Rodney sat in the lab across from Radek working on the database, it was their bi-monthly ‘let’s see what we can find accidentally’ check and they usually came across at least one thing that could make an interesting mission.
“Sorry to interrupt, kids,” John appeared in the room turning to Rodney, “But you need to pack your toothbrush, head back to Earth.”
“I do?” Rodney asked him confused, “Why?”
“Carter needs help,” John told him.
Rodney smiled smugly, “With what?”
John smiled slightly as well, “Your sister.”
This sent a chill through Rodney and he bit his lip, “I’ll be ready to go once I’ve got my stuff together and spoken to Alisa.”
John nodded and watched him leave.
“Is something wrong?” Radek asked as John glanced at the computer.
John shrugged, “Who knows.”
-
Rodney finally found Alisa sitting in their quarters studying; her exams were due to start next week and she was working hard, determined to pass. Radek had the paper all ready, questions had been set by several of the scientists and Radek also had an independent scientist who was coming on the Daedalus to mark it so there could be no question of the validity of the results.
“Hey,” Alisa looked up realising he was there, frowning as he looked grim, “What’s wrong?”
“I have to go to Earth,” Rodney told her, “Carter asked for my help.”
Alisa snorted disdainfully, “And what does the great ‘Colonel Carthorse’ need your help for?”
Rodney knew he should scold her but he had his mind on other things, “It’s an experiment I proposed years ago, it wasn’t feasible at the time but we now have the technology to try it safely,” Rodney was improvising for all he was worth, “She needs me to go over the calculations since it was my idea originally. It means I won’t be here for your exams.”
Alisa let out a sigh of relief, “Thank God, I hate having you around at these times. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
Rodney smiled at her, “You’ve still to think up your project, Lissa. I want a complete proposal and everything.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she rolled her eyes, standing up she gave him a quick hug; “I’ll see you when you get back.”
Feeling horrible about lying to her, Rodney gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, “Good luck, you’ll be fine.”
With a quick smile back at his daughter, Rodney headed to the Gateroom.
-
Rodney stood outside his sister’s house and took several deep breaths. It had been a long time since he’d seen her – though not as long as he’d told his daughter. He looked at the flowers he was holding, wondering why he’d thought this was a good idea. Taking one final breath he reached out and hit the doorbell.
He heard someone coming to the door and smiled as his sister appeared, “Hi.”
“Hi,” Jeannie replied, completely shocked and stunned at his presence.
“Long time no see,” Rodney tried to start a conversation.
“To say the least!” she retorted before they both stood in silence waiting for the other to say something
“Aren’t you gonna invite me in?” Rodney asked hopefully.
Jeannie finally gave into her complete confusion, “Why are you here?”
Rodney stepped forward entering the house slightly, “What, I can’t just stop by, say hi to my little sister?”
“Well, we haven’t spoken in four years and you’ve never done anything like this,” Jeannie snapped back at him, “So ... no, you can’t.”
The conversation went downhill from there; thankfully they were interrupted as Jeannie’s husband appeared in the hallway with their daughter, “Is everything OK?”
Jeannie turned to him, waving her hand at her brother, “Look who showed up.”
“Hey,” Rodney waved with a false smile as Caleb looked at him with utter confusion.
“It’s my brother,” Jeannie explained.
“Oh,” Caleb was stunned, “Right. Hey.”
Caleb put the little girl down and she ran over to Rodney who grimaced, the only kid he’d ever got along with was Alisa. He somehow managed to get through a semblance of conversation with the kid, relieved when Caleb asked him to stay for dinner.
-
Sam left Rodney and his sister alone for a few minutes so they could talk after they’d revealed everything to her and she’d revealed her brother’s real name.
“So?” Rodney asked as Jeannie continued to stare out at the planet below them.
“This is a lot to take in, Mer,” she whispered, “Leaving Caleb and Madison for a couple of months is something I don’t think I can do.”
Rodney moved to her side, “It’s worth it, Jeannie. I know you’ll love it.”
Jeannie let out an annoyed huff, “You don’t know me, Mer. The last time we spoke was four years ago and you had a go at me for quitting school to be a mother. You didn’t even tell me you have a daughter.”
“It wasn’t relevant,” Rodney defended himself.
