Challenge #182 fic: Sister Act. G.
Title: Sister Act
Author: velocitygrass
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Rating: G
Warnings/Content notes: ( skip) None of the standard warnings apply
Spoilers: character spoilers for end of season 3
Word count: 9564
Summary: When Susan goes through here uncles' things, she and Claire end up in a different universe.
Note: Also available at AO3. Susan and Claire are John's nieces in my head canon and I've written several stories that include them. This is really a self-indulgent fic. For some reason the theme "responsibility" made me think about Susan and Claire stranded in a different universe.
Sister Act
"Susan," Claire whined. "This is not okay. If they brought presents, they'll give them to us."
Susan rolled her eyes. Why did she have to be settled with such a goody-two-shoes for a sister? "Aha!" Susan extracted a box from her uncle's bag.
"That doesn't look like a present," Claire said, coming closer. "Put it back. They'll be back any moment."
There was something about the box that called out to Susan. Claire was right, it didn't look like it was a present for either of them, but Susan still decided to open it. "It's beautiful," Susan said when she opened the box and found a metallic thing with intricate decoration on it. "I wonder what it is."
"It's not for us," Claire insisted.
"Maybe it's a pendant," Susan said, though it was a bit large for that. She took it out and suddenly the thing lit up. "Whoa."
"Oh god, what did you do?" Claire said, even more panicked. "Put it back!" She pushed Susan's hand with the object towards the box.
"Hey, quit shov-" Susan began, when suddenly the lights went out. Not just in the thing but in the whole room. Which was lit by the sunlight coming in. Claire shrieked. "This is not good," Susan said.
"What happened?" Claire asked. She let go of Susan and stepped away. "Ah! What is this? Where are we?"
Susan's eyes slowly adjusted and saw the faint outline of rows of shelves in what looked like a storage room. There was a thin line of light at the bottom of one wall, presumably the door. "Claire?"
"Yes?" Claire said nervously.
Susan put the metallic thing in the box and held onto it with one hand while she took Claire's hand with the other.
"What happened?" Claire asked again.
"I...I have no idea," Susan admitted. She squeezed her sister's hand and smiled at her, though she wasn't sure Claire could see it. Her sister squeezed back. "Let's see where we are," Susan said.
She started walking, but Claire held her back. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"We can't stay here forever," Susan pointed out. She had no idea what was going on, but this certainly wasn't their home.
"But..." Claire began. "What if they're looking for us?"
"Hmm," Susan said. It was obvious they weren't back where they'd been sneaking in Uncle John's room-okay she'd been sneaking-but maybe if they went looking for them they would find something that led them here. "Oh," Susan said. She opened the box again. She'd vaguely heard Uncle Rodney talk about things that Uncle John shouldn't touch-not sex-type things, but other things. She took the thing out of the box again, but it didn't light up this time.
"Maybe you broke it," Claire said.
Susan harrumphed. She didn't think so. "I think it needs to be recharged." She couldn't really say why she thought that, but she did. It was like the...device was telling her.
"Won't they notice it's gone and get another way to follow us?" Claire asked.
"Maybe," Susan said. Claire did have a point. Maybe the best course of action was to stay and wait for Uncle John and Uncle Rodney to get them. And then being shouted at for touching what she shouldn't. The annoying thing was she could imagine not just her parents being angry, but also Uncle Rodney and Uncle John who were otherwise pretty cool. Well, John was cool. Rodney was entirely aggravating and full of himself, but he was entertaining and honest, which was a plus in her book. And he didn't treat her like a kid most of the time. "All right. Let's wait and see what happens."
~~
"I need to pee," Claire said.
Susan shifted. They'd sat down as they waited for someone to follow them, but so far there'd been absolutely nothing, though the slit of light at the door sometimes changes intensity, so she figured there was a hall down there. It had been a while since they'd been beamed here. Susan wasn't sure how long since her phone had been charging when she'd looked at John's bag and she didn't wear a watch. "What time is it?" she asked her sister.
Claire squinted at the watch on her wrist. "I can't see."
Susan sighed. She got up, wincing at the pain in her legs, then helped Claire up and walked towards the door. "Light's coming through here," she said.
Claire held her arm down. "It's twenty to two."
That was over three hours. Okay, waiting wasn't an option forever. They could still come back here and leave a note or something, but right now they needed a bathroom and food. Susan took a deep breath, pressed the door handle, and pulled. Then she pushed. Then she realized that the door had to be locked. "Shit," she said.
"What?" Claire asked panicked. "We're caught here? What if they don't find us? What if we die?"
"We're not going to die," Susan said, putting both hands on Claire's shoulder. The box was starting to annoy her. It was too big for her pockets so she put it inside her sweater and stuffed the sweater into her pants. "We'll be fine," she said again. "There are people coming by. We'll just have to shout the next time."
"What if they're evil?" Claire asked. Then she added in a whisper, "What if they're monsters?"
"Have you been watching scary movies?" Susan asked.
"You've been playing this game. There's always monsters in the halls," Claire said urgently instead of answering.
"Because it's a game about shooting monsters," Susan said. "Monsters aren't real. You're not a baby anymore."
"We got zapped here out of our home!" Claire said more shrilly. "That's not supposed to happen either!"
"Right," Susan said. "But that was the thing I touched. It's probably something classified that John and Rodney are working with."
"What if monsters are classified?" Claire said fearfully.
"Okay, stop with the stupid monsters!" Susan said, getting unnerved. "Monsters don't have storage room with neatly catalogued boxes."
"They have dungeons," Claire said, calming down. "Yeah," she added, as if it made sense.
Susan wasn't as sure. It wasn't as if John had never been hurt during whatever classified things he did. So there were definitely bad things out there. Monsters or bad people. But if they didn't do anything, they'd have to pee in a corner and start digging into the boxes for food, which she didn't think they'd find. So there was no way around this. "We'll call the next time someone comes by."
Claire took her hand again and they waited without talking. They were closer to the door now, so this time they could hear footsteps as well as see the light change.
"Hello! Can you hear us?" she shouted.
The steps and shadows stopped.
"We're in here!" she shouted.
"Why aren't you using your keycard?" a voice asked.
"We, uh, lost it," Susan improvised.
"Who are you?" came a suspicious sounding question.
Shit. Well, they would see that she wasn't someone who'd have a keycard if they opened the door anyway. "My name is Susan Sheppard."
"Which department are you working in?" the voice asked.
She had no idea where she was, so she wasn't even sure what to make up. "Research and development?" Oh great. Making it a question was very convincing. "Can't you just let us out?"
"I'll have to get help. One moment," the voice said and then the shadow moved and they heard steps walking away quickly.
"He didn't sound nice," Claire said.
"They think we broke in," Susan said.
"Are they going to put us in jail?" Claire asked.
"Well, if they are, they'll have to let us call mom and dad," Susan mused.
"You didn't do it on purpose," Claire said.
"I didn't do anything," Susan protested half-heartedly. "You shoved me and that must have activated it."
"You took it out of the box!" Claire said.
"And it only lit up, but didn't zap us," Susan pointed out.
"Maybe they'll be so glad we're okay that they'll only scold us," Claire said.
Susan sighed. "One can hope."
They waited until they heard a whole bunch of footsteps coming closer. "Stand back," a different voice said.
Susan and Claire stood back. Susan pushed her sister behind her. "We're okay."
A little green light lit up next to the door and then it was opened and they stood facing about a dozen of armed people in uniform pointing guns at them. Behind Susan, Claire shrieked, "Don't shoot us!"
"It appears to be two girls, General," one of the soldiers said. He listened to something, then asked, "How did you come in here?"
"Uhm," Susan said. "We, uh, I touched a thing I found and it lit up and then it...beamed us here?" She half expected the guy to get angry and shout at her not to lie, but he only relayed the information.
"She says she touched a device that lit up and beamed them here," the soldier said. He listened again, then asked, "Do you still have the device?"
"Why do you ask?" Susan said. She crossed the arms in front of her to hide where the box was inside her sweater.
"She- All right," the soldier said. "Please come with us."
"What are they doing to us?" Claire asked.
"The general would like to talk to you," the soldier said.
"Can't you put those down?" Susan asked, gesturing at the guns still pointing at them.
"Standard procedure, sorry," the soldier said. He directed some of the others to move out of the way, but they kept their guns up.
"Come on," Susan said, putting an arm around Claire. She pushed her sister out, staying between her and the soldiers.
~~
Susan looked around the room for what felt like the thousandth time, but the most interesting thing was still the window with a steel plate in front of it. Who put that in front of a window?
"I really need to pee," Claire said.
Susan bit her lip. She also needed to go and she was really getting hungry too. She got up and opened the door where there were still armed guards like the last time she'd looked out. "Can we use the bathroom and get something to eat? She's not going to hold it forever, so you'll have nothing gained but pee on your carpet. Do you want that?"
"Not particularly," a voice said from behind her.
Claire gasped and jumped up, rushing over to Susan, who turned back from the door to look at the familiar looking gray-haired, uniformed man who'd come in. "Please let us use the bathroom," she said.
"Okay," the guy said. "Walter!" he shouted. "Can you take these young ladies to a bathroom and get lunch for them?"
"Of course, sir," a guy came in. He looked not at all threatening and smiled at them.
They finally got to go to the bathroom. Susan noted that there were no windows here either. It was starting to really bother her that she had no idea what was outside there. They walked back with Walter and were led back into the room with the large table and the steelplated window.
The guy from before was munching on a fry. Food!
Susan and Claire sat down by the trays and started eating without asking. Susan looked at the name tag. O'Neill. Hmm. "Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked between bites.
"Not that I remember," he said, but there was something calculating in his look. He seemed pretty laid back, but just like her Uncle John could be sometimes, she thought he was paying more attention than he let on.
O'Neill let them eat. After a moment, Walter came back in with a sheet of paper, which he handed to O'Neill. O'Neill looked at it, then at Susan and Claire and back to the piece of paper. "Thank you, Walter," he said. "Oh, is Carter here yet?"
"No, sir," Walter said.
"Samantha Carter?" Susan asked. "Oh, now I know where we've met! You were at John and Rodney's wedding." O'Neill's eyebrows shot up at that. She turned to her sister. "It's okay, Claire. We're at the Air Force. They can call Uncle John and then someone will come and get us."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," O'Neill said carefully. He wasn't threatening about it, but Susan still didn't like it.
"Why?" Susan asked, frowning.
"Well, your Uncle is not...easily reachable at the moment, and you are at home with your parents and sister," he said, putting the peace of paper on the table. It showed a picture of her at the school fair. It wasn't new but she was recognizable.
"What do you mean we're home? And why is my uncle not reachable? He came to visit us with Rodney just a few hours ago. Did something happen to him?" Susan asked.
Claire stopped eating as well, looking at O'Neill with big worried eyes.
"Why don't we back up and you tell me what exactly happened before you got 'beamed' here?" O'Neill asked.
Susan frowned. She had a bad feeling about this. "Can I make a phone call?"
"Look," O'Neill said. "I want to help you. But in order to help you, I need to know what happened."
"Why can't I make a phone call? You can't detain us and not let us make a phone call," Susan said firmly, lifting her head up high.
O'Neill sighed. "Do you know where you are?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter. There's the American flag, so I have my rights," Susan said.
"I wasn't at Colonel Sheppard's wedding to his ex-wife and as far as I know McKay has never been married," O'Neill said, bringing Susan up short.
"But...you were there," she said. "With Colonel Carter." It had been two years, but she still remembered John's annoyed look when Rodney had gushed about Carter's dress.
