“You know,” a familiar voice interrupted Alisa staring out across the horizon, “You promised to give me a tour of this place.”
Alisa turned to where Jack O’Neill stood in the doorway, dressed in his uniform for his meetings with the Ancients.
“It’s kinda pointless now isn’t it?” Alisa snapped, “We’re not staying.”
“It is their home,” Jack used the argument that they’d used on him.
Alisa swallowed hard, “It’s our home too.”
Jack grimaced but there was absolutely nothing he could possibly say to her so he changed the subject, “I hear you’re going to college?”
“Yeah, it’s all sorted,” she sighed, “I suppose I should try being normal for a while,” Alisa shrugged, “I’d better go finish packing. Nice to see you again, Jack.”
He stood watching the young woman walk away thinking of the nervous teenager he met almost three years before. With a groan he headed back to continue talking to the Ancient woman who was driving him nuts.
-
Alisa hugged Teyla tightly; Teyla smiled at her and squeezed her hands, “Take care of yourself and your father. I know you will excel in whatever you do so don’t let anything hold you back.”
“I’m gonna miss you,” Alisa whispered to Teyla, tears in her eyes.
“I will miss you also,” the other woman replied, “But I know we will meet again.”
After hugging Teyla one more time Alisa turned and was swept up into Ronon’s arms, he squeezed her tightly until she squeaked before setting her down gently and silently kissing the top of her head.
Alisa grabbed her bag and moved to join John, Elizabeth and Carson as they waited for her father. Elizabeth called to Rodney who reluctantly walked down the stairs to join them. With one final look at the place they’d called home for almost three years, they walked through the Stargate and back to Earth.
*********************************************
Alisa wandered through the halls of Stargate Command completely bored. The others were in meetings that had been going on for what felt like most of her life, and there was nothing for her to do. Finally she came across the commissary and took up residence until the meetings were over.
“Hi,” Daniel took a seat across from her, “I heard you guys were going home. Jack appeared in my office for ten minutes to vent his frustration.”
“Really?” Alisa asked sceptically.
Daniel laughed, “He can swear in a variety of languages, most of which I taught him.”
She sighed, “I really hate this. I’ve got to go to college. And once there I’m probably going to have to listen to people who from what I’ve seen on previous school visits don’t know how to think outside the box never mind teach outside it.”
Daniel gave her a wry smile, “At least you will still have contact with it.”
Alisa sighed, “I guess you’re right.”
Daniel was about to say something else but a call came for him and he groaned, “Keep in touch, Alisa. I have to go.”
“Thanks, Daniel,” she smiled, watching him leave until Laura appeared in his place, “I thought you were in a meeting.”
Laura took a seat across from her young friend, “It’s finally over. I wanted to see you before you left for wherever you’re going.”
Alisa smiled slightly, “We’re visiting Jeannie then Dad’s heading to Area 51 and I become a full time student.”
“Are you worried about it?” Laura asked, concern and understanding in her voice.
Alisa dropped her eyes, “I’m terrified.”
Laura reached out and took her friend’s hand, giving it a squeeze and she placed a piece of paper in it, “My cell phone, house phone and email. Whenever you need to talk, assuming I’m on Earth, don’t hesitate. I’m always here for you, Lissa.”
-
Jeannie stared surprised as she found the two people standing on her front porch.
“Hi,” Rodney said blandly.
“Hi,” Jeannie beamed, moving to hug them both quickly, “I didn’t expect to see you two so soon.”
“We got kicked out,” Alisa told her as Jeannie ushered them inside.
Alisa stared a little as she wandered into the lounge that was filled with toys and other reminders that a child lived here.
“You were worse,” her father noted to her, “At least there’s no pieces of TV lying around.”
“Sorry,” Jeannie quickly picked up a few teddy bears and dolls, “I wasn’t expecting company.”
Rodney nodded and motioned his daughter to sit down, “Where are...they?”
“My husband’s name is Caleb and my daughter’s name is Madison,” Jeannie reminded him sharply, frowning at the snort that came from Alisa, “Try and get it right while you’re here.”
“I was just...”
“Caleb took Maddie to the park for a few hours,” Jeannie cut her brother off with an amused grin, “How long can you stay?”
“Not long,” Rodney told her, “I’m due at my new post in a week and Lissa has school.”
Jeannie quirked an eyebrow at her niece, “Really?”
Alisa rolled her eyes, “They’ve got me into some college that Radek has privileges in for the rest of the year. Next year I can pick where I want to go.”
Jeannie smiled at her, “So, a few days then?” she bit her lip for a moment, “Okay. Mer, you can have the spare room. Alisa, it’s the couch or I can set up a bed in Maddie’s room for you.”
Alisa shrugged, “Let’s see if we get along before you put me somewhere I can possibly smother her.”
“Lissa,” Rodney scolded, as she gave him a look of pure innocence.
“We’ll see,” Jeannie laughed.
