By Deb
SERIES/UNIVERSE: SG-7
DISCLAIMER: M7 characters belong to MGM, Trilogy, CBS, and TNN. The characters from Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM, Gekko, and Showtime. I'm not making any money from writing this story, I just love to write. Original characters (present and mentioned) belong to me...primarily Adriana and Dawn in this story.
SPOILERS: references to Ghosts of the Confederacy, One Day Out West, Witness, The Trial, Achilles, my own More than Friends. References to the movie Stargate, and various Stargate SG-1 episodes.
WARNING: original characters, some violence, nasty language in certain sections.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: At the end of the story, as I did with The Light in the Distance, will be the entire song from which the title is taken. While the quote won't make sense right away, it will as the story goes on and once you read the song, which reminds me powerfully of Vin.
"All that you've been
and all you've become
is all you can be
under the sun"All You Can Know, Steve MacDonald
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Part One
Two years was a long time to be on the run...to be looking over your shoulder. To be alone. Vin Tanner knew that. Knew how much it had exhausted him. He was looking only to rest that night. But then, when he had agreed to help find a five year old girl, he had only been looking to return that child to her mother. Finding a girl who would eventually become his dearest friend had never been part of the bargain.
So maybe he should have expected the unexpected that night. He was sitting in a bar in Denver, Colorado, and it was the plan to stay a few months while he got a little more cash together. With the price on his head, he avoided using ATM machines or credit cards. After what had happened to Adriana in Texas, the near miss involving her college roommate, he was extremely leery about using a credit card. Of any kind, including ATM cards.
Getting involved was to be avoided, at all costs. At least, that was what he had told himself. But while Vin was very good at keeping a low profile, he found it damn near impossible to watch injustice being done. This night was no exception. The young hunter-turned-prey was nursing a beer when the ruckus started. At first he didn't pay too much attention to the bigots in the bar. They were a dime a dozen, found no matter where you went.
Vin's attention wasn't really drawn to the situation until he saw he heard a woman snarl, "Let him go! He's done nothing to you!" Vin did look up then as a big man rounded on a slim, blonde-haired woman. Funny. She looked nothin' like Drina, but he could easily see his friend taking on this bozo. He was twice her size, but the woman stood her ground, her chin lifted defiantly. Again, just like Drina.
Enough. He had left Texas for a damn good reason. Had broken one of his most sacred promises to a dear friend for a good reason. He had no doubt that she had forgiven him, but it was much harder to forgive himself. Turning his attention back to the situation developing, his eyes flickered from the blonde woman, to the man now being pinned to the bar by the bigot, then to the menace himself. He cringed every so slightly. Damn, but he was a big 'un!
And he promptly earned Vin's contempt by shoving the beautiful blonde away from them, and she hit the wall hard. As the woman was catapulted away, the bigot's friends closed in, and Vin was on his feet immediately. Nope, he wasn't a man, not in the least. Hell, Adriana was half his size, and she could have easily kicked his ass. He heard the woman scream helplessly as she pushed herself to her feet, "Are you people just gonna let this happen?"
Vin had already begun glancing around the room carefully, finding a path to reach the black man whom the blonde had been defending so fiercely. As he did, he found himself locking eyes with another man, sitting a few tables away. Late thirties, maybe ten or fifteen years older than Vin. Dark blond hair. He looked vaguely familiar to Vin, but...that wasn't the weird part. As if the words had actually been spoken, Vin could almost hear the other man's thoughts. Shall we? Vin inclined his head once and slowly moved forward.
As he joined the other man, his new companion glowered at the bigots now harassing the black man. Silence fell and they turned to face the two men. Vin's companion, whose name Vin still didn't know, said quietly, "Let him go." The crowd around the black man began thinning out, until it was just the worthless pile of manure who had shoved the woman. Their victim didn't seem to be injured, just angry.
"And who's gonna make us? You? Not likely! Goddamn cowboy," the bigot retorted. He spat at the blond man's feet, and Vin's companion just stared at him steadily. In spite of himself, Vin found himself thinking of Adriana's stories about her brother's friend Chris, and his glare. Aw hell, that would be a kick in the pants! But it couldn't be Drina's Chris...could it?
"Did you," Vin's companion asked very softly, "just call me a 'cowboy,' shitface?"The man looked at Vin and repeated, almost bemused, "Did he just call me a 'cowboy,' or did it only sound that way?" Vin had the uneasy sense that the bigot had just pissed off the blond man even worse, and the man looked at the black man, asking, "Nathan?"