"I was where?" a female voice came from the door that Walter had come in from earlier. It was Colonel Carter.
At least she thought it was her. She looked at them, but there was no sign of recognition in her eyes. Susan got an increasingly bad feeling.
"Do you remember us going to Sheppard and McKay's wedding?" O'Neill asked her pointedly.
Her eyes widened. "What?" she asked. Then she turned to Susan and Claire.
"You don't remember it," Susan concluded.
"But..." Claire said, moving closer to her sister.
"Can I please talk to my uncle?" Susan asked, because they seemed to know him at least. "Or Rodney?" she added, remembering what O'Neill had said about John being out of reach.
"Aren't they in...?" Carter asked.
"As far as we know, yes," O'Neill said. "We called Sheppard's brother, but his daughters are fine and accounted for," he added. Then he turned to Susan. "So the question is where did you really come from. And in order to answer that question, it would really help us if you handed over the device, which you so expertly hide under your sweater."
Susan pouted. "I didn't mean to hide it. I just wanted my hands free," she said, fishing it out and handing the box over to Carter. "What is going to happen to us?"
"Hopefully, we'll find a way to send you back where you came from," Carter said with a smile. "How long have you been missing?"
"Maybe four hours by now," Susan said.
"Walter?" O'Neill shouted. Walter looked around the corner behind Carter after a second. "Can you prepare a room for our temporary guests?"
"Yes, sir," Walter said.
"Is there no way to contact my uncle or Rodney? They'll probably know what happened. I found the device in one of their bags," Susan said.
"Is that how it happened? You touched the device and then you were suddenly in our storage room?" O'Neill asked.
"Well, it lit up first and it only zapped us here when Claire shoved me," Susan said.
"I told you not to go through their stuff," Claire protested.
Carter opened the box. "Do you want to try it?" she asked O'Neill.
"I think it needs to be recharged," Susan said. They stared at her. "I just feels like that," she said with a shrug.
O'Neill hesitated for a second then took the device out of the box. "Yeah," he said. "I think she's right."
"You feel it too?" she asked.
"It's a genetic thing. Your uncle has it too," O'Neill said.
"Really?" Susan asked, her eyes widening. "This is so cool." Claire pulled on her arm, frowning. "Well, making it light up and 'feeling' what it does is cool. Not being beamed away from our home. Can you recharge it?"
"I'll have to look into it, but it will take a while," Carter said.
"How about I'll show you to your quarters and try to organize some comic books while you wait," O'Neill asked. Susan gave him a look. "I don't have a whole lot of options, kiddo."
"All right," Susan said. She didn't like the sound of more waiting, but at least they seemed to be safe here for now and someone was working on getting them back.
~~
"Uncle John!" Claire jumped up when the door opened and someone who looked like their uncle entered, but Susan was suspicious enough to hold her back from running to him.
They'd stayed a long time in their room in which Susan had thought about what had happened to them. Either the device was some kind of bodysnatching thing that had put shapeshifters in their place in their parents' home and had messed with their and other people's memories or they were in some kind of parallel universe like she'd seen in an episode of Wormhole Extreme or some other show.
"Susan, Claire," John said, smiling, but there was a tightness in his stance that she didn't like.
Behind him O'Neill and Rodney appeared. Rodney didn't roll his eyes at her or display any kind of recognition. Her blood ran cold.
"You're not our uncle," Susan said, putting her arms around Claire.
John looked back to O'Neill, then turned to them again. "I have two nieces, Susan and Claire," he said. "Though I have only seen them once in recent years. And they did look like the two of you. But yes, I don't think I'm your uncle."
"Thank you for not lying to us," Susan said. It only made her feel fractionally better, but maybe she could trust these people to send them back to her real home. "Do you think we're in a...parallel universe?" she asked.
"A different timeline more precisely," Rodney stepped in, entering the room. "We've dealt with this kind of thing before, so the question is, how does the device work and how can we send you back?"
"That's two questions," Susan said. Rodney raised an eyebrow and gave her a look. It made Susan smile. "So have you found a solution yet?" she asked to rile him up some more-and because she knew he was smart with such things though she'd never tell him to his face.
"I've literally just stepped through the gate," Rodney said.
O'Neill cleared his throat behind him.
"Really?" Rodney said, turning around to him. "They touched a device that beamed them into a parallel universe and you worry about clearance?"
"I thought it was a different timeline," Susan said.
"It is both," Rodney said exasperated. "I can see she's your niece," he told John, who frowned at him.
"Uncle Rodney?" Claire asked.
Rodney turned to her. "Just Rodney is fine. Wait, this is not some freaky difference in the universe, is it? Did your brother marry my sister here?" he asked, turning to John.
"No, but you married Uncle John," Susan said.
Rodney's mouth opened, but no sound came out. He looked like a fish. John looked also shocked, but he seemed to get over it, gaze turning to the ground for a moment, before he looked at them again frowning.
"Yes, and apparently Carter and I attended the wedding. I'm sure it was a great party," O'Neill said. To Susan he added, "I should mention that it's not legal to be married to a same-sex partner and be in the Air Force in this universe, so maybe we'll gloss over that little detail when discussing it with others."
"What do you meant not legal?" Susan asked. "You put people in prison for being gay?" she asked, horrified.
"Well, no," O'Neill said. "But we do kick them out of the Air Force. But obviously what happened in your universe doesn't tell us anything about what's going on in this one."
"I'm not gay," Rodney said. "I mean, I might have experimented at university and Siberia could get lonely but that's-"
"McKay," John said with a clear warning note in his voice.
"You're not even together?" Susan asked. Somehow it hurt her to see them like this. John had been lonely for so long until he'd met Rodney. As annoying as Rodney was, he was simply perfect for John and John for him.
"I mentioned the part about not discussing the details?" O'Neill said. "Maybe I should simply leave you alone for a moment. See if you can find out any additional info while I check in with Carter."
"Yes, sir," John said stiffly.
O'Neill left and closed the door behind him.
The four of them stood silently for a long moment. "It doesn't really matter," Susan said eventually. "You're happily married where we come from and we want to get back there. I can't tell you anything about the device."
"It was in your bag," Claire said to John. "It was her idea to go through them to look for presents." She pointed at Susan.
Susan glared at her, but let it go. "It was in the box and somehow...called to me to open it, so I did. When I took it out it lit up and then-"
"I didn't shove you!" Claire protested before she'd even said it.
"Did you think anything at it?" John asked.
"I thought it looked pretty and that it maybe was a pendant or something," Susan said.
"He means did you give it orders in your mind?" Rodney clarified.
"Why would I..." Susan began. "Oh, the genetic thing. I didn't know about that until General O'Neill told us. I didn't tell it to do something. Not consciously at least."
"The device was in John's bag?" Rodney asked.
"It might have been yours. You both sleep in that room when you stay with us," she said.
"Yes, thank you for reminding me of that...interesting bit of info," Rodney said, glancing at John, who was still frowning. "It was probably my bag. Was there anything else nearby? Documents or other devices?"
"I'm sorry, this was the only thing I took out. There might have been papers there with it, but I don't remember," Susan said.
"Right," Rodney said. "That's not very helpful, but at least we have the device, so we'll keep working on that. I haven't actually had the chance to take a look myself. I'm much more experienced with Ancient tech than Carter is, so there's a good chance I'll have more success than she did. Uh, hang in there...or something."
Susan pouted. She wasn't sure whether she should be flattered that Rodney even attempted to be uplifting or read between the lines that they had no idea what was going on.
Rodney left, but John stayed with them. He stood awkwardly and said, "So, is there, uh, anything I can do for you? While we're working on getting you home."
"When can we go back?" Claire asked in a small voice.
John looked completely forlorn at the question, so Susan quickly said, "They can't tell. But they're working on it. Hey, John, we got dinner and we have a bathroom and even some 'entertainment'-and I use that term loosely-but could you maybe look into getting clothes for us? In case it takes more than a day." Claire tensed in front of her and Susan squeezed her.
John's eyes widened in something like panic. "Uh, clothes. Right. What sizes do you have?" Claire began pulling on her shirt and John quickly added, "You know what, never mind. I'll figure something out. Is there anything else you need for tonight? You know there's someone out the door at all times. You can tell them to get me and I'll be here as fast as I can."
"Thank you," Susan said. She had the feeling he was uncomfortable with the whole situation, but he seemed earnest to help them.
"Goodnight," he said, giving them a forced smile.
"Night, John," Susan said and Claire echoed her words.
John left and closed the door behind them and they were alone again in a windowless room in another universe.
~~
"These are not pajamas. I don't like it," Claire said when they were finally ready for bed.
"Well, your pajamas are not here. Want me to call John to find some in your size on an Air Force Base?" Susan said, annoyed. The corner's of Claire's mouth turned downward. "Oh, stop it. You're not a baby anymore."
"I want mom," Claire said, lips starting to tremble.
"You know she's not here," Susan said, trying to be more gentle.
"What if we never get back?" Claire asked, eyes getting suspiciously glassy.
"It's fine. They're working on it," Susan said, not quite meeting her eyes.
"But Rodney didn't promise he'd fix it. If he can fix it, he always says so! And he didn't," Claire said, getting progressively louder. "What if we can never get back?" Then she started sobbing.
"Claire, don't," Susan said. She really, really hated when Claire cried. She knew that some people thought she didn't care about her sister, but that wasn't true. Yes, Claire could be extremely annoying and it grated on Susan how she always did what adults told her. But it didn't mean she didn't love her.
"They'll think we're dead, and we'll be stuck here," Claire said through tears.
"No," Susan said helplessly. Then she pulled Claire into her arms, running her hands through her hair soothingly. Crap. Now she had tears in her eyes as well. Because Claire might be right. Usually when you gave Rodney something to fix he rolled his eyes and looked insulted by the lack of intellectual challenge. Not this time. If the only way to recharge the device was with something back in their universe, maybe something still in that bag they were screwed.
And it was all her fault. Susan liked to push boundaries, but she never would have wanted to risk their lives like this.
"I'm sorry," she whispered in Claire's hair. Claire squeezed her tight and Susan squeezed back.
~~
Susan didn't sleep very well that night. Claire had tossed and turned next to her, and they'd both woken up early.
"Do you think they've found something?" Claire asked.
"I don't know," Susan said. "Are you hungry?" she asked. She wasn't particularly hungry, but asking for breakfast was one of the few things she could actually do here. The comics that O'Neill had send their way didn't hold her interest for long, and she wasn't into drawing like Claire was.
"Uhm," Claire said. "It's fine."
Susan sighed. If they were at home, they probably would have spent the day with John and Rodney going to a science museum or something. Here there wasn't even a "John and Rodney". It was still hard to wrap her mind around that.
"I'll go brush my teeth," Claire said, crawling out of bed.
"You do that," Susan said.
Claire had come back out and started drawing when there was a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Susan said.
The door opened and John came in with two piles of clothes. "McKay will bring breakfast in a moment. Here's something to try on. They're in different sizes. I hope something fits."
They each took their pile, and Claire immediately ran into the bathroom, saying, "I'll shower and change."
"Shout if you need help," Susan called after her.
"I'm not a baby," Claire said.
Susan rolled her eyes. She turned to John who was smiling. This smile seemed more genuine. "I can leave you to dress," he said.
"It's fine. I can shower and change in the bathroom," Susan said. "You, uh, don't happen to have news on the sending us back front?" She was pretty sure that if he had, he would have told them immediately, but she still needed to ask.