“Not relevant?” Jeannie snapped at him, “I have a niece I’ve never met, and you treated me like I was insane for having a child.”
“I didn’t quit science,” Rodney retorted, “And I still managed to raise my daughter - alone,” he stopped and sighed, “Jeannie, are you coming?”
Jeannie turned back to stare out the window, “I don’t think I can say no.”
*********************************************
Jeannie stared at the city in front of her, absolutely breathless as she looked on the lost city of Atlantis. She was actually excited about coming here and taking part in this experiment but she was even more excited about meeting her niece. Her brother was obviously so proud of his daughter and it astonished Jeannie considering how bad he’d been with Madison.
“Are you ready?” Rodney appeared at her side, “Radek should have everything ready for us.”
Jeannie nodded; he’d spoken briefly about the people he worked with and his friends over the weeks they’d been on the ship, and she was interested to meet them.
“Will Alisa be there?” Jeannie asked; although she wanted to get on with the experiment, she wanted to meet her niece.
“I just spoke with Elizabeth,” Rodney replied, “Lissa is on the mainland until tomorrow. You’ll meet her then.”
“Okay,” Jeannie nodded, “So how do we get down.”
At this her brother smiled at her slightly, a gleam in his eye before the white light surrounded them and dropped them into the middle of the Gateroom.
-
Jeannie was raging as she left the lab; her brother was the same as he’d always been, arrogant and egocentric.
“Hey,” a voice made her turn.
“Colonel Sheppard,” Jeannie greeted the man standing there.
“It’s John,” he told her, “You guys finished in there?”
Jeannie sighed, “Yes.”
John laughed, “Ah, I see Rodney is making himself as popular as always but if you want to kill him, there is a queue.”
“I’m his sister,” Jeannie reminded John, “I have seniority.”
“So,” John motioned her to start walking, “Have you been offered something to eat yet?”
“When would Meredith ever think to offer food over work,” Jeannie snorted in annoyance.
“Well you got...” John started and trailed off, “What did you just say?”
“What?” Jeannie asked.
“Meredith?”
“Oh,” Jeannie grinned, payback was hers, “I guess he never mentioned that to you either.”
John’s eyes lit up with mischief, his hand rested on her shoulder guiding her forward, “What else do you have?”
“Lots,” Jeannie grinned back.
“Come meet the rest of the team.”
-
Rodney knew bringing Jeannie here was a terrible idea, he knew that letting her loose with his friends was an even worse idea and now he was dreading when she got together with Alisa. He had lied to Alisa when he said he hadn’t seen Jeannie since before she was born. The last time he’d seen her had been during a conference near where Jeannie was studying about a year before they’d come to Atlantis and they’d literally run into each other. She’d been so excited to see him but when she told him she was pregnant and planning to leave school to raise the baby he’d dismissed her as ruining her life. He hadn’t even told her about Alisa.
Jeannie had managed to get her own back on him so far by, not only telling his team the most embarrassing stories she could think of but also his real name which he had managed to keep hidden all the years he’d been in the Stargate programme.
Now there was the appearance of Rod, his twin from the alternate universe and Rodney knew that things were going to get even more interesting once his daughter arrived back from the mainland.
*********************************************
Alisa laughed as she and Laura walked through the corridors away from the Jumper bay. Laura had decided that after the stress of her exams Alisa needed a break and when Carson was going to the mainland to do some check-ups they’d hitched a lift.
“I’d better dump my stuff,” Laura told her young friend, “See you at breakfast, Lissa.”
Alisa nodded, “Sure.”
The parted ways and Alisa headed to her room, dropping off her bag quickly and smiling as she noted her father was definitely back from Earth before she headed to the mess to get something to eat. Wandering through the halls Alisa smiled, her exams had felt really good, she had a great idea for her project and she was looking forward to seeing her father. Laura caught up with her just before she reached the mess and they walked in together, chatting away.
“Dad,” Alisa greeted her father, finding him sitting with his team and an unknown woman, “How was Earth?” she grinned before frowning a little confused as she looked at him properly, “And where did you get that jacket from, are you stealing John’s stuff now?”
Laura noticed everyone at the table staring at her but Alisa was on a roll.
“I know what project I want to do,” Alisa continued, “You know that old Jumper that was trashed by Lorne and his team? Well...