"Afraid so, Colonel Larabee. Y'all gone and done it now," the man named 'Nathan' said hoarsely. Vin almost wished he had his gun with him. Rifle, pistol, didn't make no never mind. Or, he thought with a barely suppressed grin, I could always get Drina in here with her rifle. Knowin' that girl, she'd relieve 'em of some precious body parts if she aimed at their chests!
"Ooh, and what are you gonna do about it? You and pretty boy gonna make us sorry?" the woman-shover asked. Vin just looked at him. Yup...get Adriana in here, let her work her magic with the rifle. And when she was finished, make sure the son of a bitch couldn't be reattached. The man reached out, as if to touch a lock of Vin's shoulder-length hair, and Vin knocked it away easily. He would wait to break this sumbitch's wrist. Not right now, though.
Vin 'suggested,' "Reckon y'all would be a lot healthier and a lot happier if ya just walked away." This observation was greeted with yet more derision. Vin just sighed, exchanged another glance with his companion...and again, a silent agreement was reached. The blond-haired man went left, Vin went right, and the man named 'Nathan' was released immediately. Of course, they then had a donnybrook on their hands.
Nathan had found the blonde woman and swung her onto the bar. As Vin swung into position beside his new friend (whose name he still didn't know), he caught the pair arguing from the corner of his eye, but he didn't pay attention for long, as he was engaged in a desperate battle. While the bigot had chosen him as his target, the big bully had made a tactical error...Vin was several inches shorter, but he had learned to use it, and his speed, to his advantage.
The fight took less than five minutes, as the soft-spoken colonel and the rangy bounty hunter took on the bigot and his friends. They received help from Nathan, who literally pinned one of the men to the bar with a pair of wicked-looked knives. Vin fought back to back with the colonel, and every time he saw someone get near any of the men, the blonde woman would bash 'em over the head with an empty beer bottle. Mostly empty, at least. At the end of the fight, Vin found himself favoring his ribs ever so slightly. Damn, that son of a bitch wasn't real bright, but he packed one helluva punch!
Much to his surprise, it was the bigots who were kicked out of the bar, and Vin made a mental note to find out why later. Most of the bars he had been in, if you were in a bar fight of any kind, even if you were just defending yourself, kicked ya out. As the bouncer pushed the original attackers out of the bar, the rest of the patrons...the ones who hadn't gotten involved in the fight...began cheering.
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Part Two
The young bounty hunter shook his head, and glanced at the man named 'Nathan.' It looked like he hadn't been hurt in the fight, and Vin was glad. At least, until the other man grabbed Vin's elbow, steering him to a nearby table. He said, "Colonel Larabee, I think Captain Travis could use some help gettin' down from the bar...and thank her. She was a big help, hittin' them jerk-offs with empty bottles every time they came near us. Easy there, kid...I was a medic in Desert Storm, I want a look at your ribs."
"I ain't a kid," Vin retorted, then grimaced at the pain throbbing in his side, "but thanks the same. Name's Vin Tanner." Aw hell, why had he gone and said that? Wasn't really like Eli Joe was anywhere 'round here, but he didn't like to take chances. However, the medic just smiled and nodded his head, no sign of recognition in his eyes, and Vin asked, "So, what exactly did those losers want? I wasn't really paying attention until the lady was shoved, so I didn't see what pissed 'em off so bad. Though with asses like that, it don't take much."
"Nathan Jackson...and you're right, it don't take much at all. Captain Travis is a real good friend 'a mine from work, and we were in here playing pool. She's been havin' a hard time, makin' some adjustments, and when I touched her shoulder as I circled around to take my shot, those guys went ballistic," Jackson replied. Vin just rolled his eyes, then hissed as Jackson gingerly touched the bruised flesh. Aw hell! He could almost see Drina shaking her head. Not a word, girl, he told the mental image of his friend, not one!
"You fight pretty good. New in town?" the colonel asked, approaching with the blonde. Captain Travis, Nathan Jackson had called her. Vin grimaced as Nathan probed the bruised area around his ribs, and nodded once. The man continued, "Same here. Name's Chris...you've met Nathan, and this is Captain Mary Travis, United States Air Force.." Well, ain't that a coincidence...Chris, huh? Naw, cain't be.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, are you all right? I've never seen anyone do that before!" the blonde woman exclaimed. Colonel Chris grinned, and she said with exasperation, "I mean, just go to the aid of someone they didn't even know. I'm not quite that naive, Colonel Larabee." Aw hell. Larabee? Captain Travis added with an evil smirk, "Now, would you mind answering some questions for me, or do you want to go to the bar? Or was it the saloon, Colonel Larabee?"