"No, I'm sorry," John said and he did look sorry. "But McKay and Carter have been on it almost all night. If there's someone who can do it-"
"It's Rodney," she finished with him.
"Well, and Carter," John added. "But yes, Rodney can perform miracles with Ancient technology."
There was something in his voice and a fondness in his eyes. "You're in love with him," Susan said aloud.
John looked taken aback. But he didn't deny it. He didn't say anything.
"Why would they kick you out if you married a guy? That's so homophobic. I was still a baby when they got rid of that stupid rule," she said.
John remained silent. He looked very uncomfortable.
"So what happens if you can't send us back?" she asked to change the subject.
"There's no reason to believe we can't return you," John said.
"Is there is a reason to believe you can?" Susan countered.
John shifted.
"Will you keep us in here for the rest of our lives then?" Susan asked. "It's not like we have anywhere else to go. Our parents already have us. There's nobody-"
"No," John said fiercely. "You're not alone. We'll find a way to send you back home." Susan was about to protest when John added, "And if we don't, we'll find a place for you to stay. I will find a way. You're not alone."
"You promise?" Susan asked.
"I promise," John said.
Something in her chest eased up at that and she stepped up to John and hugged him. He stood stiffly and after a moment awkwardly patted her back before really returning the hug for a moment. This was even worse than her real uncle was, she thought smirking into his chest.
She finally let go of him, and he seemed flustered, so she said, "I'll go check with Claire," leaving him alone for a moment. She went to the bathroom and listened to the shower for a bit. Eventually it stopped. She gave Claire another minute. "Hey, are you still alive in there?"
"I'm coming," Claire said through the door and a bit later, she stepped out. Her hair was damp and so were the ill-fitting clothes in spots, but she looked presentable and fairly happy.
Susan felt kind of proud of her and she caught herself stroking Claire's hair, which was tied into an uneven ponytail. "Uhm, I'm going to take a shower now. You'll be fine waiting with John until Rodney brings food?"
Claire looked to John and hesitated for a moment.
"He's not our real uncle, but he..." Susan wasn't sure if she should bring it up again, but maybe it would make feel Claire better like it had made her feel better. "He promised to find a place for us if they can't send us home."
"They probably will," John quickly said. "Rodney is working on it..."
"And he can fix almost everything," Claire said.
"Exactly," John said. "Want to show me your drawings?"
"Sure," Claire said. She went to John pushed him into the chair where she'd drawn, then crawled into his lap.
John didn't seem to know what to do for a second, but then put an arm around her and smiled as she showed him what she'd done. Susan sighed inwardly. Of course people liked her cute little sister. Everyone liked Claire. At least Susan wasn't boring.
She went into the bathroom where her sister had even put the towels nicely back on the rack to dry. Susan shook her head, dropped her clothes and set out to get ready for the day.
~~
When Susan came out, freshly showered and changed into the seriously unfashionable things John had brought, Rodney was there as well with breakfast. She approached the table where they all sat and ate.
"Ro'ney ma'e pan'akes," Claire said with a full mouth.
"Well, I didn't make them personally," Rodney said.
"Yeah, I didn't think so," Susan said dismissively. She'd witnessed Rodney's one attempt to cook for them.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Rodney asked annoyed. "You think I couldn't make pancakes?"
"When did you last make them?" she asked, sitting next to him.
"I can't tell you an exact date," Rodney said.
"But you did? Ever?" Susan asked.
"I can't recall it. Excuse me for being busy saving people's lives and finding ways to send them back when they're stranded in a different universe," he said pointedly.
"McKay," John said with warning in his voice.
"Be nice or you won't get any tonight. Oh wait, you won't anyway," Susan said, taking a plate with pancakes.
"I seriously married into your family?" Rodney said, frowning at John.
"Yes, really," Claire said, oblivious of the implied insult. "I was flower girl. I don't really remember it. But we have pictures." Then she frowned. "At home we have pictures."
Susan reached out and squeezed her arm. "Rodney will find a way to send us home," she said.
"So you trust me with that?" Rodney said haughtily.
"You have to be good for something, don't you?" Susan said.
Rodney gaped.
"Be nice to Uncle Rodney," Claire said.
"As if I care what a precocious ten-year-old thinks of me," Rodney said.
"I'm not ten!" Susan said aghast.
"Well, you certainly behave like a ten-year-old," Rodney said, getting up. "Excuse me while I try to find a way to get rid of you."
Claire looked up at that, her face falling.
"Well, not you. You're all right," Rodney said awkwardly. "I'll just try to find a way to send you home," he added, taking his plate with him as he left.
"He didn't sleep very much last night," John said.
"You should kiss him," Claire suggested. "It always makes our Rodney less cranky."
Susan only gave John a challenging look. He gave her a quick glare and she grinned. He quirked a smile and continued eating.
~~
"Something wrong?" John asked when he entered.
"I'm bored out of my mind," Susan said. "Isn't there anything to do here? Just give me a computer with internet access. Or games. Or hell your smart phone. I wish I had mine with me."
"I can't do that," John said.
"Look, I know I can't call home. But this is torture," Susan pleaded.
"She doesn't want to draw or read," Claire commented from where she drew at the table.
"Because it's boring...to me," Susan said. "Do you have a library here at least? Maybe there's something in there that's more interesting."
"I think the only books we have on base are the reference books for the scientists," John said.
Susan let herself fall dramatically on the bed. "I'd give a kidney for Candy Crush at this point."
"Sorry," John said. "There's actually one thing. You don't have to do it, but some people on the base wondered about the characteristics of the Ancient gene in you. Both of you actually."
"And?" Susan asked, sitting up.
"If you'd allow them to take your blood..."
"Would we get to leave the room?" Susan asked.
"I suppose we could do it in the infirm-"
"Okay," Susan said.
"Wait, take our blood," Claire said. "You mean with a needle."
"It'll be fine. Maybe they only want mine. Do you want to stay here?" Susan asked.
Claire shook her head quickly and got up and walked over to the bed.
"All right, let's go," Susan said, getting up and taking her hand.
~~
The doc was a nice woman called Frasier. Claire watched anxiously when Susan's blood was taken, so Susan forced a smile to her face. It didn't hurt a lot anyway. After she was done, Claire pulled up her sleeve and held her arm out as well, trepidation in her eyes.
"It'll hurt a bit when the needle goes in," Frasier warned her.
"Okay," Claire said. She bit her lip, and so did John for that matter. Claire grimaced when the needle went in, but soon it was over and Frasier carefully removed the needle. Then she told Claire to hold something to the wound while she got what turned out to be a plaster with a smiley face.
Susan pouted. She hated being at an age where people no longer gave you special stuff because you were a kid, but still didn't treat like someone who wasn't an idiot.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Frasier asked.
Claire shook her head and even managed a smile. "Bye, Doctor Frasier."
"Bye, Claire," Frasier said.
Claire walked to John and took his hand. "Are we going back now?"
"I hope not," Susan said immediately. "Let's go see what Rodney is doing. It's never boring with him."
"I'm not sure we should do that," John said doubtfully.
"Oh, come on. We won't touch anything," Susan promised.
"I won't," Claire said.
Susan glared at her.
"Can you promise not to disturb them and not to touch anything? I mean it. They have dangerous things in these labs," John said.
"Cross my heart," Susan said.
Claire only nodded.
"All right, let me warn them first." He went to a phone and after a moment said, "Susan and Claire would like to stop by for a visit. Is that okay?" He waited for a moment. "They're bored. Susan mostly." He waited again. "We'll be there in a few minutes." Then he hung up and turned to Susan and Claire. "He's looking forward to it," he said, taking Claire's hand again.
"Liar," Susan said.
John gave her a look, but didn't correct her.
~~
"Whatcha doing?" Susan asked perkily when they entered the labs and she stood next to Rodney. He'd been the only one in the room when they'd come in.
"Seriously. Did you coach them or something?" Rodney said annoyed, looking at John.
"What?" John asked, picking up Claire and setting her on the desk, so she could better see.
"Surrounded by Sheppards," Rodney muttered, making Claire giggle.
Rodney looked at her. "You'll be a Sheppard when you marry Uncle John," she said brightly.
"I most certainly will not," Rodney said. "What makes you think I'd take his name?"
"But you would marry him?" Susan asked.
"What have I done to deserve this," Rodney said with a sigh.
"You make Uncle John happy," Claire said, taking it as a question.
"And John you," Susan added with a pointed look at John. Then she turned back to Rodney. "And you didn't deny that you'd marry John."
"Look, our relationship is none of your business," Rodney said.
John raised an eyebrow at that. Susan noted that Rodney still wasn't denying that he was open to the idea of a relationship with her uncle. Well, this version of her uncle. "Just give it a chance. You'll love it. And him."
John flushed. "Maybe I should take the kids and-"
"We just came here!" Susan protested. "What are you working on?"
"If you really want to know, we're trying to decrypt some of the information stored in the device, hoping it'll allow us access to where you came from," Rodney said.
"No progress then," Susan concluded.
"We made a lot of progress," Rodney disagreed. "We found a device in storage that we think acts as a target for this one. We found a way to recharge it, but it needs to be initialized with a universe to go to before it can be used and we don't know how to do that yet."
"So you can't send us back?" Claire asked quietly.
"Not yet," Rodney said.
"I know you can fix it," Claire said, smiling at him.
Rodney looked at her and smiled as well. Susan rolled her eyes. Suddenly she felt John squeezing her shoulder. She looked up and he smiled at her.
"How about I take you to the gym?" John asked. "I think we have gymnastic balls there and jumping ropes."
"We could go to the shooting range!" Susan suggested.
"Please don't," Rodney said. "The idea of her with a gun..."
"You're just afraid I'd be better than you," Susan said.
Rodney snorted. "Right."
"I know one thing, I'm better at for sure. Riding," Susan said.
"Why am I not surprised in the least," Rodney said.
"Also, Doctor Frasier took our blood. I bet I have a better gene than you," Susan added.
Rodney's face fell at that and he glared at her. She smiled widely at him.
"All right, let's leave Uncle Rodney alone, so that he can keep working," John said, picking up Claire and lifting her up high for a moment, making her squeal in delight.
Susan made a face at that, then looked at Rodney who did the same. When they noticed their similar reactions, they glared at each other.
"Just go," Rodney said, turning back to his work.
"We'll see you around, Rodney," Susan said, gratified when he mumbled, "I hope not too soon." She smiled and hugged him from behind, making him shriek.
"Hands off," Rodney complained. "God knows what you touched today."
"I washed my hands," Claire said, lifting them up. She was still in John's arms, but stretched them out towards Rodney now, and John held her so that she could hug Rodney as well.
Rodney looked over her shoulder at John, and John smiled that soft smile that she'd caught on her uncle's face at home so often when he looked at his Rodney. Rodney's look changed from exasperation to resignation and then got that same look that she recognized from the Rodney in her universe.
They were so going to get together, Susan thought with glee.
~~
They played at the gym with John and some marines until it was time for lunch and they went to pick up Rodney.
"Let's go eat," Susan said loudly when they came to get him. "Maybe they have lemon chicken."
Rodney paled, then narrowed his eyes. "You're doing this on purpose," he said as if only just realizing it.
Susan shrugged innocently.
"We'll find something without citrus for you," Claire said, taking Rodney's hand.
"I just wanted to...go eat lunch I guess," he said, letting himself be pulled away.