John moved to Laura as Alisa continued to talk animatedly, “Is she high?”
“Sugar rush,” Laura laughed, “Carson had tablet.”
“Really?” John asked grinning hopefully.
“Sorry, sir,” Laura laughed, “Had tablet, we ate it all.”
“So what do you think?” Alisa stopped waiting, not seeing the confused look on his face.
“Lissa,” her father called from behind her and Alisa turned to where he was walking over to the table.
Alisa stared at him, turned to the man at the table, before looking back and forth between her father and his double several times with complete astonishment on her face, “John?” she cried after a while, looking round to him for an explanation.
“Its okay, Lissa,” Rodney caught her, “This is Rod, he’s...he’s from an alternate universe.”
“Oh?” Alisa squeaked slightly, “Right. I’m going to go...I’m going to go,” she slipped away from Rodney and left.
Alisa walked out as fast as she could, stopping when she was just outside and leaning against a wall a little confused.
“You okay?” Laura asked, finding Alisa looking completely overwhelmed.
“Not too sure,” Alisa said, rubbing the bridge of her nose trying to focus, “I’m a little...” she hesitated, “It’s bizarre.”
Laura laughed, “Tell me about it, two of your father is quite possibly the most horrifying prospect ever.”
Alisa laughed with her, “I can’t believe I didn’t realise he wasn’t Dad.”
Laura shrugged, “It’s not something you can expect. Even here.”
Alisa shook her head, “True, I never expected to find him with you in his head.”
“Touché,” Laura retorted, “They were called to some emergency but your Dad asked me to tell you to meet him in his lab. Want me to come with?”
“I think I can handle this,” Alisa told her, “I’ll see you later.”
*********************************************
Rod caught up with Rodney, “You have a daughter?”
Finally feeling as though he had something better than the alternate version of himself he nodded, “Don’t you?”
Rod shook his head, “I...No...Who’s her mother?”
“Alisa Bonner,” Rodney replied, a soft smile touching his lips as he thought of his wife before he saw the look of complete confusion on Rod’s face, “You did meet her, didn’t you?”
Rod frowned, trying to place the name, “Not that I remember?”
Rodney stopped them walking, “College. Your roommate Tim was dating her friend, Margo.”
“Oh,” recognition covered Rod’s face, “I kinda called her a dumb blonde and I never saw her again.”
Rodney laughed slightly, “I called her that too,” he told the other version of himself, “She married me.”
With slight feeling of triumph Rodney walked on, leaving Rod standing stunned.
-
“What were you doing having breakfast with him?” Rodney demanded of his sister as they worked on the newest problem.
“I don’t often meet people from another universe,” Jeannie shrugged, “I found myself curiously interested.”
Rodney grimaced, “Yeah, well, I don’t want you hanging around with him anymore.”
“What?” Jeannie demanded annoyed.
“Look, I am your real brother,” he reminded her.
Jeannie tilted her head up slightly defiantly, “In what sense?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Rodney frowned, a little shocked.
“You haven’t been a brother to me since I quit school,” Jeannie retorted, “Actually, I’m wrong it was long before that.”
“You were making an incredible mistake,” Rodney reminded her, “I was just trying to ...”
“You’re trying to control my life, Mer,” Jeannie told him angrily, “I disagreed with you. I still do. And what,” pain filled her voice, “because of that, you stop being my brother?”
“I never stopped being your brother!” Rodney told her indignantly.
“We haven’t talked in four years,” Jeannie reminded him sharply, “And before that I don’t know how long. I didn’t even know you have a daughter.”
“Don’t put that all on me,” Rodney defended himself.
“It is all on you,” Jeannie snapped, “I had no way of getting in touch with you.”
“I was doing top-secret research in another galaxy!” he reminded her, he glanced back at Rod who was wisely ignoring them.
“And what about before that? You could have sent me a message,” Jeannie whispered sadly, “You know, call me on my birthday, at Christmas. Once a year ... that’s all I would have needed. Just a ‘Hi. How are you? Are you happy? Are you OK?’ That would have been enough, but you didn’t even do that. No, no, I was wrong and you were right, so what? I was not worth talking to?”
“It wasn’t like that at all,” Rodney started.