Shit. She really had said 'Larabee.' Well, there could be two by that name. Both with lethal glares. Both in the United States Air Force. Yeah. Right. And maybe he would find out that Drina had returned to her native Colorado. Nope, she was still in Germany, doing her grad and post-grad work. Larabee answered with a grin, "Yes, ma'am, it was the saloon, I said." Vin was spared by the necessity of a reply, because Nathan was speaking up.
"This here's Vin Tanner. Reckon you're from Texas, by the way you talk?" Nathan inquired and Vin nodded, teeth clenched tightly. Shitshitshit, that hurt! Nathan continued, "He's got some bruised ribs, but he should be fine. You mind if I check for internal bleeding?" Before Vin had a chance to protest, the man began a gentle probe of Vin's lower abdomen. A pair of firm hands settled Vin in the chair, preventing him from bolting.
"Next time, gimme a chance to say 'yes,' alright, doc?" Vin growled. Shit. Okay. So this was Drina's Chris, after all. Vin wasn't ready to bring up his friend...didn't know Larabee well enough. Way Vin's luck had been running, Larabee would probably jump to all the wrong conclusions. However...now that he thought about it, the medic's action reminded him strongly of another Jackson. Vin asked, "Ya got a cousin named 'Dawn' by any chance, Doc?"
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do...I didn't see her much growing up, her parents moved to British Columbia when I was a kid. And she's several years younger than me, anyhow. I'll be damned...I haven't talked to Dawn in years. The last I heard, she was finishing up her doctorate in psychology," Nathan explained. Huh. Vin had never really heard what Dawn was studying...it just never came up. Still, it made sense. Dawn loved helping people.
The last Vin had heard, she had just moved to Georgia to be with her uncle, but no mention was made of postgrad work. But...that had been two years earlier.
"Thought as much. Dawn's a helluva woman, 'scuse my language, ma'am," Vin said, nodding to Captain Travis. The blonde woman just nodded with a smile. But it was true. Dawn was a helluva woman, she always had been. Just because they had tangled a few times when she thought he had hurt one of her cubs...that was one of the reasons he respected her. And, if he was really honest with himself, he knew that he was one of her cubs as well.
"No need to apologize...and if you gentlemen will excuse me, I should need to make a phone call. I should be back in a few minutes, Nathan," Captain Travis said. To his displeasure, Vin found himself blushing as he rose to his feet. Captain Travis offered him her hand, and Vin took it, lowering his head. The blonde captain left, and it was just the men.
Nathan resumed his examination, which had been halted when the captain left, then pronounced Vin free of internal bleeding. The young bounty hunter answered dryly, "Coulda told ya, doc. He hit me in the ribs, not in the gut." Jackson just grinned and the young bounty hunter continued, "So, y'all in the Air Force? Come here often?" Larabee snorted, but grinned anyhow. Well, that settled that. Drina had also said Chris didn't smile often, but when he did, it took years off'a his age.
"Not nearly enough. Texas, huh? My little sister went to the University of Texas," Larabee said. What did he say? 'Yeah, I know, Adriana's a real good friend a'mine. Oh, no, we're not lovers...not quite, she likes to say.' Ahhh, no. Vin didn't think so. So he kept his mouth shut, and Larabee continued, "She's studying in Germany now. What part of Texas you from?"
"All over," Vin answered honestly. And in the two years since lighting out of Texas, he had travelled all over the country. Larabee grinned at that, and Vin continued, "I ain't that interestin,' though. Tell me 'bout the Air Force. Ya one of them fancy pilots, like Tom Cruise in Top Gun? Yeah, I know, that's about the Navy. Friend a' mine, she done explained all about it." On the night they had become friends, at the pizza party in her dorm.
Larabee laughed outright, and Vin didn't miss the surprise on Jackson's face. The colonel continued, "Nope, ain't a pilot. Got no desire to fly. I can do that on my own." Vin remembered what Adriana had told him, about the deaths of Larabee's wife and son, and decided not to figure out what the other man meant by that. He didn't think he wanted to know. Larabee continued, "Naw, it's kinda hard to explain what we do. What about you?"
"Bounty hunter...'mong other things," Vin admitted. During the last two years, he had done a little bit of everything...well, anything that didn't include reading. Sometimes, he had used his real name. Sometimes, remembering something Adriana had once told him, he went by the name 'Rennat.' His last name, spelled backward. He always shrugged when people asked him if it was French...told them the truth there, that his mother had died when he was still a little boy, so he wasn't rightly sure about his family background.