They went outside and Susan couldn't help herself and pushed John next to Claire and put her other hand in his, so that she was walking between them, babbling about pancakes and the merits of having them for desert when they already had them for breakfast.
They entered the mess hall and for a moment, people stared at them, then they resumed their conversations. They were relatively late, so they didn't have to wait in line. They got their dishes, John picking up Claire to help her see the choices.
They sat at a table in a corner together and Rodney started talking about how Zelenka was doing without him.
"I'm sure he's fine," Susan said. "Radek's pretty much as smart as you and not such a diva."
To her surprise Rodney smiled. "See, I'm no longer falling for that. I know you just want to rile me up. But I'm perfectly calm. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is why."
"You're cute when you're all wound up," John said with a smirk, then started and flushed. "I didn't... Claire, anything else you want?"
"No, thank you," Claire said, oblivious to the tension at the table.
Rodney and Susan still stared at John. "You really..." Rodney began. "Is that why you're so aggravating sometimes?"
John flushed a deeper red, his gaze fixed on his plate.
Susan kicked Rodney under the table. "Just admit that you like it when he finds you cute," she stage whispered.
"Ouch," Rodney said. "I will admit nothing. It still doesn't explain why you try to do it. Wait," he said, suddenly horrified. "You don't have a crush on me, do you?"
"Ewwww," Susan said, making Claire giggle.
"She likes you," John said knowingly. "You're not boring."
Susan felt herself flush. She was about to deny it when Rodney groused, "I'm not a personal entertainment system!"
"No, but if you were..." John said, smirking at him.
"What? You'd turn me on all the time? I meant use?" Rodney turned red himself now. "Let's talk about something else."
So. Together.
~~
"My gene is way better than yours," Susan said brightly when they visited Rodney later that afternoon in the lab.
Rodney's mouth turned down. Claire came over to pat his arm. "Don't worry, Uncle Rodney. I don't have it at all. It's okay."
"And mine's still stronger than Susan's," John added, smirking at Susan. She stuck out her tongue at him.
"What was that about not being ten?" Rodney asked.
"Jealous," she only said.
"Oh please," Rodney said dismissively. "I got over your uncle's gene, I'll get over yours. I have what I need, and it's still enough to do things that you and your uncle could only dream about doing."
"Like figuring out the device?" John asked.
"As a matter of fact, we, I mean I managed to decrypt the history of the device usage. Carter might have had a slightly helpful idea here and there. The important thing is, we can now let you or John try to reinitialize it for your return and actually verify if it's done correctly," Rodney said.
"Wait, you mean I just need to think at it that I want to go home?" Susan asked.
"We needed to recharge it first," Rodney pointed out.
"But you'd already done that this morning, right?" Susan asked.
"Excuse me for wanting to make sure that you actually return to where you came from instead of another universe that might not be so friendly to little girls breaking into their base. If the device would even be on a base and not buried somewhere or in another galaxy," Rodney said. Claire looked alarmed. "Hey, no. You don't have to worry now. We'll be able to check where you go with what I found out."
Claire looked relieved. "So we can go home?" she asked uncertainly.
"We can try," Rodney said. "Maybe Sheppard should-"
"I'll do it," Susan said. "Let me try, please." She really wanted to make this right again. She'd gotten them here, and she wanted to be able to take Claire and herself back home.
"All right, but you'll need to make sure to only initialize it at first. Actually, we should probably discharge it first, just to be on the safe side," Rodney said.
"I'm not stupid," Susan said.
"Even if you aren't, it's better to be safe than sorry," Rodney said. "Besides, I think the general wants to talk to you before you go back."
Claire stepped closer to Susan. "Is something wrong?"
John crouched in front of her. "We just to make sure you're okay and give you back your things-and I think the general has some information he's prepared for you to take back with you. There's no problem." He smiled encouragingly.
Claire nodded in understanding, taking Susan's hand.
John led the way, and before Susan left the lab, she turned back to Rodney. "You'll be there before we leave?"
"Yes, of course," Rodney said a bit surprised.
"Uh, well good," Susan said awkwardly, quickly following John out.
~~
"So that's it," Susan said.
They'd been given back their clothes and something they called a data crystal with information that their John and Rodney at home might find helpful. Then she'd managed to initialize the device and Rodney had gone to recharge it and verify that she'd done it correctly-which of course was the case.
"You should also take this with you," John said, handing her a backpack.
"It includes a battery with instructions to reload the device in case you end up far away from a base or your home. We don't know where the target device is stored in your universe. We hope it's close to where you found the device, but we can't be sure," Rodney said.
"So if something goes wrong, we'll recharge it and come back here," Susan said for clarification.
"Exactly," John said. "So you don't have to worry even if you end up in a strange place," he added, looking down at Claire with a reassuring smile.
"We put a flashlight and other things in there," Rodney said. "Maybe you can also take," he opened a drawer and got out some power bars, a small bag of chips, and a pack of M&Ms and stuffed them in the backpack. "This."
"We're here for less than two days and you're already storing junk food in the labs?" John asked.
Rodney glared at him.
"He's just looking out for you," Susan said.
"Well, we're not married yet, so I'd appreciate if he kept his advice to himself," Rodney said.
"Yet?" Susan asked with a smile.
"Just go, you meddling...kids," Rodney said, but there was the ghost of a smile on his lips.
Susan grinned brightly and hugged him. He harrumphed, but hugged her back. While Claire went to hug Rodney as well, Susan turned to John to hug him. This time he was a little less awkward about it. And when he pulled her close he whispered, "Thank you," in her ear.
Susan beamed at him, not even minding when he picked up Claire and hugged her close, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Remember, you need to hold on to your sister," Rodney said.
"I know," Susan said, pulling Claire into her arms so tightly that she started squirming. "Thank you," she said to Rodney and John, then looked up to the gallery where O'Neill and Carter stood behind the glass. Carter waved at them and O'Neill lifted his head in acknowledgement.
"It was...interesting," Rodney said as he handed her the box. "I might actually...miss you...a tiny bit."
"There are versions of us here in this universe," she reminded him. "When you marry John, they'll be your nieces too."
"Right," Rodney said, glancing at John.
John's jaw clenched. Then he quickly pulled Susan and Claire into another quick hug. "You'll be fine. We brought the target device here and will monitor this lab for the rest of the day and even after that, there is a phone you can pick up to call someone in case you end up here with nobody around."
Susan nodded.
"Goodbye, Uncle John," Claire said. "Goodbye, Uncle Rodney."
"Goodbye," Susan only said. He really hoped these two would figure it out. And that she wasn't grounded for the rest of her life when they were back home. If they ended up there.
She opened the box, Claire still tightly in her grip and took out the device. It lit up. She took a deep breath, looking at Rodney, then John, then looked at Claire. "We're going home," she promised and pressed the device.
~~
"Oh, thank goodness," Rodney said, when they suddenly found themselves in a different lab.
"Uncle Rodney?" Claire asked.
"Yes," Rodney said with feeling, pulling her into her arms. Susan was so relieved her knees buckled, but she managed to put her arms around both of them, suddenly feeling tears in her eyes when she felt Rodney's arm around her. "Are you crying?" he asked.
"No!" she said, blinking away her tears.
"I need to call your uncle. Your parents have been frantic for the last two days," Rodney said. He took out his phone and dialed a number. "They're here and they're fine as far as I can see. They're wearing clothes that don't quite fit, but they don't look hurt or otherwise traumatized."
"We're fine," Susan said.
"Susan says they're fine. Yes, I'll have Jennifer take a look at them and arrange to be transported as soon as possible," Rodney said, then he hung up. "All right, let's get this sorted out. And give me that," he said, taking the device from her. "We'll have a talk about that later," he said meaningfully.
Susan grimaced.
"She brought us back," Claire said. "Don't be mad with her. She won't do it again."
"It would be the first time I've seen your sister truly repentant," Rodney pointed out.
"I really am sorry," Susan said. "We could have..." She felt tears welling up in her eyes again. What the hell was wrong with her? They were safe now. There was no reason to cry! Claire took her into her arms and soothed her.
Even Rodney cupped her face and wiped away a tear. "We all make mistakes sometimes. The important thing is to learn from them."
Susan only nodded, not daring to speak.
~~
They didn't ground her. She was glad that she would still be able to spend the rest of John and Rodney's stay with them. She could live without her phone and computer for a month-and maybe she could badger Rodney into leaving one of his with her when they left.
They were asked not to talk about what had happened. They were allowed to discuss it with John and Rodney, but not their parents, who weren't happy in the least.
It wasn't as cool as she imagined knowing secrets about such fantastic things would be. She'd hated the disappointment on her parents' faces once they'd gotten over their happiness that they were back.
Claire was holding up pretty well. She hadn't slipped once and only talked about the pancakes and the nice people who'd helped them without mentioning any names. It was sort of annoying because Susan thought if Claire let it slip, nobody would be mad at her and then the cat was out of the bag and it wouldn't matter if she slipped up too.
At least she could talk to John and Rodney about it. When they'd put Claire to bed the second night after their return, Susan told them, "You weren't together there. At least not when we first arrived."
"Oh," John said, frowning. "But we knew each other."
"Yes," Susan said. "You were friends. And by the time we left, I think we gave them the right idea."
"Just friends?" Rodney asked, doubtfully. "Was I blind or something?"
John snorted.
"It wasn't okay to be gay," she said, frowning. "General O'Neill said you'd be kicked out if you got married."
"What year was it?" Rodney said incredulously.
"Same as here," John said thoughtfully. "We're lucky."
"Well, they'll have to figure out a way to be together. You're smart, it can't be so hard to hide it or better yet change the stupid rules," Susan said.
"Oh, yes, getting the US military to see reason is such a simple thing to do," Rodney said sarcastically.
"Maybe they're smarter than you are," Susan said.
"Hey," Rodney protested. "I'm just not wasting my valuable brain on politics. At least, I don't touch things in other people's bags without knowing what they do."
"I brought us back!" Susan protested.
"With my help," Rodney pointed out.
"With their help," Susan corrected him. "You only sat here and didn't manage doing anything useful."
Rodney gaped. "Without me there'd be a manhunt going on in all of Pennsylvania and Maryland. I was the one who figured out what must have happened."
"It helped to calm down your parents. At least a bit," John said.
"Why did you leave this stuff in the open anyway? I can't imagine the Air Force allows you to put classified devices in your overnight bags," Susan said.
"Okay, that's it. You're such a brat! You-" Rodney stopped when Susan flung herself around him on impulse.
"It's so good to be home," she said.
"Wow, she really missed you," John said.
Susan moved from Rodney's arms into John's. "It was scary," she admitted quietly. "But you promised-the other you I mean-promised he would help us even if we didn't make it home." John squeezed her.
"So what have we all learned from the ordeal?" Rodney asked.
"Not to touch strange devices," John said.
"A lesson several of us would do well to remember," Rodney said pointedly.
"I should maybe listen to Claire sometimes," Susan said quickly and quietly.
"What did she say?" John asked.
"Something about Claire being a lot more mature even though she's only half her age I think," Rodney said.
Susan playfully hit him. "She's not so bad maybe. For a little sister."
"Yes, something similar might have crossed my own mind once or twice," he said wistfully. "Not about Claire, obviously," he clarified.
Susan rolled her eyes. "So what are we doing tomorrow."
"We have to go somewhere again?" Rodney complained.
"Sure," Susan said. "You're our personal entertainment system."
"Says who?" Rodney asked.
"The other you," she said.
Rodney harrumphed, and John gave her doubtful look. She only grinned.