-
It was several hours later as they were regaling Jeannie with tales of Atlantis when the door opened announcing that Jeannie’s husband and daughter arrived home.
“Hi?” Caleb said warily when he saw Rodney on the couch, “Jeannie?”
“They’re visiting,” Jeannie assured him as she moved to his side, “Caleb, you remember Mer, well this is his daughter Alisa.”
Alisa stood up and smiled at him, “Hi.”
“Mommy,” a small cheery voice called as Caleb shook his niece’s hand.
“Maddie,” Jeannie hugged her daughter, “Here’s your Uncle Mer, remember him?”
Rodney raised his hand slightly, “Hi, Maddie.”
“Well this,” Jeannie turned her to where Alisa sat, “this is your cousin, Alisa. Are you going to say hello?”
Maddie suddenly pressed against her mother’s leg shyly as she looked at the teenager smiling down at her, “Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi, Maddie,” Alisa grinned, “How about you show me your room?”
“`Kay,” Madison murmured, she walked towards the corridor before turning and impatiently motioning Alisa to follow her.
-
The few days they stayed with Jeannie went quickly; Madison discovered she loved having a big cousin although Jeannie wouldn’t be happy with some of the things Alisa had taught the little girl.
“So,” Jeannie caught Alisa in the back garden sitting on the porch, “Are you ready to go to college?”
“No,” Alisa replied with a sigh, it had been something she’d been avoiding talking about since she’d been told about it, “Jeannie, I’m seventeen. I’ll more than likely be the youngest there and I’m joining in the middle of the semester and...” Alisa trailed off, “I’m afraid I’m going to hate it and I’m not going to make any friends. But I can’t tell Dad that. He’s excited about me doing this.”
Jeannie wrapped her arm around her niece’s shoulders and hugged her quickly, “You can stay with us until next year. Until you’re ready to do this.”
Alisa smiled at her aunt, “Thank you. That makes me feel a lot better but I don’t want to put it off. It’s time to go back to being as normal as I used to be.”
Jeannie laughed and hugged her again, “I’m always here for you, Alisa.”
“Then will you do something for me?” Alisa asked slightly nervously.
“What is it?”
Alisa smiled sweetly, “Call me Lissa.”
*********************************************
“Are you okay?”
Alisa looked at her father as he stood in the door of her dorm room as they finished unpacking her stuff. She’d met her room-mate, Linda, briefly before she’d had to go to her classes and already wasn’t looking forward to spending much time around her.
“I will be,” Alisa assured him, even if she didn’t really believe it herself.
Rodney nodded; he had to leave soon but was unwilling to disappear on his daughter until he was sure that she was alright. He knew how worried she was about leaving the relative safety of the Atlantis team, there she had access to some of the most brilliant minds Earth had ever produced as well as technology light years ahead of anything her peers had access to or even heard of.
“Okay,” Rodney said, “I...We...You have everything?”
Alisa smiled slightly, “I have your cell number, email address. You’ll give me your work and apartment number as soon as you have it. I have John’s numbers, Laura’s numbers, Jeannie’s numbers, the number for the SGC and even for an extreme emergency Generals’ Landry and O’Neill’s numbers. I’ll be fine. You need to go, Dad.”
“Yeah.”
Alisa sighed and walked to him; she wrapped her arms around her father and hugged him tightly, “I will be perfectly fine, Dad. I promise I’ll call you every chance I get and I will email you with any papers I write so you can see what I’m doing but you have to leave so I can do all that.”
Reluctantly Rodney nodded and hugging her once more he left her alone in the room.
-
Alisa decided she could really hate Linda.
It was now two weeks since she’d started taking classes here and it wasn’t too bad. Except for her room-mate. If Alisa ever found out who had told the bimbo that she was only seventeen then she would find some way to make their life hell. Linda had decided that since Alisa wasn’t yet eighteen that she had to be looked after and Alisa could only hold her tongue so much but had agreed to come along to the drama club Linda was auditioning for.
Alisa stood leaning against the rail next to the control booth watching the people mill around as they waited for the auditions to start. She could hear some of them singing or rehearsing lines though it was more amusing watching some of them trying out dance moves.
“Do you think they know how dumb they look?”
Alisa turned to where the question had come from and felt herself smile just a little as she saw who was talking to her. He was at least a foot taller than she was with dark brown eyes, dark brown hair, a sarcastic smile on his face and was basically gorgeous.
“I’m betting they all think they look incredible,” Alisa managed to reply in her usual McKay manner.
He chuckled and held out his hand, “JD Tyler.”
“Alisa McKay,” she replied, shaking his hand with a grin, “I know why I’m here, why are you hanging around?”
“A friend,” he motioned to one of the guys moving around lights, “Needs a lift home with the sound equipment. I volunteered.”
“Nice,” Alisa smiled again.
They stood talking and enjoying the free entertainment on the stage until Linda reappeared.