"That where you learned how to fight like that? As a bounty hunter?" Nathan asked with interest, and Vin almost laughed aloud. Where had he learned to fight? Where hadn't he?
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Part Three
"Naw. Learned how to protect myself when I was still a kid. Picked up a few things since then. Work as a guide sometimes...been part of search and rescue," Vin admitted. Well, that was as good a way of putting it as any. Seeing interest in both pairs of eyes, green and brown, Vin continued, "Reckon there ain't too many jobs I ain't done yet. Last two years, just been skippin' from town to town, lookin' for work." And keeping a low profile.
"I bet you meet some real interestin' folks that way. Last time I heard from my cousin, 'bout eighteen months ago, she had joined up with a search and rescue team down in Georgia. She said that one of her cubs...one of the girls whom Dawn took care of while she was in Texas, she calls them cubs...met a really nice guy when her team took part in a rescue effort, when a little girl ran away from home. Dawn figured maybe she would get lucky, too," Nathan observed.
A really nice guy, huh? Nice to know ya thought so, Dawn, Vin thought, after all the scrapes I got Drina into. He had deliberately avoided answering Nate's question, at least until he decided how much he wanted to say. After a moment, he decided to take a chance. While Adriana had spoke of Buck and Chris often, Vin had no idea how often, if ever, she spoke of him. Part of him hoped that she hadn't told either of them anything about him, and part of him...
"Reckon I did. Never really thought on it much. 'Cept once. I was workin' as a guide in Texas, 'bout five years ago. Met up with a real nice girl, became good friends with her. Met when her group signed on to help find a little girl named 'Raquel Hernandez.' Ain't seen her in two years...my friend, I mean," Vin explained. He checked out Larabee's expression out of the corner of his eye. The other man wasn't reacting at all, and Vin wasn't sure if he should be disappointed or relieved.
"I'm terribly sorry to hear that...I'm sure you've missed her terribly," Captain Travis said, returning to her seat. Vin was on his feet as soon as she pulled out her chair and she put her hand on his shoulder, pushing him into the chair. She said, "It's a pleasure to meet a gentleman, but there's no need for you to get up. Nathan, I am so sorry to ask this of you, but I just called the all-night garage...my car won't be ready until tomorrow. Can you take me home?"
"Course. Vin, it was real good to meet you, and thanks again," Nathan replied, shaking Vin's hand. He nodded to the colonel, who was working hard on his drink, then led the blonde captain out of the bar. Vin watched them go uneasily. The bigots had left the bar, but that didn't mean they would leave Nathan and the captain alone. He returned his attention to the colonel, who was watching him closely.
"Reckon I oughta go after 'em? Make sure they'll be okay?" Larabee asked, and Vin blinked in amazement. The weird feeling had been one thing, but this was something else. He nodded and Larabee continued, "I reckon you're right. Hell, this leadership responsibility can be wearin' on a man. Good to meet you, Vin...try to stay outta trouble." Vin shook the other man's hand, then tipped his hat.
The green eyes stayed focused on him a moment longer. We got a lot more to talk about, kid. This ain't over yet.
Vin maintained eye contact with the other man, if only to make sure Larabee knew that he wasn't afraid of him. A faint smile quirked the edges of Larabee's mouth, and he nodded. Vin said, "Lookin' forward to another fight, Colonel." This time, Larabee laughed outright. Still, smiling, the man left the bar to keep an eye on his two colleagues, and Vin rose slowly to his feet. He made his way to the bar and paid his bill, then set out in the opposite direction, toward the motel. That was one reason he had come to this bar, 'cause it was so damn close to the motel.
Drina would have kicked his ass, reminding him of the time in Texas when he had been beaten up by a gang led by one of the guys on her dig. And she would have been right...he had left her dorm, hadn't gotten more than a few steps outside when he had been jumped. But he was still restless, and would have almost welcomed a second fight at that point in time. Unfortunately, he also knew that he had to be careful, especially since his mind was busily spinning.
He had a lot of thinking to do. For one thing, that way-weird feeling he got, when his eyes had connected with Larabee's. Vin had never experienced anything like that before in his life. The sensation that he could practically read the other man's mind. It was something he had never felt with Adriana, and she had been as close to him as anyone since his ma's death. Damn, what was happening to him? First he had let down his guard with Drina, let himself care about her so much. And now this freaky feeling of knowing what Larabee was thinking.