It was definitely good to be home.
Author: velocitygrass
Pairing: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Rating: G
Warnings/Content notes: ( skip) None of the standard warnings apply
Spoilers: character spoilers for end of season 3
Word count: 9564
Summary: When Susan goes through here uncles' things, she and Claire end up in a different universe.
Note: Also available at AO3. Susan and Claire are John's nieces in my head canon and I've written several stories that include them. This is really a self-indulgent fic. For some reason the theme "responsibility" made me think about Susan and Claire stranded in a different universe.
Sister Act
"Susan," Claire whined. "This is not okay. If they brought presents, they'll give them to us."
Susan rolled her eyes. Why did she have to be settled with such a goody-two-shoes for a sister? "Aha!" Susan extracted a box from her uncle's bag.
"That doesn't look like a present," Claire said, coming closer. "Put it back. They'll be back any moment."
There was something about the box that called out to Susan. Claire was right, it didn't look like it was a present for either of them, but Susan still decided to open it. "It's beautiful," Susan said when she opened the box and found a metallic thing with intricate decoration on it. "I wonder what it is."
"It's not for us," Claire insisted.
"Maybe it's a pendant," Susan said, though it was a bit large for that. She took it out and suddenly the thing lit up. "Whoa."
"Oh god, what did you do?" Claire said, even more panicked. "Put it back!" She pushed Susan's hand with the object towards the box.
"Hey, quit shov-" Susan began, when suddenly the lights went out. Not just in the thing but in the whole room. Which was lit by the sunlight coming in. Claire shrieked. "This is not good," Susan said.
"What happened?" Claire asked. She let go of Susan and stepped away. "Ah! What is this? Where are we?"
Susan's eyes slowly adjusted and saw the faint outline of rows of shelves in what looked like a storage room. There was a thin line of light at the bottom of one wall, presumably the door. "Claire?"
"Yes?" Claire said nervously.
Susan put the metallic thing in the box and held onto it with one hand while she took Claire's hand with the other.
"What happened?" Claire asked again.
"I...I have no idea," Susan admitted. She squeezed her sister's hand and smiled at her, though she wasn't sure Claire could see it. Her sister squeezed back. "Let's see where we are," Susan said.
She started walking, but Claire held her back. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"We can't stay here forever," Susan pointed out. She had no idea what was going on, but this certainly wasn't their home.
"But..." Claire began. "What if they're looking for us?"
"Hmm," Susan said. It was obvious they weren't back where they'd been sneaking in Uncle John's room-okay she'd been sneaking-but maybe if they went looking for them they would find something that led them here. "Oh," Susan said. She opened the box again. She'd vaguely heard Uncle Rodney talk about things that Uncle John shouldn't touch-not sex-type things, but other things. She took the thing out of the box again, but it didn't light up this time.
"Maybe you broke it," Claire said.
Susan harrumphed. She didn't think so. "I think it needs to be recharged." She couldn't really say why she thought that, but she did. It was like the...device was telling her.
"Won't they notice it's gone and get another way to follow us?" Claire asked.
"Maybe," Susan said. Claire did have a point. Maybe the best course of action was to stay and wait for Uncle John and Uncle Rodney to get them. And then being shouted at for touching what she shouldn't. The annoying thing was she could imagine not just her parents being angry, but also Uncle Rodney and Uncle John who were otherwise pretty cool. Well, John was cool. Rodney was entirely aggravating and full of himself, but he was entertaining and honest, which was a plus in her book. And he didn't treat her like a kid most of the time. "All right. Let's wait and see what happens."
~~
"I need to pee," Claire said.
Susan shifted. They'd sat down as they waited for someone to follow them, but so far there'd been absolutely nothing, though the slit of light at the door sometimes changes intensity, so she figured there was a hall down there. It had been a while since they'd been beamed here. Susan wasn't sure how long since her phone had been charging when she'd looked at John's bag and she didn't wear a watch. "What time is it?" she asked her sister.
Claire squinted at the watch on her wrist. "I can't see."
Susan sighed. She got up, wincing at the pain in her legs, then helped Claire up and walked towards the door. "Light's coming through here," she said.
Claire held her arm down. "It's twenty to two."
That was over three hours. Okay, waiting wasn't an option forever. They could still come back here and leave a note or something, but right now they needed a bathroom and food. Susan took a deep breath, pressed the door handle, and pulled. Then she pushed. Then she realized that the door had to be locked. "Shit," she said.
"What?" Claire asked panicked. "We're caught here? What if they don't find us? What if we die?"
"We're not going to die," Susan said, putting both hands on Claire's shoulder. The box was starting to annoy her. It was too big for her pockets so she put it inside her sweater and stuffed the sweater into her pants. "We'll be fine," she said again. "There are people coming by. We'll just have to shout the next time."
"What if they're evil?" Claire asked. Then she added in a whisper, "What if they're monsters?"
"Have you been watching scary movies?" Susan asked.
"You've been playing this game. There's always monsters in the halls," Claire said urgently instead of answering.
"Because it's a game about shooting monsters," Susan said. "Monsters aren't real. You're not a baby anymore."
"We got zapped here out of our home!" Claire said more shrilly. "That's not supposed to happen either!"
"Right," Susan said. "But that was the thing I touched. It's probably something classified that John and Rodney are working with."
"What if monsters are classified?" Claire said fearfully.
"Okay, stop with the stupid monsters!" Susan said, getting unnerved. "Monsters don't have storage room with neatly catalogued boxes."
"They have dungeons," Claire said, calming down. "Yeah," she added, as if it made sense.
Susan wasn't as sure. It wasn't as if John had never been hurt during whatever classified things he did. So there were definitely bad things out there. Monsters or bad people. But if they didn't do anything, they'd have to pee in a corner and start digging into the boxes for food, which she didn't think they'd find. So there was no way around this. "We'll call the next time someone comes by."
Claire took her hand again and they waited without talking. They were closer to the door now, so this time they could hear footsteps as well as see the light change.
"Hello! Can you hear us?" she shouted.
The steps and shadows stopped.
"We're in here!" she shouted.
"Why aren't you using your keycard?" a voice asked.
"We, uh, lost it," Susan improvised.
"Who are you?" came a suspicious sounding question.
Shit. Well, they would see that she wasn't someone who'd have a keycard if they opened the door anyway. "My name is Susan Sheppard."
"Which department are you working in?" the voice asked.
She had no idea where she was, so she wasn't even sure what to make up. "Research and development?" Oh great. Making it a question was very convincing. "Can't you just let us out?"
"I'll have to get help. One moment," the voice said and then the shadow moved and they heard steps walking away quickly.
"He didn't sound nice," Claire said.
"They think we broke in," Susan said.
"Are they going to put us in jail?" Claire asked.
"Well, if they are, they'll have to let us call mom and dad," Susan mused.
"You didn't do it on purpose," Claire said.
"I didn't do anything," Susan protested half-heartedly. "You shoved me and that must have activated it."
"You took it out of the box!" Claire said.
"And it only lit up, but didn't zap us," Susan pointed out.
"Maybe they'll be so glad we're okay that they'll only scold us," Claire said.
Susan sighed. "One can hope."
They waited until they heard a whole bunch of footsteps coming closer. "Stand back," a different voice said.
Susan and Claire stood back. Susan pushed her sister behind her. "We're okay."
A little green light lit up next to the door and then it was opened and they stood facing about a dozen of armed people in uniform pointing guns at them. Behind Susan, Claire shrieked, "Don't shoot us!"
"It appears to be two girls, General," one of the soldiers said. He listened to something, then asked, "How did you come in here?"
"Uhm," Susan said. "We, uh, I touched a thing I found and it lit up and then it...beamed us here?" She half expected the guy to get angry and shout at her not to lie, but he only relayed the information.
"She says she touched a device that lit up and beamed them here," the soldier said. He listened again, then asked, "Do you still have the device?"
"Why do you ask?" Susan said. She crossed the arms in front of her to hide where the box was inside her sweater.
"She- All right," the soldier said. "Please come with us."
"What are they doing to us?" Claire asked.
"The general would like to talk to you," the soldier said.
"Can't you put those down?" Susan asked, gesturing at the guns still pointing at them.
"Standard procedure, sorry," the soldier said. He directed some of the others to move out of the way, but they kept their guns up.
"Come on," Susan said, putting an arm around Claire. She pushed her sister out, staying between her and the soldiers.
~~
Susan looked around the room for what felt like the thousandth time, but the most interesting thing was still the window with a steel plate in front of it. Who put that in front of a window?
"I really need to pee," Claire said.
Susan bit her lip. She also needed to go and she was really getting hungry too. She got up and opened the door where there were still armed guards like the last time she'd looked out. "Can we use the bathroom and get something to eat? She's not going to hold it forever, so you'll have nothing gained but pee on your carpet. Do you want that?"
"Not particularly," a voice said from behind her.
Claire gasped and jumped up, rushing over to Susan, who turned back from the door to look at the familiar looking gray-haired, uniformed man who'd come in. "Please let us use the bathroom," she said.
"Okay," the guy said. "Walter!" he shouted. "Can you take these young ladies to a bathroom and get lunch for them?"
"Of course, sir," a guy came in. He looked not at all threatening and smiled at them.
They finally got to go to the bathroom. Susan noted that there were no windows here either. It was starting to really bother her that she had no idea what was outside there. They walked back with Walter and were led back into the room with the large table and the steelplated window.
The guy from before was munching on a fry. Food!
Susan and Claire sat down by the trays and started eating without asking. Susan looked at the name tag. O'Neill. Hmm. "Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked between bites.
"Not that I remember," he said, but there was something calculating in his look. He seemed pretty laid back, but just like her Uncle John could be sometimes, she thought he was paying more attention than he let on.
O'Neill let them eat. After a moment, Walter came back in with a sheet of paper, which he handed to O'Neill. O'Neill looked at it, then at Susan and Claire and back to the piece of paper. "Thank you, Walter," he said. "Oh, is Carter here yet?"
"No, sir," Walter said.
"Samantha Carter?" Susan asked. "Oh, now I know where we've met! You were at John and Rodney's wedding." O'Neill's eyebrows shot up at that. She turned to her sister. "It's okay, Claire. We're at the Air Force. They can call Uncle John and then someone will come and get us."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," O'Neill said carefully. He wasn't threatening about it, but Susan still didn't like it.
"Why?" Susan asked, frowning.
"Well, your Uncle is not...easily reachable at the moment, and you are at home with your parents and sister," he said, putting the peace of paper on the table. It showed a picture of her at the school fair. It wasn't new but she was recognizable.
"What do you mean we're home? And why is my uncle not reachable? He came to visit us with Rodney just a few hours ago. Did something happen to him?" Susan asked.
Claire stopped eating as well, looking at O'Neill with big worried eyes.
"Why don't we back up and you tell me what exactly happened before you got 'beamed' here?" O'Neill asked.
Susan frowned. She had a bad feeling about this. "Can I make a phone call?"
"Look," O'Neill said. "I want to help you. But in order to help you, I need to know what happened."
"Why can't I make a phone call? You can't detain us and not let us make a phone call," Susan said firmly, lifting her head up high.
O'Neill sighed. "Do you know where you are?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter. There's the American flag, so I have my rights," Susan said.
"I wasn't at Colonel Sheppard's wedding to his ex-wife and as far as I know McKay has never been married," O'Neill said, bringing Susan up short.
"But...you were there," she said. "With Colonel Carter." It had been two years, but she still remembered John's annoyed look when Rodney had gushed about Carter's dress.