“Are you ready?” she asked, making Alisa grimace but decided against saying anything.
“Yeah,” Alisa turned to JD, “Bye.”
“See you around,” he called after her.
As soon as Alisa was out of sight JD pulled out his cell phone, “It’s me,” he said the moment it was answered, “I made contact.”
-
“She’s a pain in my ass,” Alisa snapped as she leaned back on her bed, the phone held to her ear.
“It can’t be that bad,” John replied, as he tried to type with one hand before realising he had speaker phone and hitting the button.
“John, its worse than having a keeper,” Alisa ranted, “You’d think someone had deliberately told her to keep an eye on me...did someone tell her to keep an eye on me?”
“You’re getting paranoid, kid,” John told her, “Other than the room-mate from hell, how’re things?”
“Not bad,” she admitted, “Classes are the tiniest bit interesting sometimes, though I miss Radek and his experiments but I’m doing okay.”
“Good,” John told her, “I have to go, Alisa. I’m going on a mission in less than an hour so I’ll talk to you when I get back.”
“Behave,” Alisa told him, hanging up before he could reply.
John rolled his eyes as he quickly dialled the phone again.
“I’m exceedingly busy,” Rodney’s answer made John smile.
“It’s me,” John told him, smiling as he hear Rodney’s sigh of relief.
“I thought it might be someone wanting an update on my latest project,” Rodney told him, annoyance in his voice, “Idiots don’t realise that results take time.”
John chuckled.
“Why are you calling anyway?” Rodney asked.
“That kid of yours called me to rant,” John told him with an amused smirk, “I’m guessing she couldn’t talk to you.”
Rodney laughed, “I’ve already had the room-mate from hell tirade. She called me this morning but I had a meeting.”
“You’re missing her,” John noted astutely.
Rodney let out a long sigh, “Kids grow up, I just wish she hadn’t grown up so fast.”
“I know, Rodney,” John sympathised, “I know.”
-
Alisa stood in the lab studying the experiment set up before her that was going to be demonstrated today. Her conversation with John had made her feel better about herself; he always managed to do that.
“Alright,” Professor Crompton called them to gather round the generator in front of him, “Now let’s see how much you’ve all learned in the past few days.”
Alisa listened as her classmates all threw in what they saw on the generator but not one person noticed that it wouldn’t do anything except possibly explode.
“Now, who wants to turn it on,” Crompton asked with amusement.
“I wouldn’t,” Alisa said louder than she meant to, wincing as she suddenly became the focus of everyone’s attention.
“Really?” Crompton’s teasing tone disappeared and he stared at her, “What makes you think that?”
“Ah,” Alisa stammered before she took a deep breath and steeled herself, she’d faced down marines – she could face them, “You’ve got the connections wrong,” Alisa explained in a strong voice as she used her pen to illustrate, “Here, it’s a feedback loop. If you turn it on and it does actually work it’ll probably explode in about ten seconds.”
“Miss...”
“McKay,” Alisa replied, feeling less certain as he kept an even gaze on her while everyone else stood waiting.
“Of course,” Crompton noted, “I’ve read your father’s work and...you’re right,” he looked around the rest of the group, “I am very disappointed people, Miss McKay is not only the youngest member of this group but also only joined us a few weeks ago.”
Alisa felt her cheeks flame as everyone stared at her until Crompton restarted the class and rewired his generator.
-
“You look miles away.”
Alisa turned and smiled as JD dropped onto the seat beside her. He smiled back at her, “So, something bothering you or do you usually just kill your lunch.”
Alisa glanced down at where she’d torn apart the sandwich she was meant to be eating, “Just a really bad day.”
“I’m listening,” JD told her, he leaned back and pulled out two bars of chocolate.
Taking the offered candy Alisa sighed, “I just managed to alienate everyone in my class by being stupid enough to point out the Professor was wrong.”
“Oh,” he took in a hiss of breath, “That sounds bad.”
Alisa dropped her head into her hands, “I’m the freak, the seventeen year old in the same class as people two to three years older than I am and I just showed them up.”
“You’re only seventeen?” JD asked.
Alisa slowly turned to the good-looking guy who for some reason was talking to her, “Yeah.”
JD rested his hand on her shoulder, “Don’t let it get you down. You’d be amazed what people forget and freak isn’t the word I’d use. You’re smart and here, that isn’t a crime.”
Surprised by his kind and supportive words, Alisa couldn’t say anything before he stood up and left her sitting.
“Could you have been any dumber?” she murmured to herself as she watched him walk away, “He thinks you’re a stupid little girl. Fantastic.”
*********************************************
It was almost six weeks since they’d been forced from their home and Alisa was settling in to her new one, almost. She finished speaking to her father that morning before class, pleased to hear he was going to see John and Carson. She was worried about how little he seemed to be enjoying his new job so it was good to hear that he was rejoining his friends even if it was only for a night.