'Course, then there was the whole matter that it was, indeed, Drina's Chris whom he had fought alongside. He had never seen pictures of Chris Larabee, or Drina's brother Buck. He wasn't entirely sure why she had never shown him pictures of her two brothers. Then again, they never really talked about her brothers...not the one she was given at birth, and not about the one who had unofficially adopted her. Sure, she would tell him stories about Chris, and about Buck, but those were more...oh, what had she called those? Anecdotes? That sounded about right.
He stopped in his tracks and looked around warily. Seeing no potential threats, he tilted his head back and looked up at the stars. These were the same stars which he had watched in Texas, with Adriana leaning back against his legs, her head resting on his knees. He remember her telling him about the ancient stories woven about the stars. Could almost hear her voice in his head, almost see her smile as she described something funny that had happened in class.
And it really sucked, in a way. After almost a year of not being able to remember her face without glancing at his sole picture of her, her image had slammed into his consciousness with the force of a tidal wave earlier that night, and goddammit, he missed her! Wasn't just how much Captain Travis reminded him of Drina, though that was part of it. And much as he wanted to think so, it wasn't meeting Chris Larabee. True, it had been a weird twist of fate, but if Vin was really honest with himself, he would admit Drina had been in his thoughts a lot lately.
After a moment, Vin shook his head, frustrated with himself. What was wrong with him tonight? Maybe he had drunk too much beer,'cause he never got this sappy. He let himself into his motel room, checked the room for any intruders, and once he felt reasonably safe, began to relax. God, he was so tired! And he knew he would ache in the morning. He removed his shirt and tossed it in the corner. He had to look for a job in the morning.
But now, he needed to get some rest. While he didn't always remember what she looked like, there was one ritual he maintained. For some reason, it helped him sleep. Clad only in his jeans, he padded to the window and brushed back the curtain. The moonlight and starlight bathed his room in its soft light, and looking up at the night sky, he whispered, "G'night, Drina. Sleep well, and watch your back." He had said goodnight to the stars, to his friend...now he could sleep.
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Part Four
Chris Larabee had a lot of thinking to do. He still couldn't make sense of what had happened to him in there. The sense of knowing what the young man would do. It wasn't just a guess...he had known what would happen, just as soon as he stood. While Buck had a pretty good idea how his mind worked, they had known each other for twelve years...this was different. Not psychic, or anything 'woo-woo' as Sarah would have said, but... Damn.
Chris tried to shake himself out of the weird feeling he just had, and glanced ahead to his two colleagues. Well, at least this was one bar fight he hadn't started...not really, at least, and things hadn't ended too badly. He had earned this night out. For the last two weeks, he had been working with General George Hammond and General Orrin Travis, creating a new SG team. It was supposedly a plum assignment. Larabee wasn't sure about that.
It was forcing him to live again. Forcing him to be responsible for people other than himself. He had been responsible for someone else once before. He had lost them both, and Chris wasn't sure...no. No, he knew he wasn't fit for that kind of responsibility. But Orrin Travis and George Hammond weren't men you turned down. And so, the formation of SG-7 had begun. There was no choice, in some cases, of who went on the team.
First to join was Major Bucklin Wilmington. United States Air Force. Larabee's friend for twelve years...best man at his wedding to Sarah Connelly, godfather to their son Adam. It had been a hard thing, asking Buck to join. Chris had treated him badly after the deaths of his wife and son in a bombing, but the big man had stayed around. Shit, Buck had even missed his younger sister's graduation to take care of Chris. He had said he couldn't get leave...that was what he had told Adriana, at least, but Chris knew better. The benders each weekend were getting worse and worse.
In a way, that had contributed to the parting of their ways. Chris had been guilt-ridden when he came out of his latest drunken stupor, to find out that Buck had missed his baby sister's graduation from college on account of him. Christ. Adriana had become like his own sister, from the first time he had met the girl. Chris was so proud of her, once he sobered up. She had her degree in archaeology, she was off to Germany for three years to get her Masters and Ph.D.
With the guilt came his anger with Buck. What the hell had Buck been thinking? Chris had lost his family...was Buck trying to drive his away? Their old man was a worthless piece of shit, but Adriana was his sister, his family! Buck should have been with her. And Sarah would have agreed, if she had been alive. Buck often put off visits from his sister...the idiot was trying to protect Adriana from his girlfriends. Or rather, from knowing how many girlfriends he had.
Chris supposed he could understand that...he just didn't know if Adriana did. After so many times of being told, 'not this time, babe,' the girl had to wonder why. And Buck shouldn't take his sister for granted...he never knew when he might lose her. Chris had grown depressed, thinking about Adriana dying so young. Christ, just twenty-two years old! And that had sent him into another drinking binge. To this day, he didn't remember what had been said during the final confrontation with Buck.