"I was where?" a female voice came from the door that Walter had come in from earlier. It was Colonel Carter.
At least she thought it was her. She looked at them, but there was no sign of recognition in her eyes. Susan got an increasingly bad feeling.
"Do you remember us going to Sheppard and McKay's wedding?" O'Neill asked her pointedly.
Her eyes widened. "What?" she asked. Then she turned to Susan and Claire.
"You don't remember it," Susan concluded.
"But..." Claire said, moving closer to her sister.
"Can I please talk to my uncle?" Susan asked, because they seemed to know him at least. "Or Rodney?" she added, remembering what O'Neill had said about John being out of reach.
"Aren't they in...?" Carter asked.
"As far as we know, yes," O'Neill said. "We called Sheppard's brother, but his daughters are fine and accounted for," he added. Then he turned to Susan. "So the question is where did you really come from. And in order to answer that question, it would really help us if you handed over the device, which you so expertly hide under your sweater."
Susan pouted. "I didn't mean to hide it. I just wanted my hands free," she said, fishing it out and handing the box over to Carter. "What is going to happen to us?"
"Hopefully, we'll find a way to send you back where you came from," Carter said with a smile. "How long have you been missing?"
"Maybe four hours by now," Susan said.
"Walter?" O'Neill shouted. Walter looked around the corner behind Carter after a second. "Can you prepare a room for our temporary guests?"
"Yes, sir," Walter said.
"Is there no way to contact my uncle or Rodney? They'll probably know what happened. I found the device in one of their bags," Susan said.
"Is that how it happened? You touched the device and then you were suddenly in our storage room?" O'Neill asked.
"Well, it lit up first and it only zapped us here when Claire shoved me," Susan said.
"I told you not to go through their stuff," Claire protested.
Carter opened the box. "Do you want to try it?" she asked O'Neill.
"I think it needs to be recharged," Susan said. They stared at her. "I just feels like that," she said with a shrug.
O'Neill hesitated for a second then took the device out of the box. "Yeah," he said. "I think she's right."
"You feel it too?" she asked.
"It's a genetic thing. Your uncle has it too," O'Neill said.
"Really?" Susan asked, her eyes widening. "This is so cool." Claire pulled on her arm, frowning. "Well, making it light up and 'feeling' what it does is cool. Not being beamed away from our home. Can you recharge it?"
"I'll have to look into it, but it will take a while," Carter said.
"How about I'll show you to your quarters and try to organize some comic books while you wait," O'Neill asked. Susan gave him a look. "I don't have a whole lot of options, kiddo."
"All right," Susan said. She didn't like the sound of more waiting, but at least they seemed to be safe here for now and someone was working on getting them back.
~~
"Uncle John!" Claire jumped up when the door opened and someone who looked like their uncle entered, but Susan was suspicious enough to hold her back from running to him.
They'd stayed a long time in their room in which Susan had thought about what had happened to them. Either the device was some kind of bodysnatching thing that had put shapeshifters in their place in their parents' home and had messed with their and other people's memories or they were in some kind of parallel universe like she'd seen in an episode of Wormhole Extreme or some other show.
"Susan, Claire," John said, smiling, but there was a tightness in his stance that she didn't like.
Behind him O'Neill and Rodney appeared. Rodney didn't roll his eyes at her or display any kind of recognition. Her blood ran cold.
"You're not our uncle," Susan said, putting her arms around Claire.
John looked back to O'Neill, then turned to them again. "I have two nieces, Susan and Claire," he said. "Though I have only seen them once in recent years. And they did look like the two of you. But yes, I don't think I'm your uncle."
"Thank you for not lying to us," Susan said. It only made her feel fractionally better, but maybe she could trust these people to send them back to her real home. "Do you think we're in a...parallel universe?" she asked.
"A different timeline more precisely," Rodney stepped in, entering the room. "We've dealt with this kind of thing before, so the question is, how does the device work and how can we send you back?"
"That's two questions," Susan said. Rodney raised an eyebrow and gave her a look. It made Susan smile. "So have you found a solution yet?" she asked to rile him up some more-and because she knew he was smart with such things though she'd never tell him to his face.
"I've literally just stepped through the gate," Rodney said.
O'Neill cleared his throat behind him.
"Really?" Rodney said, turning around to him. "They touched a device that beamed them into a parallel universe and you worry about clearance?"
"I thought it was a different timeline," Susan said.
"It is both," Rodney said exasperated. "I can see she's your niece," he told John, who frowned at him.
"Uncle Rodney?" Claire asked.
Rodney turned to her. "Just Rodney is fine. Wait, this is not some freaky difference in the universe, is it? Did your brother marry my sister here?" he asked, turning to John.
"No, but you married Uncle John," Susan said.
Rodney's mouth opened, but no sound came out. He looked like a fish. John looked also shocked, but he seemed to get over it, gaze turning to the ground for a moment, before he looked at them again frowning.
"Yes, and apparently Carter and I attended the wedding. I'm sure it was a great party," O'Neill said. To Susan he added, "I should mention that it's not legal to be married to a same-sex partner and be in the Air Force in this universe, so maybe we'll gloss over that little detail when discussing it with others."
"What do you meant not legal?" Susan asked. "You put people in prison for being gay?" she asked, horrified.
"Well, no," O'Neill said. "But we do kick them out of the Air Force. But obviously what happened in your universe doesn't tell us anything about what's going on in this one."
"I'm not gay," Rodney said. "I mean, I might have experimented at university and Siberia could get lonely but that's-"
"McKay," John said with a clear warning note in his voice.
"You're not even together?" Susan asked. Somehow it hurt her to see them like this. John had been lonely for so long until he'd met Rodney. As annoying as Rodney was, he was simply perfect for John and John for him.
"I mentioned the part about not discussing the details?" O'Neill said. "Maybe I should simply leave you alone for a moment. See if you can find out any additional info while I check in with Carter."
"Yes, sir," John said stiffly.
O'Neill left and closed the door behind him.
The four of them stood silently for a long moment. "It doesn't really matter," Susan said eventually. "You're happily married where we come from and we want to get back there. I can't tell you anything about the device."
"It was in your bag," Claire said to John. "It was her idea to go through them to look for presents." She pointed at Susan.
Susan glared at her, but let it go. "It was in the box and somehow...called to me to open it, so I did. When I took it out it lit up and then-"
"I didn't shove you!" Claire protested before she'd even said it.
"Did you think anything at it?" John asked.
"I thought it looked pretty and that it maybe was a pendant or something," Susan said.
"He means did you give it orders in your mind?" Rodney clarified.
"Why would I..." Susan began. "Oh, the genetic thing. I didn't know about that until General O'Neill told us. I didn't tell it to do something. Not consciously at least."
"The device was in John's bag?" Rodney asked.
"It might have been yours. You both sleep in that room when you stay with us," she said.
"Yes, thank you for reminding me of that...interesting bit of info," Rodney said, glancing at John, who was still frowning. "It was probably my bag. Was there anything else nearby? Documents or other devices?"
"I'm sorry, this was the only thing I took out. There might have been papers there with it, but I don't remember," Susan said.
"Right," Rodney said. "That's not very helpful, but at least we have the device, so we'll keep working on that. I haven't actually had the chance to take a look myself. I'm much more experienced with Ancient tech than Carter is, so there's a good chance I'll have more success than she did. Uh, hang in there...or something."
Susan pouted. She wasn't sure whether she should be flattered that Rodney even attempted to be uplifting or read between the lines that they had no idea what was going on.
Rodney left, but John stayed with them. He stood awkwardly and said, "So, is there, uh, anything I can do for you? While we're working on getting you home."
"When can we go back?" Claire asked in a small voice.
John looked completely forlorn at the question, so Susan quickly said, "They can't tell. But they're working on it. Hey, John, we got dinner and we have a bathroom and even some 'entertainment'-and I use that term loosely-but could you maybe look into getting clothes for us? In case it takes more than a day." Claire tensed in front of her and Susan squeezed her.
John's eyes widened in something like panic. "Uh, clothes. Right. What sizes do you have?" Claire began pulling on her shirt and John quickly added, "You know what, never mind. I'll figure something out. Is there anything else you need for tonight? You know there's someone out the door at all times. You can tell them to get me and I'll be here as fast as I can."
"Thank you," Susan said. She had the feeling he was uncomfortable with the whole situation, but he seemed earnest to help them.
"Goodnight," he said, giving them a forced smile.
"Night, John," Susan said and Claire echoed her words.
John left and closed the door behind them and they were alone again in a windowless room in another universe.
~~
"These are not pajamas. I don't like it," Claire said when they were finally ready for bed.
"Well, your pajamas are not here. Want me to call John to find some in your size on an Air Force Base?" Susan said, annoyed. The corner's of Claire's mouth turned downward. "Oh, stop it. You're not a baby anymore."
"I want mom," Claire said, lips starting to tremble.
"You know she's not here," Susan said, trying to be more gentle.
"What if we never get back?" Claire asked, eyes getting suspiciously glassy.
"It's fine. They're working on it," Susan said, not quite meeting her eyes.
"But Rodney didn't promise he'd fix it. If he can fix it, he always says so! And he didn't," Claire said, getting progressively louder. "What if we can never get back?" Then she started sobbing.
"Claire, don't," Susan said. She really, really hated when Claire cried. She knew that some people thought she didn't care about her sister, but that wasn't true. Yes, Claire could be extremely annoying and it grated on Susan how she always did what adults told her. But it didn't mean she didn't love her.
"They'll think we're dead, and we'll be stuck here," Claire said through tears.
"No," Susan said helplessly. Then she pulled Claire into her arms, running her hands through her hair soothingly. Crap. Now she had tears in her eyes as well. Because Claire might be right. Usually when you gave Rodney something to fix he rolled his eyes and looked insulted by the lack of intellectual challenge. Not this time. If the only way to recharge the device was with something back in their universe, maybe something still in that bag they were screwed.
And it was all her fault. Susan liked to push boundaries, but she never would have wanted to risk their lives like this.
"I'm sorry," she whispered in Claire's hair. Claire squeezed her tight and Susan squeezed back.
~~
Susan didn't sleep very well that night. Claire had tossed and turned next to her, and they'd both woken up early.
"Do you think they've found something?" Claire asked.
"I don't know," Susan said. "Are you hungry?" she asked. She wasn't particularly hungry, but asking for breakfast was one of the few things she could actually do here. The comics that O'Neill had send their way didn't hold her interest for long, and she wasn't into drawing like Claire was.
"Uhm," Claire said. "It's fine."
Susan sighed. If they were at home, they probably would have spent the day with John and Rodney going to a science museum or something. Here there wasn't even a "John and Rodney". It was still hard to wrap her mind around that.
"I'll go brush my teeth," Claire said, crawling out of bed.
"You do that," Susan said.
Claire had come back out and started drawing when there was a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Susan said.
The door opened and John came in with two piles of clothes. "McKay will bring breakfast in a moment. Here's something to try on. They're in different sizes. I hope something fits."
They each took their pile, and Claire immediately ran into the bathroom, saying, "I'll shower and change."
"Shout if you need help," Susan called after her.
"I'm not a baby," Claire said.
Susan rolled her eyes. She turned to John who was smiling. This smile seemed more genuine. "I can leave you to dress," he said.
"It's fine. I can shower and change in the bathroom," Susan said. "You, uh, don't happen to have news on the sending us back front?" She was pretty sure that if he had, he would have told them immediately, but she still needed to ask.