Now though she had a two hour lecture on wormholes which quite frankly the only reason she was going was because she got credit for it. Grabbing her bag, Alisa made sure she had her phone before leaving the dorm room and heading to the lecture theatre.
-
Alisa managed to resist the urge to tap her pen as she listened to the lecture; it was not only boring but considering what she knew about the Stargate quite amusing too. Finally the torture was over and the lights came back on, blinking in the sudden brightness she followed the others lead and grabbed her bag as well as the books she had to take back to the library. She noticed a man hovering outside, the thing she noticed was he was wearing an Air Force uniform but he wasn’t someone she knew.
“Miss McKay,” the man stepped forward, cutting off her exit, “I’m Lieutenant Marshall, General Landry sent me here to collect you. There’s been a problem at the base that requires your assistance.”
Alisa frowned, “My assistance? I’m not exactly someone people normally call.”
“A device has been set off that is holding several people in a force field,” Marshall explained, “Your father insisted that you be brought to the base. He’s unable to use the phone at the moment but told me to tell you that it’s similar to an experiment you worked on with Dr Zelenka.”
Alisa stared at him for a moment before sighing, “Alright, is this a ‘we have to go this instant’ emergency or do I have time to get my stuff and tell my room-mate I’m going to see my father before she thinks I’ve been kidnapped?”
Marshall hesitated for a moment before replying, “The second kind.”
“Okay,” Alisa turned to walk before turning back to him, “Look, rather than us both running around, can you dump these in my locker while I grab my laptop and bag?”
Marshall hesitated before nodding, “Where’s your locker?”
“Go right along the corridor,” Alisa told him, pointing the way, “It’s number 659 and that’s also the combination – I had a day of little imagination.”
“Alright,” Marshall said, “I’ll do that, you get everything and we’ll meet in ten minutes back here.”
“Make it twenty,” Alisa told him, “And make it the cafeteria. It’s closer to my room than here.”
Marshall nodded and headed down the hall leaving Alisa alone.
-
Alisa watched the man walk away before she turned and walked out the opposing door, the moment she was sure he couldn’t see her Alisa pulled out her phone and ran to her dorm room.
“Come on, Dad,” she muttered as it rang, “Come on, answer your phone.”
Finally reaching her room, Alisa dumped her bag on the bed before she went into her closet and found her emergency bag. Placing it over her shoulder, Alisa climbed out her window and once safely on the ground she pulled out her phone but this time tried someone she was almost sure would answer.
“Lissa,” Laura answered happily, “I didn’t expect to hear from you.”
“Shut up and listen,” Alisa snapped, “I’m in trouble unless Landry sent a Lieutenant Marshall to collect me...and I am so hoping you say yes.”
“He didn’t,” Laura said, worry in her voice, “Lissa, where are you?”
“I’m just outside my dorm heading to...” she stopped, “I don’t really know. Laura, what do I do?”
“Stay calm,” Laura told her, “Okay, I’m with General Landry now who’s on the phone to your protector.”
“My what?”
“Questions later,” Laura side-stepped the subject; “He’s going to meet you at the Drama building and will bring you here.”
“And the hell will I know who he is?” Alisa demanded.
“Give me a password,” Laura told her, “Something only he will be able to give you.”
Alisa started towards the Drama Building, trying to blend in with the groups milling around the campus, “Alright, Arcturus.”
“Good choice,” Laura told her, “I’ll be waiting for you when you get here, okay?”
“Okay,” Alisa whispered and hung up the phone, sliding it into her pocket as she jogged through the campus.
-
Alisa wanted this to be over fast but first she had to find her contact and get to the SGC, then she’d find her father and yell at him for not being there when she really needed him. Reaching the Drama Building Alisa looked around to see if there was anyone she recognised or who seemed to be coming to help her.
“Miss McKay,” Marshall appeared suddenly, “This is not where we agreed to meet.”
“Yeah,” Alisa murmured as she stepped back from him, she was only a few steps away from the corner but Marshall moved faster than she expected when she turned to run.
Alisa struggled as he grabbed her, wrapping his arms around both of hers and pulling her back to him.
“If you make a sound,” he whispered menacingly in her ear, “I will start randomly picking people to die. You don’t want that, do you?”
Alisa stopped struggling, “No.”
-
“What do you do if someone catches you like this?” Ronon asked, holding Alisa off the ground, trapping her arms against her side.
“Call for you to help me?” Alisa suggested, struggling slightly with no success.
“What if I’m not there?”
“Call John?”
“Alisa,” Ronon sounded annoyed but slightly amused as well, “If you are alone with none of us there to help you?”
“Then I’m screwed,” Alisa snapped, struggling again.
“Lean your head back,” Ronon ordered, waiting until she had her head back far enough, “That’s my nose.” Alisa was surprised as he set her down, “If you’re ever in that position, throw your head back so that it hits whoever has a hold of you. It will either burst or break their nose and give you an opportunity for escape.”