He didn't see him again for two years, not until the week earlier, when Chris had tracked him down and asked him to join SG-7. Not that he had told Buck about the SGC. Buck wouldn't have believed it. Hell, Chris couldn't believe it, and he had been living with the knowledge of the SGC, and the Stargate for nearly a month. No, he had just told Buck that he was putting together an elite team...and did he want to be a part of it? Sarah and Adam hadn't been mentioned. Nor had Adriana.
And ever since that day, Chris Larabee had slowly begun putting himself back together. He had a lot to atone for, he knew that. He didn't ask how Adriana was doing in Germany, since she was heading into her last year of her studies. Buck didn't offer any information, either. They quietly put the team together, with input from the two generals, and from Dr. Janet Frasier, which was how Nathan Jackson came to join the team.
Chris said as he reached the other two, "We get back to the SGC, I want to get information on him. Vin Tanner. How old do you think he is, Nate? Thirty, thirty-one?" Mary Travis immediately shook her head, and Chris looked at her. She was a piece of work, and he wasn't sure yet if he liked her. They had clashed several times...she was stubborn, could be self-righteous when she was protecting what was hers. And she was a widow...her husband had been murdered the previous year. She tried hard to hide it, but sometimes, Chris could see vulnerability in her green eyes. It scared the hell out of Chris...she scared the hell out of Chris.
She could make him feel things. So could her five year old son, Billy. Billy reminded Chris so much of Adam, it hurt sometimes. And Mary...Captain Travis...didn't seem to object to their friendship, despite...hell, how did she put it? Oh yeah. His 'less than stellar reputation.' Mary Travis was a reporter, who was now a public relations officer for General Hammond, and the daughter in law of General Travis. And she was damn dangerous.
She noticed things. She watched people. And now, she said, "No...no, he's much younger than that. I'd say no more than twenty-four or twenty-five." Chris looked at her, startled, and Mary continued, "He's much younger than he seems. He uses a mask, to make himself seem older than he really is. And he doesn't even realize he's doing it, so I'd say he's been doing it since he was very small."
Chris was quiet. He turned back to the bar where he had met Vin Tanner only a few moments earlier. Something felt missing in his team...he had a medic in Nathan (creating some good-natured ribbing from Colonel Jack O'Neill, the leader of SG-1). There was Buck, next in rank, but while Buck was a good man in a fight, Chris knew his old friend had no desire to assume leadership in a field situation. Maybe that was what was missing. Josiah Sanchez was a good man, an anthropologist recruited by Daniel Jackson. Sanchez had been the young Egyptologist's teacher years earlier...and he was a good man, but he had demons, just as Chris did.
JD Dunne was absolutely out of the question. Chris shook his head, still not sure what General Travis had been thinking when he assigned the teenaged Army private to SG-7. Dunne was nineteen if he was a day. Too young. Hell, half the armed forces were too young to be dying so far from home. Boys had been dying in wars from the beginning of time. Didn't stop Chris from hating it. From wanting that kid reassigned...but Travis wouldn't hear of it.
And then there was Ezra Standish. Larabee didn't know quite what to make of that one. He was from the South, originally. A police negotiator, who had been recruited by Travis. He and Nathan were like oil and water. There was something there, something about that relationship which Chris didn't quite understand. And he really didn't think either Standish or Jackson understood it either. Chris himself didn't get along well with Standish, but he tolerated him. For the moment, that was all anyone could ask.
"Colonel...Colonel!" Nate was trying to get his attention, and Chris turned his attention back to the medic. Jackson continued, "You want us to find out information on him? Why?" Chris didn't answer. He wasn't sure why. Every instinct he possessed told him that Vin Tanner would cross his path, and soon. But Chris Larabee had never been one to let things just happen. His instincts also told him that he wanted Vin Tanner on his team, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get that young man onto SG-7.
"I'll see what I can dig up...the more you have from mainstream sources, the easier it'll be to persuade General Hammond to recruit a civilian," Mary Travis offered. How the hell had she figured it out? She smiled faintly and said, "I was just thinking, Colonel, about the way the woman of the SGC would react to him, and the same thought occurred to me." What the hell was she talking about? What did she mean, the woman of the SGC reacting to Tanner?
