked up to grab a beer from the cooler, the two little girls following with big yawns.
"Okay you two," Jack said coming up from behind and lifting them into the air. "Say nighty night, it's off to the land of nod." He handed Chloe to Daniel who had just sprinted up to the group.
"G'd night everyone." Chloe said rubbing her eye with her fist.
After kissing everyone good night the girls and Jake were taken to bed, they were all sleeping in the O'Neill residence so the grown-ups could keep an eye or an ear out for them.
Daniel had plonked himself on the patio next to his wife, Sam had moved to be next to Jack letting Hammond take her chair, Cassie and Paige with their boyfriends were sitting on the grass across the yard watching the sun go down. (Warning-looking into direct sunlight will make you go blind, don't do it!!!)
"It's still kind of weird, I mean the whole alien thing." Matt said.
Cassie and Paige laughed.
"You'll get used to it." Greg said entwining his fingers with Cassandra's.
Across the yard the older adults were discussing their older children.
"They grow up so fast." Janet said.
"Some don't grow up." Sam said looking at Jack.
"What?"
"Nothing." She smiled and leaned into his embrace more. "I like Matt."
"He's good with kids."
"Indeed. I think that he would make a good husband for Paige." Teal'c agreed.
"Paige, settle down? My God, he's brain washed her!" Daniel said receiving a small slap from his wife.
"I think she has really matured, okay so she still is a bit wild and unpredictable doing things on the spur of the moment, but she's has grown up." Hammond said before taking a swig of his beer. "Cassie has as well."
"Yeah, just think, in four years time Paige will have left the air force and possibly be married and Cassie will be married and be in the air force." Sam said.
"We'll still have our babies." Janet smiled.
"They'll soon be leaving home."
"Sam, they're three years old, and six."
"Kids are leaving home younger know though Janet." Jack joined in winding up his friend and doctor.
"Really, if they are anything like their older cousins/sisters they will still be at home when they're 24!"
"Cassie's moved out already." Daniel said. "Paige won't be far behind."
The conversation ended as Paige walked up to get another beer.
"What?" She said looking from person to person who looked back. "You scare me when you're quiet!"
She turned to go back to the other group. "Oh yeah," She turned back to face her father. "Can you help me move into Matt's place sometime?"
"SEE! See?" Daniel turned to Janet.
"Whatever!" She said walking away muttering under her breath. "Weird man, very weird. I hope it's not genetic."
She went back to the smaller group and plonked two beers down in front of herself. "Oh yeah." She said passing one to Greg.
"I have to say that I like your family." Matt said causing Cassie and Paige to laugh again. "What?"
"Those weirdoes?" Cassie asked.
"They're weird!" Paige added. "If you love them you'll love my mom's family, she's in the Mafia don't you know?"
"How much have you two had?" Asked Jack coming up behind them.
"We haven't had enough till we are well and truly plastered." Paige said poking him in the leg.
Jack reached out and grabbed her beer and ran away.
"Hey!" She yelled and ran after him.
And so it was that Jack stole Paige's beer and drank it, Paige was not a happy camper and decided to empty the contents of Jake's water pistol over his head.
"A normal barbeque at the O'Neill residence." Daniel stated.
"Not yet, wait till Jack gets the hose out." Janet said.
"No, I think I'll go inside now and stay out of their way."
"I think I might join you." Sam, George, Teal'c, Janet and Daniel inconspicuously crept into the house followed shortly after by Cassie, Greg and Matt who was looking very confused until someone explained that this happens all the time.
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Dr Sarah Fraiser-Jackson
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