-
Remembering Ronon’s advice Alisa threw her head back, satisfied as she heard the crack before she was dropped to the ground as Marshall swore. Alisa started to run as he tried to stop the blood flowing from his nose, as she turned a corner someone new grabbed her arm and yanked her around the corner just as a hand clamped over her mouth.
“Alisa,” the familiar voice of JD whispered in her ear, “I’m here to help so no screaming or yelling when I let you go.”
Alisa nodded, readying herself to start running the moment he let her go.
“Oh, one more thing,” he said as he let her go, “Arcturus.”
Alisa stared at him as realisation sunk in, “You?”
JD shrugged, “I would have told you but I was ordered not to. Look, we can discuss this once we get back to the SGC.”
Alisa stared at him, “How do I know you can be trusted?”
“For crying out loud,” JD snapped, “I used your password, what more do you want?”
Alisa hesitated not sure what to say but before she could reply JD pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialled.
“It’s me,” he told whoever answered; “She needs more proof I can be trusted.”
Alisa hesitantly took the phone he thrust towards her, “Hi?”
“Miss McKay, it’s General Landry,” the man on the other end said, “Go with him.”
“I...eh...” Alisa hesitated.
“Lissa, for goodness sake,” Laura snapped suddenly, “Go with him and I’ll be here to meet you.”
“Okay, Laura,” Alisa smiled in relief before she turned off the phone and handed it to JD, “Let’s go.”
*********************************************
JD had been surprised and instantly suspicious when he’d arrived back at his apartment to find he had company.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded of the man sitting on his couch drinking coffee.
Jack grinned back at him, “Nice to see you too.”
“I thought we agreed never to see each other again?” JD tossed his rucksack into his room before grabbing some coffee himself.
“I need your help,” Jack told him.
“My help?” JD demanded incredulously, “What the hell could you need my help for?”
Jack set his coffee down and placed a photo on the table, “Do you remember Rodney McKay?”
“McKay,” JD mused for a few seconds, “The scientist guy who almost got T killed by giving a 48 hour deadline.”
“That’s him,” Jack nodded.
“Kinsey was blackmailing him with his daughter,” JD continued, “She was a cute kid.”
“Well she’s not a kid anymore,” Jack told him, “She’s seventeen and until recently has been living in Atlantis. Since the Ancients turned up and kicked them out, she’s now heading for college.”
“Which is where I come in,” JD finished with a grimace, “You want me to play bodyguard.”
Jack nodded, “Alisa has knowledge of Ancient, Wraith and Gould tech and has made no secret of the fact she intended to take over her father’s job. She’ll probably take over at the SGC when she’s old enough.”
“So you’re worried someone will try to grab her,” JD frowned, “NID, Trust – one of those psychopaths.”
“She’ll be starting here next week,” Jack told him.
JD rolled his eyes, “I haven’t said I’ll do it.”
Jack smiled knowingly, “But I know you will. You told Daniel you missed working for the SGC.
“This isn’t exactly going off world,” JD reminded him; “And remind me to strangle Daniel when I next see him. Alright, fine. I’ll play bodyguard. When do I meet her?”
“You don’t,” Jack told him, “I don’t want her to spend all her time looking over her shoulder. Alisa knows it’s possible there are people out there who want her knowledge but I can’t make her a nervous wreck.”
JD grimaced at him, “Wonderful.”
-
“Where are we going?” Alisa demanded as JD pulled her into the Drama Building.
“I checked the plans for this place,” JD explained, “There are several tunnels, one specifically leads out to where my car is waiting.”
“Convenient,” Alisa noted as they moved through the corridors towards the theatre.
JD turned and grinned at her, “Why do you think you came here.”
Alisa frowned but didn’t say a word as they continued along the corridor. She glanced back and horror filled her, “He’s coming.”
JD saw Marshall behind them, dried blood on his face and pulled Alisa in the first open door he found. He pushed her up the stairs before shoving a cabinet over to block the door running up the stairs two at a time.
They could hear their pursuer coming and JD grimaced as he knew they were nowhere near the tunnel he was aiming for. He saw Alisa waiting for his directions and saw the fear in her eyes but could also see that she wasn’t letting it control her.
“We have to get to the stage,” he told her, “The trapdoor leads to the tunnel we need.”
Alisa nodded before murmuring, “He’s going to follow us,” she looked around and saw the control room near them; “I’ve got an idea.”
JD followed her into the booth and watched as she hooked her computer tablet up to the one there.
“Isn’t that passworded?” JD asked amused.
“Yeah, I hacked,” she replied without looking up at him as she concentrated on the screen in front of her, “Okay, I can control it from my computer. Your turn.”
JD nodded and looked around finding some rope. He grinned as Alisa stared at him.
“Are you insane?” Alisa demanded.
“No other way to get across,” JD told her unable to get the grin off his face.
“Oh my god,” Alisa murmured, “I’m in hell.”