Evidently seeing his confusion, Captain Travis laughed and said, "Trust me, Colonel...the women in the SGC would find Mr. Tanner very appealing. I'll get started on that in the morning." With that, she slid into the car. Jackson was grinning, his brown eyes twinkling. Not even Larabee's glare could erase the grin. Damn. He was slipping. Chris tapped the roof lightly as Nathan closed his door, and the car roared into the night. Which left Chris exactly the way he liked...alone. Except that lie was old...and not even he believed it anymore.
What had happened to him, when he had locked eyes with Tanner? How had he known what that kid had been thinking, when they had never met? Hell, he had a hard enough time, figuring out what Buck was thinking, and they had known each other for more than a decade. Shit. Chris sighed and walked to his own car, muttering, "I knew I would end up regretting this."
As he checked the car for slashed tires, or any other vandalism, Chris muttered to himself, "I told the generals when they put this team together, I had a feeling I'd regret this. We haven't even gone on our first mission, and I'm already being proven right. Shit." Satisfied that no one had messed with his car, Larabee swung himself into the driver's seat, checked inside one last time, then started up his engine. Nope. Like he had 'told' the kid. This wasn't over.
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Part Five
Mary Travis had been in the military, and around the military, long enough to know when a frontal assault was wise...and when to be subtle. And, she could do both at the same time. Those skills had served her well in the last year, ever since her husband's death. Shortly after Stephen's murder, her father in law had come to her with a proposal. A friend of his, General George Hammond, was the head of what was euphemistically termed a 'research program.'
He needed a public relations officer...Mary needed a change of scene. Mary had balked at the suggestion in the beginning. She was a reporter, not a glad-hander! But even as Orrin respected her opinions and her instincts, she respected his...and he had told her that this assignment would be the best thing that ever happened to her. He and her mother in law Evie would take Billy for a few months, while she settled into her new post. Mary had a particularly difficult time with the idea of spending so much time away from Billy.
But she had taken a chance, had trusted Orrin's instincts. Nine months later, she was shaking her head at the idea she had even considered saying 'no.' That 'research program' was far, far more. On the Giza Plateau, back in the late 1920s, a curious artifact had been discovered. The Stargate, a portal which led to other planets in other galaxies. Even other universes. The first mission had gone through back in the mid nineties, and it had been led by Colonel Jack O'Neill. A year later, Stargate Command, AKA the SGC, had been born.
With it was born SG-1, led by the same Jack O'Neill. He was joined by Daniel Jackson, a young, somewhat clumsy, and very charming Egyptologist. Mary had heard more than one woman in the SGC refer to the young widower as 'adorable,' a phrase that didn't seem inappropriate. At least, not in private conversations. Captain Samantha Carter, an astrophysicist, was added to the team, as well as Teal'c, an imposing Jaffa.
The Jaffa, she came to learn, were the personal guard of the System Lords. Each System Lord had taken on the guise of a god or goddess in the various pantheons of the world. At this point in her briefing with General Hammond, Mary had been totally lost. She spent the rest of the interview, bobbing her head in what she thought were the appropriate places. Mary was brimming over with questions, but she had no idea where to start.
Dr. Janet Frasier, who was her first friend in the SGC, took pity on her and explained things more clearly. The first thing she had to understand, Janet explained, was that they were in a war with the Gou'ald. Thousands of years earlier, the Gou'ald had come to Earth, because their own planet was dying. They enslaved humanity, until the great revolt. At that time, they took people from Earth and returned to the stars.
The System Lords, Janet continued, were a group of Gou'ald fighting for domination. There was no such thing as friendship among the Gou'ald. There were allies, other Gou'ald to help you topple your rival...only to die when their purpose was fulfilled. Each System Lord had their own personal guard, the Jaffa. And their First Prime was their most trusted Jaffa, an aide de camp, as such. Teal'c had been the First Prime of a Gou'ald who had assumed the identity of the Egyptian god Apophis.
The war had been in the infant stages when Mary had joined the SGC, but she had been there when Hathor tried to take over the SGC. That had cemented her friendship with Janet, and provided an early bridge with Captain Carter. In the beginning, Mary and Sam Carter hadn't gotten along well at all. They were too much alike, according to Janet...both stubborn, with something to prove, and filled with passionate conviction. They were destined to butt heads.
Mary wouldn't say they were the best of friends, but they respected each other and could be civil to each other. In Mary's first few months here, she had an argument with Carter at least once a day. A few of them had been real doozies. Not unlike her clashes with Chris Larabee. Mary shook her head, thinking of the blond Colonel. The man could be so infuriating! At first, she couldn't see why he would be friends with the somewhat sarcastic O'Neill.