"No, I'm sorry," John said and he did look sorry. "But McKay and Carter have been on it almost all night. If there's someone who can do it-"
"It's Rodney," she finished with him.
"Well, and Carter," John added. "But yes, Rodney can perform miracles with Ancient technology."
There was something in his voice and a fondness in his eyes. "You're in love with him," Susan said aloud.
John looked taken aback. But he didn't deny it. He didn't say anything.
"Why would they kick you out if you married a guy? That's so homophobic. I was still a baby when they got rid of that stupid rule," she said.
John remained silent. He looked very uncomfortable.
"So what happens if you can't send us back?" she asked to change the subject.
"There's no reason to believe we can't return you," John said.
"Is there is a reason to believe you can?" Susan countered.
John shifted.
"Will you keep us in here for the rest of our lives then?" Susan asked. "It's not like we have anywhere else to go. Our parents already have us. There's nobody-"
"No," John said fiercely. "You're not alone. We'll find a way to send you back home." Susan was about to protest when John added, "And if we don't, we'll find a place for you to stay. I will find a way. You're not alone."
"You promise?" Susan asked.
"I promise," John said.
Something in her chest eased up at that and she stepped up to John and hugged him. He stood stiffly and after a moment awkwardly patted her back before really returning the hug for a moment. This was even worse than her real uncle was, she thought smirking into his chest.
She finally let go of him, and he seemed flustered, so she said, "I'll go check with Claire," leaving him alone for a moment. She went to the bathroom and listened to the shower for a bit. Eventually it stopped. She gave Claire another minute. "Hey, are you still alive in there?"
"I'm coming," Claire said through the door and a bit later, she stepped out. Her hair was damp and so were the ill-fitting clothes in spots, but she looked presentable and fairly happy.
Susan felt kind of proud of her and she caught herself stroking Claire's hair, which was tied into an uneven ponytail. "Uhm, I'm going to take a shower now. You'll be fine waiting with John until Rodney brings food?"
Claire looked to John and hesitated for a moment.
"He's not our real uncle, but he..." Susan wasn't sure if she should bring it up again, but maybe it would make feel Claire better like it had made her feel better. "He promised to find a place for us if they can't send us home."
"They probably will," John quickly said. "Rodney is working on it..."
"And he can fix almost everything," Claire said.
"Exactly," John said. "Want to show me your drawings?"
"Sure," Claire said. She went to John pushed him into the chair where she'd drawn, then crawled into his lap.
John didn't seem to know what to do for a second, but then put an arm around her and smiled as she showed him what she'd done. Susan sighed inwardly. Of course people liked her cute little sister. Everyone liked Claire. At least Susan wasn't boring.
She went into the bathroom where her sister had even put the towels nicely back on the rack to dry. Susan shook her head, dropped her clothes and set out to get ready for the day.
~~
When Susan came out, freshly showered and changed into the seriously unfashionable things John had brought, Rodney was there as well with breakfast. She approached the table where they all sat and ate.
"Ro'ney ma'e pan'akes," Claire said with a full mouth.
"Well, I didn't make them personally," Rodney said.
"Yeah, I didn't think so," Susan said dismissively. She'd witnessed Rodney's one attempt to cook for them.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Rodney asked annoyed. "You think I couldn't make pancakes?"
"When did you last make them?" she asked, sitting next to him.
"I can't tell you an exact date," Rodney said.
"But you did? Ever?" Susan asked.
"I can't recall it. Excuse me for being busy saving people's lives and finding ways to send them back when they're stranded in a different universe," he said pointedly.
"McKay," John said with warning in his voice.
"Be nice or you won't get any tonight. Oh wait, you won't anyway," Susan said, taking a plate with pancakes.
"I seriously married into your family?" Rodney said, frowning at John.
"Yes, really," Claire said, oblivious of the implied insult. "I was flower girl. I don't really remember it. But we have pictures." Then she frowned. "At home we have pictures."
Susan reached out and squeezed her arm. "Rodney will find a way to send us home," she said.
"So you trust me with that?" Rodney said haughtily.
"You have to be good for something, don't you?" Susan said.
Rodney gaped.
"Be nice to Uncle Rodney," Claire said.
"As if I care what a precocious ten-year-old thinks of me," Rodney said.
"I'm not ten!" Susan said aghast.
"Well, you certainly behave like a ten-year-old," Rodney said, getting up. "Excuse me while I try to find a way to get rid of you."
Claire looked up at that, her face falling.
"Well, not you. You're all right," Rodney said awkwardly. "I'll just try to find a way to send you home," he added, taking his plate with him as he left.
"He didn't sleep very much last night," John said.
"You should kiss him," Claire suggested. "It always makes our Rodney less cranky."
Susan only gave John a challenging look. He gave her a quick glare and she grinned. He quirked a smile and continued eating.
~~
"Something wrong?" John asked when he entered.
"I'm bored out of my mind," Susan said. "Isn't there anything to do here? Just give me a computer with internet access. Or games. Or hell your smart phone. I wish I had mine with me."
"I can't do that," John said.
"Look, I know I can't call home. But this is torture," Susan pleaded.
"She doesn't want to draw or read," Claire commented from where she drew at the table.
"Because it's boring...to me," Susan said. "Do you have a library here at least? Maybe there's something in there that's more interesting."
"I think the only books we have on base are the reference books for the scientists," John said.
Susan let herself fall dramatically on the bed. "I'd give a kidney for Candy Crush at this point."
"Sorry," John said. "There's actually one thing. You don't have to do it, but some people on the base wondered about the characteristics of the Ancient gene in you. Both of you actually."
"And?" Susan asked, sitting up.
"If you'd allow them to take your blood..."
"Would we get to leave the room?" Susan asked.
"I suppose we could do it in the infirm-"
"Okay," Susan said.
"Wait, take our blood," Claire said. "You mean with a needle."
"It'll be fine. Maybe they only want mine. Do you want to stay here?" Susan asked.
Claire shook her head quickly and got up and walked over to the bed.
"All right, let's go," Susan said, getting up and taking her hand.
~~
The doc was a nice woman called Frasier. Claire watched anxiously when Susan's blood was taken, so Susan forced a smile to her face. It didn't hurt a lot anyway. After she was done, Claire pulled up her sleeve and held her arm out as well, trepidation in her eyes.
"It'll hurt a bit when the needle goes in," Frasier warned her.
"Okay," Claire said. She bit her lip, and so did John for that matter. Claire grimaced when the needle went in, but soon it was over and Frasier carefully removed the needle. Then she told Claire to hold something to the wound while she got what turned out to be a plaster with a smiley face.
Susan pouted. She hated being at an age where people no longer gave you special stuff because you were a kid, but still didn't treat like someone who wasn't an idiot.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Frasier asked.
Claire shook her head and even managed a smile. "Bye, Doctor Frasier."
"Bye, Claire," Frasier said.
Claire walked to John and took his hand. "Are we going back now?"
"I hope not," Susan said immediately. "Let's go see what Rodney is doing. It's never boring with him."
"I'm not sure we should do that," John said doubtfully.
"Oh, come on. We won't touch anything," Susan promised.
"I won't," Claire said.
Susan glared at her.
"Can you promise not to disturb them and not to touch anything? I mean it. They have dangerous things in these labs," John said.
"Cross my heart," Susan said.
Claire only nodded.
"All right, let me warn them first." He went to a phone and after a moment said, "Susan and Claire would like to stop by for a visit. Is that okay?" He waited for a moment. "They're bored. Susan mostly." He waited again. "We'll be there in a few minutes." Then he hung up and turned to Susan and Claire. "He's looking forward to it," he said, taking Claire's hand again.
"Liar," Susan said.
John gave her a look, but didn't correct her.
~~
"Whatcha doing?" Susan asked perkily when they entered the labs and she stood next to Rodney. He'd been the only one in the room when they'd come in.
"Seriously. Did you coach them or something?" Rodney said annoyed, looking at John.
"What?" John asked, picking up Claire and setting her on the desk, so she could better see.
"Surrounded by Sheppards," Rodney muttered, making Claire giggle.
Rodney looked at her. "You'll be a Sheppard when you marry Uncle John," she said brightly.
"I most certainly will not," Rodney said. "What makes you think I'd take his name?"
"But you would marry him?" Susan asked.
"What have I done to deserve this," Rodney said with a sigh.
"You make Uncle John happy," Claire said, taking it as a question.
"And John you," Susan added with a pointed look at John. Then she turned back to Rodney. "And you didn't deny that you'd marry John."
"Look, our relationship is none of your business," Rodney said.
John raised an eyebrow at that. Susan noted that Rodney still wasn't denying that he was open to the idea of a relationship with her uncle. Well, this version of her uncle. "Just give it a chance. You'll love it. And him."
John flushed. "Maybe I should take the kids and-"
"We just came here!" Susan protested. "What are you working on?"
"If you really want to know, we're trying to decrypt some of the information stored in the device, hoping it'll allow us access to where you came from," Rodney said.
"No progress then," Susan concluded.
"We made a lot of progress," Rodney disagreed. "We found a device in storage that we think acts as a target for this one. We found a way to recharge it, but it needs to be initialized with a universe to go to before it can be used and we don't know how to do that yet."
"So you can't send us back?" Claire asked quietly.
"Not yet," Rodney said.
"I know you can fix it," Claire said, smiling at him.
Rodney looked at her and smiled as well. Susan rolled her eyes. Suddenly she felt John squeezing her shoulder. She looked up and he smiled at her.
"How about I take you to the gym?" John asked. "I think we have gymnastic balls there and jumping ropes."
"We could go to the shooting range!" Susan suggested.
"Please don't," Rodney said. "The idea of her with a gun..."
"You're just afraid I'd be better than you," Susan said.
Rodney snorted. "Right."
"I know one thing, I'm better at for sure. Riding," Susan said.
"Why am I not surprised in the least," Rodney said.
"Also, Doctor Frasier took our blood. I bet I have a better gene than you," Susan added.
Rodney's face fell at that and he glared at her. She smiled widely at him.
"All right, let's leave Uncle Rodney alone, so that he can keep working," John said, picking up Claire and lifting her up high for a moment, making her squeal in delight.
Susan made a face at that, then looked at Rodney who did the same. When they noticed their similar reactions, they glared at each other.
"Just go," Rodney said, turning back to his work.
"We'll see you around, Rodney," Susan said, gratified when he mumbled, "I hope not too soon." She smiled and hugged him from behind, making him shriek.
"Hands off," Rodney complained. "God knows what you touched today."
"I washed my hands," Claire said, lifting them up. She was still in John's arms, but stretched them out towards Rodney now, and John held her so that she could hug Rodney as well.
Rodney looked over her shoulder at John, and John smiled that soft smile that she'd caught on her uncle's face at home so often when he looked at his Rodney. Rodney's look changed from exasperation to resignation and then got that same look that she recognized from the Rodney in her universe.
They were so going to get together, Susan thought with glee.
~~
They played at the gym with John and some marines until it was time for lunch and they went to pick up Rodney.
"Let's go eat," Susan said loudly when they came to get him. "Maybe they have lemon chicken."
Rodney paled, then narrowed his eyes. "You're doing this on purpose," he said as if only just realizing it.
Susan shrugged innocently.
"We'll find something without citrus for you," Claire said, taking Rodney's hand.
"I just wanted to...go eat lunch I guess," he said, letting himself be pulled away.
They went outside and Susan couldn't help herself and pushed John next to Claire and put her other hand in his, so that she was walking between them, babbling about pancakes and the merits of having them for desert when they already had them for breakfast.