-
JD made sure the rope was tight and motioned to Alisa who grimaced but joined him. The banging from behind them stopped indicating Marshall had managed to get through the blockade; JD grabbed the girl wrapping the rope around her waist. As Marshall appeared at the top of the stairs JD grabbed the rope and swung them across to the stage. Alisa let out a high pitched squeak as they swung across the open air, letting out a long shuddering breath when her feet touched the ground. A gunshot rang out and JD grabbed Alisa pulling her behind a piece of set, he could see Marshall above them aiming.
“He’s shooting at us,” Alisa snapped, sounding astonished.
“Actually he’s shooting at me,” JD corrected her; “He wants you alive, remember?” at her grimace he refocused her attention, “The trapdoor on the stage is too open; can you get us some cover?”
Alisa started tapping instructions on her computer, “Smokescreen?”
JD grinned as the smoke machines sitting in front of the stage started pouring a thick blanket of fog onto the stage. JD slid across the floor and opened the trapdoor, wincing when bullets hit around him as Marshall fired blindly hoping to hit him. JD waited until he was sure Marshall was reloading and motioned Alisa over, he was impressed by how calm she was considering the fact she was running from a would-be-kidnapper but living within an SG program meant this probably wasn’t all that unusual. As she climbed down into the tunnel, JD pulled out his own gun and fired off a few shots himself before he followed her.
-
Alisa felt like this day had been going on forever and just wanted to get to the SGC so she could curl up in a bed to sleep. JD continued to rush her through the corridor and Alisa wondered how long it was before they reached the car.
“Not far now,” JD assured her as he kept them running, “There will be a ladder soon and my car is at the top.”
“Good,” Alisa murmured, “The last time I was this deep underground was not comforting and I’m getting flashbacks.”
JD grinned at her sarcasm; she was definitely her father’s daughter. She’d been trained by an SG team unknowingly to handle strange situations and as scared as he knew she was, Alisa wasn’t letting it control her.
Finally they reached the ladder and JD motioned her up, he followed her up caught out as she gave a cry. JD saw a fist coming towards his face but wasn’t able to dodge in time. He grunted as he was flung backwards, hearing Alisa cry out his name. Pure luck meant he managed to grab a hold of the top rung so he didn’t fall back down but as he was distracted two men pulled his charge towards a car. JD pulled himself up, shaking off the effects of the punch as best he could before he ran and jumped on the back of the closest guy to him. When Alisa saw him attack she started to wriggle and strain to get away from Marshall who still had dried blood on his face from the burst nose she’d given him earlier. JD slammed his foot into the back of the knee of goon number two, as he fell JD jumped off and kicked goon two in the head knocking him unconscious.
As the second attacker fell Alisa used a move taught to her by John and slammed her elbow into Marshall’s stomach. He gave a cry and loosened his grip on her giving Alisa the chance to get away. JD grabbed her hand and slammed his gun into Marshall’s temple before dragging her to his car.
“Get in,” JD ordered, he started the car and the moment she was in her seat he hit the gas and they were on the road.
-
Alisa sat trying to catch her breath as JD drove, it was getting cold and she shivered slightly. She was going to kill her father, how the hell could the one time she really needed him to be on the other end of the phone was he not there?
“Are you hurt?” JD asked, making her jump out of her thoughts.
“No,” she whispered, “Just a little...insanely terrified.”
JD smiled, “Good way to be. Don’t worry we’ll be there soon.”
Alisa frowned confused, “I know geography is not my strong point but I know we’re nowhere near Cheyenne Mountain.”
He laughed, “That’s cause we’re not driving there. Unfortunately I don’t have Puddle Jumper.”
“Flying?” Alisa grinned suddenly.
JD’s grin matched her, “Oh yeah.”
-
JD was relieved they were almost at the airfield; he wanted to get to the base so he could make sure his precious package was delivered to safety. Alisa McKay was the future of the Stargate program, she’d been trained by the best minds in two galaxies already and JD knew that he had to protect this feisty genius kid. It felt familiar.
He was brought out of his thoughts by a gunshot and Alisa screamed slightly as the car swerved.
“Son of a bitch,” JD snapped, “Does this guy not get this? He doesn’t get to win.”
“Apparently not,” Alisa murmured, shocked as pulled out his gun and turned to her.
“Can you drive?”
“No,” Alisa cried, “I’ve been living in another galaxy for the past three years.”
He shrugged, “Just hold the wheel so we’re going straight and keep your foot down on the gas.”
“Oh God you’re insane,” Alisa breathed as she slid over to half-sit in the driver’s seat while he craned out the window, “I’m stuck with a guy who thinks he’s in an action movie.”
She gripped the steering wheel tightly as JD fired at the car behind them; Alisa winced as the car started veering to one side.
“Keep it straight,” JD yelled at her.
Alisa bit her lip and tightened her grip on the steering wheel even more, relief filling her as she saw their destination coming up.