“You don’t like me talking to Rod because it makes you realise how bad a brother you’ve really been,” Jeannie told him sharply.
-
Rodney glanced up as his daughter appeared in the doorway to his lab, he finished his thought as she moved to his side.
“Hey,” he greeted her, giving her a tight hug, “I meant to talk to you before you ran into him.”
“Well two versions of you here is kinda shocking,” Alisa noted, she bit her lip in thought; “Does he have a version of me?”
“Nope,” Rodney smiled.
“I guess I freaked him out,” Alisa laughed.
Rodney nodded.
“So, where is he?” Alisa asked, “I’d love to freak him out more.”
Rodney laughed but he shook his head, “Not yet. There’s something else I have to tell you.”
“Oh-kay,” Alisa frowned as she took a seat, worried about the seriousness in her father’s face.
Rodney took a deep breath, “I lied to you about why I was on Earth. I was asked by Carter to come back to talk to someone about a theory they’d had that might help...” he trailed off, “I went to see your aunt.”
“Really?” Alisa smiled, she’d wanted to meet her aunt since the moment she’d heard about her, almost.
“Yeah,” Rodney nodded, still nervous, “I persuaded her to come here.”
“She’s on Atlantis?” Alisa gasped.
Rodney nodded again, “There’s some more I haven’t told you.”
*********************************************
Jeannie sat staring at the computer screen, she was completely overwhelmed. The project, the alternate and much nicer version of her brother and Alisa who she’d still to meet face to face.
“Jeannie,” her brother called from the door, “Can I come in?”
She turned and saw him standing in the door, “Sure.”
He stepped in and frowned as he looked around, “Is Alisa here?”
Jeannie looked at him confused, “Ah...no.”
“Huh,” Rodney grimaced, “She said she was going to come and see you. Seemed kinda excited...” he trailed off as he saw a woman Jeannie recognised from earlier that morning, “Cadman?”
The woman turned surprised, “Something wrong, Rodney?”
“Have you seen Alisa?” Rodney asked her, “She said she was coming to meet Jeannie while I finished working but...”
“You must be Jeannie,” Cadman turned to her cutting Rodney off, “Laura Cadman.”
Jeannie smiled at her, “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Laura smiled at Jeannie slightly before returning her attention to Rodney, “Lissa said she was going to talk to you. I’ll go find our wayward girl. I’ll call when I do.”
Rodney nodded his thanks, he turned back to find his sister giving him a bemused look, “What?”
“What’s...” Jeannie trailed off, trying to indicate Laura.
Rodney rolled his eyes, “Not what you’re thinking, I’ll tell you the story later. We’ve got work to do.”
-
Alisa sat on the balcony, her laptop sitting in front as she listened to the sound of the water thoughtfully.
“Here you are,” Laura sat at her side.
Alisa shrugged, “Were you looking for me?”
Laura rolled her eyes, “Your dad was. In fact he actually talked to me to come look for you,” Laura watched the teenager at her side shrug and frowned, “I met your aunt.”
“I haven’t,” came the soft reply.
“Lissa...”
Alisa turned to her, “He lied to me, he lied to me again.”
“Lissa...”
“Maybe there’s a reason?” Alisa continued, ignoring Laura, “Maybe there’s a really good reason he didn’t want us to meet. Maybe...maybe...maybe...”
Laura wrapped her arm around the younger woman and hugged her tightly, “Lissa, your dad thinks the world of you and I’m sure he’s sorry you and your aunt haven’t met before now.”
“I want to go see the alternate Dad,” Alisa told her friend, pulling away from her friend, “I’ll see you later.”
Laura sighed as she watched the teenager disappear, why were the McKay family so damn stubborn?
-
Rodney continued working on the details for Jeannie’s plan as his sister had disappeared to get something to eat; Rod was working in a separate lab – to Rodney’s relief.
“Hey,” Laura said as she walked in making him look up from his work, “Tell me why your daughter is nuts?”
“She takes after you,” Rodney retorted automatically before sighing, “What’s wrong?”
Laura dropped into the seat beside him, “She’s having self-esteem issues after finding out you lied to her about Jeannie.”
“Again,” Rodney finished for her.
“Rodney...” Laura started sternly.
“What do you want from me, Cadman?” Rodney snapped, “I’m a lousy parent? Is that what you want me to say?”