It had taken a conversation with Major Buck Wilmington to put the pieces together. Nearly everyone on the base knew that Colonel O'Neill had faced that most devastating loss, the loss of his son. The little boy had been playing with the colonel's gun, and accidentally shot himself. It had nearly killed him...it was widely rumored that only the first Stargate mission, the one where he met Daniel Jackson, had saved him.
What wasn't as well known was that Colonel Larabee had suffered a dual loss...his wife and son had been killed in an explosion, a little over two years earlier. Though Sarah O'Neill was still alive, the loss of their son had shattered the O'Neill marriage. And, even more devastating, Larabee's wife had also been named 'Sarah.' The two men had far more in common than anyone realized. And, they had been friends prior to Larabee's assignment to the SGC...not as close as Major Wilmington, but friends nonetheless.
Mary couldn't help herself...she was fascinated by Chris Larabee. She had watched him over these last few weeks. She didn't dare call herself his friend, but she found herself feeling protective of him, especially after Orrin had explained why he suggested Larabee for the position as leader of SG-7. Years earlier, Larabee had gone to the aid of her father in law, and Orrin Travis never forgot something like that. And while Stephen was deeply shaken by Larabee's wild behavior after his wife and son were killed, Orrin had deep faith in the man. In return, Colonel Larabee demonstrated fierce loyalty toward the general.
In some ways, the young man who had gone to Nathan's aid tonight so gallantly reminded Mary of Chris Larabee. A younger, less brooding version of the colonel, though Mary's reporter instincts told her that Vin Tanner was no stranger to pain, to loss, to tragedy. But there was a fierce spirit within that young man which wouldn't allow the loss to win for long. Maybe that was what Larabee had seen when Tanner rose to his feet, after Mary was shoved.
She didn't know. She wasn't entirely sure how Larabee's mind worked. But she had seen the eyes of the two men lock. It was amazing. But not as amazing as seeing Colonel Larabee smile...and even hearing him laugh. From what she had heard, he had laughed very few times in the last few years. What was so special about Vin Tanner, that he had such power? That he could make the colonel laugh?
Long before Larabee mentioned the idea, Mary had decided to look into Vin Tanner's background. Her reporter instincts told her that there was more to the young man than what met the eye. She was curious. And now, Larabee wanted to recruit him for the team. Mary ran through her mind, sorting out what she knew about the man. His name was Vin Tanner. Born sometime between 1970 and 1975, though Mary would bet good money that he was no more than twenty-four or twenty-five. And he was from Texas.
From the conversation she heard as she was returning to the table, she could guess that he was a guide...a tracker. She asked slowly as Nathan headed toward Cheyenne Mountain, "Nathan, while I was calling the garage, did Mr. Tanner mention anything else about his background? I know he was a guide in Texas, but did he say anything else? The more I know about him, the easier it will be to find more background information on him."
Nathan was silent for several moments as he concentrated, then he said, "Yeah, he mentioned knowing my cousin Dawn. She was the resident grad at a dorm, U of T. And he was a bounty hunter for a time...he may still be, I don't know." That's right, I remember him asking Nathan about Dawn. And U of T, Mary thought, that's the University of Texas. Didn't Major Wilmington tell me that his sister graduated from the University of Texas? Nathan continued, "Do you think the colonel has a chance to recruit Tanner? I like the kid, but he's a civilian."
"I don't know. But if that's what the colonel wants to do, I'm gonna do whatever I can to help," Mary replied. Nathan glanced at her curiously, and Mary continued, "Colonel Larabee has his instincts, Nathan, and I have mine. Every instinct I have says that young man is someone special...and the SGC needs him. I just don't know what makes him so special. However, I do intend to find out."
However, that wasn't entirely true...she had already found one thing that would help Colonel Larabee to convince the general that he needed Vin Tanner on his team. Tanner was a guide...a tracker. The SGC could use another tracker...Chanu Hunter was a good man, but he was only one man. (And, Mary had learned, 'Hunter' wasn't even really his last name, but it suited his purposes. She wasn't about to say otherwise) Besides, he had a young wife and a small son. He could use some help. Come to think of it, she realized, Chanu is from Texas, originally. And Claire went to the University of Texas at first.
Nathan said nothing, just looked ahead. Mary had made a solemn oath to herself. And while she was checking into Vin Tanner, she would do a little cross-referencing. Dawn Jackson had been a resident grad at the U of T. And Major Wilmington's younger sister had graduated from that university with a degree in archaeology. Wilmington...she would have to ask what the girl's first name was. But she would keep that part of her research to herself.
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