“JD,” she yelled, “We’re here.”
“Good,” he called back and fired once more; Alisa heard a bang before the squeal of tyres and winced as JD pushed her back into the passenger seat.
-
“You took your time,” a man who Alisa thought looked like her grandfather greeted them, “Plane’s ready for you.”
JD nodded and threw him the car keys, “Thanks, Mike. Watch out for a guy in a uniform with blood on his face. I shot out his tyres but he’s annoyingly persistent.”
Mike grinned at them, “Got a few friends standing by for just this kind of pest. Get going, Hank’s waiting for you two.”
Alisa watched the exchange a little bemused but grabbed her bag from the car and followed JD to the small plane that was waiting for them.
“As I said,” JD told her as he motioned her to climb in, “It’s no Puddle Jumper but it’ll get us where we’re going.”
Alisa laughed and settled in her seat as JD did his pre-flight checks, relaxing back before she grimaced.
“He’s back,” she called, watching Marshall running towards them.
JD chuckled, “Don’t worry.”
Alisa saw the gun aiming at them and panicked, “Don’t worry?”
JD grinned at her and nodded to who was coming behind Marshall, “Meet the Calvary.”
Alisa watched as Mike and several soldiers in SG uniforms surrounded Marshall, relief filling her as the plane they were in started moving. Once they were in the air she let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.
*********************************************
Laura gnawed on her thumb nail as she paced, she knew they were in the air but until she saw Alisa with her own eyes she wouldn’t be satisfied the teenager was safe.
“Lieutenant,” General Landry said, his voice calm and soothing, “They’ll be here soon.”
Laura turned to him, “I know, sir. I know but...”
“You won’t relax till you see her,” he finished.
Laura nodded, turning as the sound of a plane floated through the air to them. She nervously rubbed her hands together as she watched the small craft touch down and slow to a halt. Alisa smiled at her through the window and as soon as the plane stopped the teenager was out of her seat in an instant. Alisa ran to Laura who wrapped the teenager in her arms, closing her eyes in relief. After a few moments Laura pushed Alisa back and gently checked her.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Alisa smiled, “Thanks to JD.”
Laura smiled back and keeping an arm around Alisa’s shoulders turned to JD as he walked over to them.
“Thank you, sir,” she said sincerely before moving Alisa towards the base.
“Sir?” Alisa demanded, “What...I...what’s going on?”
-
JD walked slowly through the corridors of SGC feeling at home; it had been a while since he’d been here and suddenly he felt like he belonged as well as like the biggest fraud there was.
“I know you’re there,” Daniel said as JD leaned against the door watching him work, Daniel turned to him, “You may as well come in.”
“So,” JD wandered the office, looking at the familiar and the new items, “How’s things?”
“The usual,” Daniel shrugged before changing the subject “Is Alisa okay?”
JD smiled, “She did well. Smart, capable and didn’t turn into a weeping mess.”
Daniel laughed, “Happy to be back?”
“Guess you don’t know what you miss till it’s gone,” JD replied with a sigh, “I’d better go. Alisa wants to know who I really am; this could be a lot of fun.”
Daniel chuckled and watched his friend; no matter what had happened they were still friends, walk away.
Now all he had to worry about was Jack in Atlantis.
-
“Alisa, sit on your ass before I knock you on it,” Laura snapped as Alisa paced the VIP room.
“How could you not tell me about Dad?” Alisa dropped onto the bed.
“Lissa,” Laura pulled the chair over to face her young friend, “I didn’t want you to panic, especially when you had your own problems.”
Alisa sighed and rubbed her eyes, “Who is he?”
“Who?” innocence danced in Laura’s eyes.
“You know who,” Alisa glared at her, “You called him ‘sir’. That means...I don’t know what that means.”
“It means,” JD said as he walked in, “That I’m her superior officer.”
“That’s crap,” Alisa retorted.
JD laughed before he sighed and dropped into a seat, “About four years ago I went to bed as normal and woke up sixteen years old.”
Alisa stared at him confused.
“Until that moment,” he continued, “I was Colonel Jack O’Neill, now I’m a clone.”
Alisa stared at him, her eyes widened in astonishment, “You’re kidding.”
At her excited look JD stepped back from her, “Get rid of that look now. I’m not a science experiment.”
Alisa grinned, “Want a bet?”
“Lissa,” Laura said softly from the other side of the room.
“Oh come on,” Alisa turned to her friend, “You don’t find this the least bit interesting?”
“Answer that, Cadman and see what happens,” JD threatened.
The siren sounded through the base and Laura sighed in relief, “I’m just going to see if that’s any news on Atlantis. Bye.”
Alisa rolled her eyes as Laura practically sprinted from the room.
-
“So,” Alisa sat on the bed, “I take it the re....other Jack O’Neill got you to babysit me.”
“You mean the real one,” JD noted, “And yeah, he asked me to keep an eye on you.”