“No,” Laura frowned at him, “And you’re not a lousy father, you’re actually damned good and don’t let that swell your head in any way. But this has Alisa floundering a little because she wants to meet your sister yet she’s afraid of being rejected.”
Rodney sighed again.
Laura did something that she normally wouldn’t even consider, she rested her hand on his shoulder and squeezed, “I sorta understand why,” she told him, her hand continuing to rub his back, “I know how much you love Lissa and how much you want to protect her especially from the rejection of your parents.”
Rodney turned to her and did something she didn’t expect, “Thank you, Laura,” he murmured giving her cheek a kiss.
Laura stared after him as he left the room; she smiled as she remembered something Alisa once said about them being like divorced parents and was extremely grateful no one else had witnessed that moment. The teasing would have driven them both insane.
*********************************************
“Hi.”
Rod looked up in astonishment as the teenager stood in the door of the lab he was working on, “Hi.”
“So,” Alisa walked in and perched on the nearest stool, “What are you doing?”
Rod frowned confused as she scanned the computer, making noises as though she understood everything she was looking at.
“You know I wouldn’t have used this,” she pointed at one of the calculations, “But then Radek never did agree with the way Dad works that out.”
Rod continued to stare at her.
Alisa snorted, “I’m seventeen, not a Wraith. Say something.”
“How did you work that out?” was all that came to mind.
“Because,” Alisa smiled, “I’m brilliant,” a smug smile crossed her lips, “Like my Dad.”
Rod looked a little surprised, “What do you do here?”
“I’m Radek’s assistant,” Alisa explained with a slightly superior air, “And I’m working towards my degree so I can take over Dad’s job.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Alisa replied lightly, she continued to study the computer before shrugging and heading to the door, “By the way,” she called out over her shoulder, “Second last line has a mistake in it.”
Rod watched as the teenager strolled out the lab before he returned to look at the algorithm he’d been working on.
“Huh,” was all he could find to say as he realised she was right.
-
“Okay, psychotic child of mine,” Rodney snapped as he caught up with Alisa in her part of Radek’s lab, “What’s going on?”
“What?” Alisa asked the picture of complete innocence.
“Lissa,” Rodney pulled a seat over beside her, “When we were on Earth you called me a coward because I wouldn’t go see your aunt. Now she’s here, you’re avoiding her.”
“Does it really surprise you I’m neurotic?” Alisa shrugged, “Consider the source material.”
“That’s enough,” Rodney snapped at her, “Alisa, if you don’t want to meet Jeannie then just tell me. Stop acting like a brat.”
“I don’t want to meet her,” Alisa told him softly.
“Fine,” Rodney nodded, before looking confused, “Why?”
Alisa shrugged confusion in her voice, “I just don’t. Maybe when we’re back on Earth for while and I’ve had some time to work my way up to it...”
As she trailed off Rodney reached out and hugged her, “You’re going to drive me crazy, kid. Okay, I have to go and stop the universe from being destroyed. Can I trust you to not cause any problems until after that?”
Alisa nodded, “You know, you’re the one who caused this Universe almost being destroyed problem.”
Rodney shook his head and left her alone, he had work to do.
*********************************************
“Just do your usual after crisis talk with Alisa,” Laura told him as they walked through the corridors, “I’ll do the rest.”
Rodney frowned at her, “Why am I trusting you?”
“Because I love that kid of yours and for some reason I feel responsible for her,” Laura reminded him, “Which is your fault.”
Rodney rolled his eyes, “I want to talk to Jeannie before she leaves.”
“You will,” Laura shook her head, “But you want them to meet right?”
“Lissa just doesn’t...”
“And she’s a teenager,” Laura cut him off, “She doesn’t know what she wants.”
Rodney nodded, “Fine. Do whatever you want.”
“Don’t worry, Rodney,” Laura smiled at him, “I’ll see you later.”
-
Jeannie sat on the bed in her room having just finished packing her bag ready to head home. As much as being here had thrilled her, Jeannie missed her husband and daughter and she was extremely disappointed that she hadn’t gotten to spend just a little time with her niece.
“Hey,” John appeared in her room with a grin, “All packed?”
“Yeah,” Jeannie shrugged, “I’m just trying to think of what to do for the next few hours before trying to sleep.”