They entered the mess hall and for a moment, people stared at them, then they resumed their conversations. They were relatively late, so they didn't have to wait in line. They got their dishes, John picking up Claire to help her see the choices.
They sat at a table in a corner together and Rodney started talking about how Zelenka was doing without him.
"I'm sure he's fine," Susan said. "Radek's pretty much as smart as you and not such a diva."
To her surprise Rodney smiled. "See, I'm no longer falling for that. I know you just want to rile me up. But I'm perfectly calm. The only thing I haven't figured out yet is why."
"You're cute when you're all wound up," John said with a smirk, then started and flushed. "I didn't... Claire, anything else you want?"
"No, thank you," Claire said, oblivious to the tension at the table.
Rodney and Susan still stared at John. "You really..." Rodney began. "Is that why you're so aggravating sometimes?"
John flushed a deeper red, his gaze fixed on his plate.
Susan kicked Rodney under the table. "Just admit that you like it when he finds you cute," she stage whispered.
"Ouch," Rodney said. "I will admit nothing. It still doesn't explain why you try to do it. Wait," he said, suddenly horrified. "You don't have a crush on me, do you?"
"Ewwww," Susan said, making Claire giggle.
"She likes you," John said knowingly. "You're not boring."
Susan felt herself flush. She was about to deny it when Rodney groused, "I'm not a personal entertainment system!"
"No, but if you were..." John said, smirking at him.
"What? You'd turn me on all the time? I meant use?" Rodney turned red himself now. "Let's talk about something else."
So. Together.
~~
"My gene is way better than yours," Susan said brightly when they visited Rodney later that afternoon in the lab.
Rodney's mouth turned down. Claire came over to pat his arm. "Don't worry, Uncle Rodney. I don't have it at all. It's okay."
"And mine's still stronger than Susan's," John added, smirking at Susan. She stuck out her tongue at him.
"What was that about not being ten?" Rodney asked.
"Jealous," she only said.
"Oh please," Rodney said dismissively. "I got over your uncle's gene, I'll get over yours. I have what I need, and it's still enough to do things that you and your uncle could only dream about doing."
"Like figuring out the device?" John asked.
"As a matter of fact, we, I mean I managed to decrypt the history of the device usage. Carter might have had a slightly helpful idea here and there. The important thing is, we can now let you or John try to reinitialize it for your return and actually verify if it's done correctly," Rodney said.
"Wait, you mean I just need to think at it that I want to go home?" Susan asked.
"We needed to recharge it first," Rodney pointed out.
"But you'd already done that this morning, right?" Susan asked.
"Excuse me for wanting to make sure that you actually return to where you came from instead of another universe that might not be so friendly to little girls breaking into their base. If the device would even be on a base and not buried somewhere or in another galaxy," Rodney said. Claire looked alarmed. "Hey, no. You don't have to worry now. We'll be able to check where you go with what I found out."
Claire looked relieved. "So we can go home?" she asked uncertainly.
"We can try," Rodney said. "Maybe Sheppard should-"
"I'll do it," Susan said. "Let me try, please." She really wanted to make this right again. She'd gotten them here, and she wanted to be able to take Claire and herself back home.
"All right, but you'll need to make sure to only initialize it at first. Actually, we should probably discharge it first, just to be on the safe side," Rodney said.
"I'm not stupid," Susan said.
"Even if you aren't, it's better to be safe than sorry," Rodney said. "Besides, I think the general wants to talk to you before you go back."
Claire stepped closer to Susan. "Is something wrong?"
John crouched in front of her. "We just to make sure you're okay and give you back your things-and I think the general has some information he's prepared for you to take back with you. There's no problem." He smiled encouragingly.
Claire nodded in understanding, taking Susan's hand.
John led the way, and before Susan left the lab, she turned back to Rodney. "You'll be there before we leave?"
"Yes, of course," Rodney said a bit surprised.
"Uh, well good," Susan said awkwardly, quickly following John out.
~~
"So that's it," Susan said.
They'd been given back their clothes and something they called a data crystal with information that their John and Rodney at home might find helpful. Then she'd managed to initialize the device and Rodney had gone to recharge it and verify that she'd done it correctly-which of course was the case.
"You should also take this with you," John said, handing her a backpack.
"It includes a battery with instructions to reload the device in case you end up far away from a base or your home. We don't know where the target device is stored in your universe. We hope it's close to where you found the device, but we can't be sure," Rodney said.
"So if something goes wrong, we'll recharge it and come back here," Susan said for clarification.
"Exactly," John said. "So you don't have to worry even if you end up in a strange place," he added, looking down at Claire with a reassuring smile.
"We put a flashlight and other things in there," Rodney said. "Maybe you can also take," he opened a drawer and got out some power bars, a small bag of chips, and a pack of M&Ms and stuffed them in the backpack. "This."
"We're here for less than two days and you're already storing junk food in the labs?" John asked.
Rodney glared at him.
"He's just looking out for you," Susan said.
"Well, we're not married yet, so I'd appreciate if he kept his advice to himself," Rodney said.
"Yet?" Susan asked with a smile.
"Just go, you meddling...kids," Rodney said, but there was the ghost of a smile on his lips.
Susan grinned brightly and hugged him. He harrumphed, but hugged her back. While Claire went to hug Rodney as well, Susan turned to John to hug him. This time he was a little less awkward about it. And when he pulled her close he whispered, "Thank you," in her ear.
Susan beamed at him, not even minding when he picked up Claire and hugged her close, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Remember, you need to hold on to your sister," Rodney said.
"I know," Susan said, pulling Claire into her arms so tightly that she started squirming. "Thank you," she said to Rodney and John, then looked up to the gallery where O'Neill and Carter stood behind the glass. Carter waved at them and O'Neill lifted his head in acknowledgement.
"It was...interesting," Rodney said as he handed her the box. "I might actually...miss you...a tiny bit."
"There are versions of us here in this universe," she reminded him. "When you marry John, they'll be your nieces too."
"Right," Rodney said, glancing at John.
John's jaw clenched. Then he quickly pulled Susan and Claire into another quick hug. "You'll be fine. We brought the target device here and will monitor this lab for the rest of the day and even after that, there is a phone you can pick up to call someone in case you end up here with nobody around."
Susan nodded.
"Goodbye, Uncle John," Claire said. "Goodbye, Uncle Rodney."
"Goodbye," Susan only said. He really hoped these two would figure it out. And that she wasn't grounded for the rest of her life when they were back home. If they ended up there.
She opened the box, Claire still tightly in her grip and took out the device. It lit up. She took a deep breath, looking at Rodney, then John, then looked at Claire. "We're going home," she promised and pressed the device.
~~
"Oh, thank goodness," Rodney said, when they suddenly found themselves in a different lab.
"Uncle Rodney?" Claire asked.
"Yes," Rodney said with feeling, pulling her into her arms. Susan was so relieved her knees buckled, but she managed to put her arms around both of them, suddenly feeling tears in her eyes when she felt Rodney's arm around her. "Are you crying?" he asked.
"No!" she said, blinking away her tears.
"I need to call your uncle. Your parents have been frantic for the last two days," Rodney said. He took out his phone and dialed a number. "They're here and they're fine as far as I can see. They're wearing clothes that don't quite fit, but they don't look hurt or otherwise traumatized."
"We're fine," Susan said.
"Susan says they're fine. Yes, I'll have Jennifer take a look at them and arrange to be transported as soon as possible," Rodney said, then he hung up. "All right, let's get this sorted out. And give me that," he said, taking the device from her. "We'll have a talk about that later," he said meaningfully.
Susan grimaced.
"She brought us back," Claire said. "Don't be mad with her. She won't do it again."
"It would be the first time I've seen your sister truly repentant," Rodney pointed out.
"I really am sorry," Susan said. "We could have..." She felt tears welling up in her eyes again. What the hell was wrong with her? They were safe now. There was no reason to cry! Claire took her into her arms and soothed her.
Even Rodney cupped her face and wiped away a tear. "We all make mistakes sometimes. The important thing is to learn from them."
Susan only nodded, not daring to speak.
~~
They didn't ground her. She was glad that she would still be able to spend the rest of John and Rodney's stay with them. She could live without her phone and computer for a month-and maybe she could badger Rodney into leaving one of his with her when they left.
They were asked not to talk about what had happened. They were allowed to discuss it with John and Rodney, but not their parents, who weren't happy in the least.
It wasn't as cool as she imagined knowing secrets about such fantastic things would be. She'd hated the disappointment on her parents' faces once they'd gotten over their happiness that they were back.
Claire was holding up pretty well. She hadn't slipped once and only talked about the pancakes and the nice people who'd helped them without mentioning any names. It was sort of annoying because Susan thought if Claire let it slip, nobody would be mad at her and then the cat was out of the bag and it wouldn't matter if she slipped up too.
At least she could talk to John and Rodney about it. When they'd put Claire to bed the second night after their return, Susan told them, "You weren't together there. At least not when we first arrived."
"Oh," John said, frowning. "But we knew each other."
"Yes," Susan said. "You were friends. And by the time we left, I think we gave them the right idea."
"Just friends?" Rodney asked, doubtfully. "Was I blind or something?"
John snorted.
"It wasn't okay to be gay," she said, frowning. "General O'Neill said you'd be kicked out if you got married."
"What year was it?" Rodney said incredulously.
"Same as here," John said thoughtfully. "We're lucky."
"Well, they'll have to figure out a way to be together. You're smart, it can't be so hard to hide it or better yet change the stupid rules," Susan said.
"Oh, yes, getting the US military to see reason is such a simple thing to do," Rodney said sarcastically.
"Maybe they're smarter than you are," Susan said.
"Hey," Rodney protested. "I'm just not wasting my valuable brain on politics. At least, I don't touch things in other people's bags without knowing what they do."
"I brought us back!" Susan protested.
"With my help," Rodney pointed out.
"With their help," Susan corrected him. "You only sat here and didn't manage doing anything useful."
Rodney gaped. "Without me there'd be a manhunt going on in all of Pennsylvania and Maryland. I was the one who figured out what must have happened."
"It helped to calm down your parents. At least a bit," John said.
"Why did you leave this stuff in the open anyway? I can't imagine the Air Force allows you to put classified devices in your overnight bags," Susan said.
"Okay, that's it. You're such a brat! You-" Rodney stopped when Susan flung herself around him on impulse.
"It's so good to be home," she said.
"Wow, she really missed you," John said.
Susan moved from Rodney's arms into John's. "It was scary," she admitted quietly. "But you promised-the other you I mean-promised he would help us even if we didn't make it home." John squeezed her.
"So what have we all learned from the ordeal?" Rodney asked.
"Not to touch strange devices," John said.
"A lesson several of us would do well to remember," Rodney said pointedly.
"I should maybe listen to Claire sometimes," Susan said quickly and quietly.
"What did she say?" John asked.
"Something about Claire being a lot more mature even though she's only half her age I think," Rodney said.
Susan playfully hit him. "She's not so bad maybe. For a little sister."
"Yes, something similar might have crossed my own mind once or twice," he said wistfully. "Not about Claire, obviously," he clarified.
Susan rolled her eyes. "So what are we doing tomorrow."
"We have to go somewhere again?" Rodney complained.
"Sure," Susan said. "You're our personal entertainment system."
"Says who?" Rodney asked.
"The other you," she said.
Rodney harrumphed, and John gave her doubtful look. She only grinned.
It was definitely good to be home.