“Without telling me?” Alisa challenged.
“Not my idea.”
Alisa chuckled, “Okay, I get you not wanting to go by Jack O’Neill but why JD Tyler? What made you choose that name?”
“I didn’t,” he told her, “Hammond did?”
“Hammond?”
“General George Hammond,” JD explained, “He was the commander of the base for seven or so years. Anyway, he was the one that filled out all the paperwork on the new me and he chose my name.”
“Which is?” Alisa prodded.
JD rolled his eyes, “Jonathan Daniel Tyler.”
Alisa frowned in thought, “Why that name?”
“Well Jonathan is my name originally,” JD explained, “Tyler was my son’s middle name.”
“And Daniel?”
“Hammond has a sense of humour,” JD replied softly, “It was his way of reminding me I still had friends.”
“So JD.”
He shrugged, “Seemed the best name.”
“I like it,” Alisa laughed, “Gives you an air of mystery,”
*********************************************
Rodney dialled Earth from the co-pilot’s seat of the Puddle Jumper; he couldn’t believe that they’d actually done it, they’d saved Atlantis.
“Home here we come,” Jack murmured from the pilot’s seat as he moved the small ship into the event horizon.
As they appeared in the Gateroom in the SGC, Rodney smiled to himself. He planned on calling Alisa the moment he could to tell her they were able to go home. Jack set the Jumper down gently, grinning slightly.
“I love these things,” he murmured before opening the hatch, “Come on, McKay. Let’s go tell the others what happened.”
They were greeted by Landry and Daniel who grinned happily to see them standing there before they headed up to the briefing room.
“Rodney,” Laura cried in relief when she saw him there, she moved to him and was about to hug him but stopped herself, “Everything’s okay?”
He nodded, a little bemused by Laura’s enthusiastic greeting.
“What’s going on?” he demanded.
Laura looked at Jack who was waiting as expectantly as Rodney before she glanced at the other two men in the room, both who were happy to let her tell Rodney about his daughter.
Throwing Landry and Daniel a dirty look Laura turned to Rodney, “Can we talk for a second?”
-
“Cadman,” Rodney snapped, confused and worried as they stood in the General’s office.
“I don’t want you to freak out,” Laura started.
“Freak out?” Rodney demanded; panic covering his face, “What happened?”
Laura took a deep breath, “Someone came after Lissa.”
“What?”
“Calm down,” Laura told him sharply, “She’s safe; she’s in a VIP room with General O’Neill’s clone. She’s a little worried about you though.”
Rodney closed his eyes, “Then she’s okay.”
“A little hyper,” Laura smiled, “But she’s fine, Rodney. I promise.”
He dropped his head in relief, looking up as Laura placed her hand on his arm.
“I promise.”
-
“Dad,” Alisa ran across the conference room and threw her arms around him, “You’re back, you’re safe.”
Rodney hugged her tightly, “I heard you had an adventure.”
She shrugged, “Kinda. I thought Earth was going to be boring.”
Rodney laughed before he looked over at JD who was leaning against the wall, “Thank you.”
“It was my job,” JD shrugged before grinning, “Besides, it was fun.”
Alisa laughed at her father’s look of worry, “I’m fine, Dad. Though if Atlantis is open for business again, I’d like to go back.”
Rodney nodded, “I have absolutely no objections to that, Lissa.”
-
“So,” JD stood in the doorway watching Alisa check round her room, “You got everything?”
Alisa nodded, “I’m pretty sure.”
He nodded.
“You know you don’t have to be here,” Alisa reminded him, “I have about a legion of people watching and helping me get back to the SGC safely.”
“Yeah but I promised to take care of you until you go to the SGC so I’ll stick around,” he told her amused.
She rolled her eyes and closed her suitcase, managing to close it without too much problems.
“Looking forward to going home?” JD asked as he helped her with the final few bags, “Or are you going to miss college?”
“I can’t wait to get back,” Alisa told him as they walked, “But I must admit, being here was so different.”
“Including the running for your life?”
Alisa laughed, “You know there’s nothing unusual in that. Life in Atlantis is sort of intense and I spend a lot of time wondering if my father is going to be okay.”
“So why go back?” JD threw the bags in the back of the car.
“Because I get to learn from the greatest minds in the galaxy and if I’m there,” Alisa sighed, “I know the moment he gets back that he’s safe. If I was on Earth and didn’t know the Gate schedule I’d be a wreck.”
JD smiled at her, “Look after yourself, kid.”
“I’m not a kid,” Alisa told him, she stretched up and gently kissed his cheek before she slipped into the car, “Bye.”
JD watched the car drive away and smiled to himself, it had been interesting.
Alisa von LE McMurray
Kapitel Bemerkung: Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.
Sorry this has taken so long but I was distracted by real life and other stories as well as a little writers block but here we go.
Next part is...hopefully coming soon.
Enjoy
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