John grinned, “I have an idea. Come on.”
Suspicion filled Jeannie’s eyes, “Where?”
“It’s a surprise,” John told her; he folded his arms across his chest, “Despite what your brother may say, I am a perfect gentleman. Come on.”
Jeannie laughed and stood up, “Alright, lead on.”
They walked slowly through the corridors of the city, Jeannie taking in the incredible world she was on.
“So,” John pulled her attention away from the star filled horizon, “Did you have fun?”
“It was interesting,” Jeannie replied; “Unusual but interesting.”
“I think that might be our motto,” John mused with a laugh, “Or maybe the one about it not necessary to be crazy to work here...” he trailed off as Jeannie giggled.
“I can see that,” she smiled before sighing, “I wish I could have at least spent a little time with Alisa. As much as it’s been nice...mostly getting to know Mer again, I would like to see her and maybe see what kind of father he is.”
John smiled slightly before he beckoned her along the corridor, “Come with me.”
Confused, Jeannie followed him and stood with him at the door to the lab where her brother was sitting, his daughter at his side as they talked.
“Go in and say hi,” John encouraged.
-
“So we’ve lost the ZPM,” Alisa noted as her father finished the explanation.
Rodney shrugged, “Yeah.”
“Oh fantastic,” sarcasm dripped from her lips, “You guys really know how to do things in style.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Rodney told her, “No matter what it was.”
Alisa laughed, “Okay.”
“Right, I’ve got to go and face Elizabeth,” Rodney sighed before adding miserably, “I’m so fired.”
Alisa patted his arm, “She won’t fire you. You’re the only one who knows all the systems in this nuthouse.”
Rodney sighed before he left Alisa sitting in front of the readouts from earlier. Finding Jeannie standing with John he nodded and left.
-
Alisa was sitting going over the experiment records so she could learn what they’d done, she scribbled notes on the pad beside her while taking a drink of soda every so often.
“Hi,” a soft voice startled her into looking up.
Alisa’s eyes widened in shock as her aunt stood across from her, “Hi.”
“I didn’t think I was actually going to get to meet you,” Jeannie said as she glanced at the pad in front of her niece.
“Yeah,” was all Alisa could think of before she sighed, “That was the plan.”
“Oh,” Jeannie found a seat and pulled it over, “I never thought I was that scary.”
Alisa grimaced and dropped her eyes, “It wasn’t that. It’s just....look Jeannie, all my life it’s been me and Dad. The only other family I had were my grandparents – Mom’s parents but other than that Dad was it. Now suddenly I’m told I have an aunt who, yes at first I felt it was extremely important to meet but...” she trailed off.
“I wanted to meet you,” Jeannie told her, “When I got the message and found out that I was an aunt it was wonderful.”
“Really?”
Jeannie laughed, “The last time I talked to Mer, we argued.”
“Mer?” Alisa asked confused.
Jeannie grinned, “You didn’t know his real name is Meredith either?”
“Of course I did,” Alisa lied, “No one has ever called him Mer though.”
Jeannie shook her head amused before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a photo, “Here.”
Alisa took the photo of the girl, “Who is this?”
“My daughter, your cousin,” Jeannie told her with a fond smile, “Her name is Madison.”
Alisa smiled as she stared at the picture before turning to her aunt, “You called your kid Madison? What did she ever do to you?”
“Hey,” Jeannie playfully shoved her, “I think it’s nice.”
-
Watching from just outside the door, John and Laura grinned at one another as the two women talked and bonded.
“We should really work together again sometime, Colonel,” Laura teased.
“Definitely,” John laughed, glancing back inside to where Alisa was explaining her latest project.
They both stood watching the McKay women together as they talked; self-satisfied smirks on both their faces.
-
“What are you two up to?” Rodney demanded as he walked into Jeannie’s room where John was sitting talking with Jeannie after escorting her back to her room when Alisa needed to go fix one of her projects.
“Nothing,” John said innocence in his eyes, “Just, uh ... telling stories about you. You know, trying to help her fall asleep.”
“Ah-ha-ha,” sarcasm flowed from Rodney’s fake laugh.
“I’ll leave you guys alone,” John said, giving Jeannie a quick smile.
Rodney waited until John had left before turning to his sister and raised a hand to her, smiling awkwardly, “Hey.”
“Hey,” Jeannie replied.
“How’d things go with Alisa?” he asked.
Jeannie beamed, “Great. She is an amazing kid. I just wish I had more time to spend with her.”
“That’s right, you should be packing,” Rodney said, “Daedalus leaves in the morning.”
Jeannie picked up a bag from the floor and put it on the bed, “I’m done. How’d it go with Weir?”
“Oh, well she wasn’t too happy about the whole killing of the ZedPM but you know, in the grand scheme of things, we did prevent the destruction of the universe. So, you know, not fired.”
“That’s good,” Jeannie smiled.
“Yeah,” he breathed.
They stood in silence for several moments before Rodney held out a strange figure to her, “Oh right, I got this for Madison.”
Jeannie looked at it with a slight bemused expression, “Oh.”
“Yeah. I swiped it from Weir’s desk,” he shrugged at her, “It’s not like there’s a Toys R Us nearby, so...”
“Well, it’s the thought that counts, I guess,” Jeannie put it in her bag before turning back to him, “Well, I’d say ‘see you around’ but...”
“Yes. About that...” he stopped and swallowed hard trying to find the words, “Which is to say, um...look...what I...I wanted to...”
“Thank you for trying,” Jeannie stopped him, sparing him further embarrassment.
Jeannie turned away from him and back to her bag as her brother stood and stared at her, suddenly he moved and wrapped his arms around her.
“How are you?” he whispered in her ear as his eyes filled with tears, “Are you happy? Are you OK?”
“Yeah, Mer I am,” she sniffed as tears filled her eyes also, “I really am.”
Their hug lasted for a few more moments before Rodney stepped back from her, “Intergalactic gate network should be completed soon, so, um, maybe it won’t be four years next time?”
“Does this mean I’ll see you both at Christmas?” Jeannie asked hopefully.
“If you can convince Caleb not to make tofurkey,” he joked, making her smile at him.
“No promises,” she laughed as he left her alone.
-
Jeannie picked up her bag and took one last look around the small room she was in, knowing she was going to miss being here and not being Jeannie the wife and mother but Jeannie the scientist. She was, mostly, going to miss her brother and knew she would miss getting to know her niece more but she also knew she couldn’t stay any longer.
“Hi,” Alisa appeared in the doorway, “Are you ready?”
“Just checking I hadn’t left anything,” Jeannie smiled, a little self-conscious at being caught in a dream like that.
“Come on, we’ll walk you to the ship,” Alisa told her.
“We?” Jeannie asked, her question answered as she saw her brother standing awkwardly waiting for her, “Hey.”
“Hey,” he greeted her back, swatting his daughter’s shoulder as she rolled her eyes at them.
“Keep in touch,” Jeannie said to Alisa as they walked, “Both of you. And let me know about Christmas.”
“Christmas?” Alisa asked with interest.
“I sort of promised we might go to Earth then,” Rodney explained, smiling at his daughter’s grin.
Finally they reached the dock where the Daedalus was taking on the last of its supplies. Jeannie put her bag down and turned to her brother, hugging him tightly for several minutes before letting him go and turning to her niece.
“It was so good getting to meet you,” Jeannie whispered as she pulled the teenager into her arms, “And if you need anything, anything you just have to call.”
“Thanks,” Alisa smiled as she stepped back from her aunt.
Rodney rested his hand on her shoulder as Jeannie stepped into the ship disappearing from view.
“Well?” he asked as they left the dock.
“I like her,” Alisa smiled.
“Good,” Rodney said relieved, he wanted to mend fences with his sister and wanted Alisa to feel a part of it.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Why didn’t you tell me your name is Meredith?”
Alisa von LE McMurray
Kapitel Bemerkung: Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.
Apologies for how long this has taken but I was a wee bit blocked in writing this because as much as I was looking forward to it I wasn’t sure where I was going to take it.
Unfortunately TPTB killed a few of the things from earlier in this series with Jeannie’s age, Rodney’s real name and the message Rodney recorded (why was that not sent?) so I’ve just ignored it just now and I’ll be going back to change the previous chapters to update two of these issues.
Next part is in progress and the episode dialogue is taken from Gateworld.
Enjoy.
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