What Could Have Been

Chapter One: What the Hell?

A/N: So I'm not loving the first chapter, but the second is much better. I'm still a little rusty, but it's coming back. Please read and review!

Enjoy!

Dark. So dark. 'Can't…breathe…' The blackness wrapped vice like hands around her chest and squeezed. The ground dropped from underneath her and then there was nothing. No light, no air, no ground, no sky, nothing. 'What…the hell?'

And then it all came rushing back. Air, light, ground, and noise. Oh, god, the noise. Sirens blared in her ears and harsh fluorescents cut through her closed eyelids. The sound of pounding boots suddenly surrounded her along with the unmistakable click of P-90s being ratcheted.

A cacophony of shouting followed, making her duck her head and cover her ears. 'What the hell is going on!'

"Freeze!" From her left.

"Hands up!" From her right.

"State your name and purpose!" From behind her. This voice was different though. It was male, but instead of being harsh and demanding it was wry and slightly sarcastic. She knew that voice. Her whole body stiffened and her eyes flew open, adjusting quickly.

Alex snapped around, knees twisting on the cold concrete careful not to overbalance. "Are you kidding me?" She half yelled, hands balled into fists at her sides. The man who had spoken in a mocking tone rocked back on his heels, looking at her with slight surprise. "Seriously? In the middle of the night? Look, I know you and mom want me to train and be prepared and all, but the middle of the night?"

The soldiers who had surrounded her went silent. The sirens shut off abruptly and an oppressive silence descended. Jack continued to stare at the girl kneeling belligerently on the floor in front of him, perfectly framed by the large ring of the Stargate.

"Um…sorry?" Jack squinted his eyes and shoved his hands into his BDU pockets.

Alex rolled her eyes and stood, tensing slightly when a few of the soldiers readied their weapons again. "Come on. It's late and I'm tired. I mean, for crying out loud, dad…"

…..

'Dad?' Jack quickly eyed the armed soldiers around him. "Alright, who's the wise guy?" When no one answered, Jack smiled dangerously. "No, really, guys. Who brought the kid?" Directly addressing the girl now, he said, "Miss? Hi, Jack O'Neill here. Promise I won't be mad, but whose kid are you? Who put you up to this?"

The girl stared back at him with a look of utter disbelief in her eyes. "What?"

Jack took two steps forward so that he and the girl were almost toe to toe. She squared her shoulders defiantly and stared back. Jack took a long look at her before speaking. "You won't get in trouble. Just tell me where you…" He trailed off, mouth still working, but no sound coming out. His eyes widened and he took a step back. Her eyes…and the way she was standing…

Jack cleared his throat and turned to the nearest officer. "Get Carter." He paused as the woman nodded. "Now."

…

Alex was furious. She stormed across the room and kicked at the bed, yelping and hopping when she stubbed her toe. "Come on!" She yelled to no one in particular. When, predictably, no one answered, she sat heavily on the bed. She didn't understand what was going on. Everyone on base was acting like they didn't know her. After the scene in the gateroom, two officers had dragged her into the infirmary where they had drawn several vials of blood, then locked her in one of the on base rooms.

And there they had left her.

At first, Alex was willing to play along. Maybe this was another one of her parents' hair-brained schemes to train her. They'd been pulling stunts like this ever since she was little, but this was the farthest they had ever taken it.

Alex stopped pacing and glanced surreptitiously at the camera in the corner of the room. Fine. They want to play hardball? 'I'll give them hardball.'

…

"General, I don't really know what to make of this. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before." Dr. Janet Frasier sat at the briefing room table, hands folded in front of her.

"Why do I feel like I hear you say that more than I hear you say it's like something you've seen before?" Jack cocked his head and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. Janet fixed him with her infamous one-more-word-and-I'll-put-a-needle-THIS BIG-in-your-butt look. Next to him Jack heard Carter smother her laugh behind her hand.

"What exactly am I looking at here, doctor?" Hammond frowned at the folder in front of him.

The look that Frasier shot at Sam and Jack wasn't lost on either of the officers. They both tensed and glanced nervously at the file. "Can I see that, sir?" Carter looked at the file, biting her lip. The general glanced up at the major's odd tone.

"I don't see why not. Doctor?" Janet nodded and handed out copies of the report.

Jack opened his and narrowed his eyes.

Sam kept her face carefully composed, but she really couldn't believe what she was reading.

Daniel took one look at the results and reflexively coughed. Loudly.

Teal'c didn't bother to open the file, but merely glanced at his teammates and sat back.

"Sir…" Janet hesitated. "This girl is the biological child of Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill."

"Well, yeah," a voice piped up from the stairs. "It would have been a lot easier if you'd just asked me. Seriously, guys. Kudos for the dedication, but can I please go back to bed now?"

"How did you get up here?" Hammond stood up. "Airman!"

Two officers came jogging into the office. "We're sorry, sir." The first one piped up. "We don't know how she got out."

"How I got-?" Alex cut herself off with a shake of her head. "It's not like I haven't practically lived here my whole life. Disabling the camera and getting out of the room wasn't hard at all. I mean, if you're going to wake me up in the middle of the night at least give me a challenge." At the silent, wide-eyed stares she was getting, Alex tensed. "Did I do something wrong?" When no one answered, Alex's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. I know you told me not to disable the base's cameras anymore, but I thought maybe…" She trailed. "Okay, seriously, why aren't any of you saying anything?"

"Look…" Daniel glanced down at the name on the folder. "Alexandra, I don't really know how to put this but…" He trailed and looked around helplessly.

"We do not know who you are." Teal'c added helpfully.

Alex blinked once, twice, three times. Then burst out laughing. "Nice. Uncle T, you really almost had me there." When no one else laughed, Alex tensed again. "Wh-what?"

Sam stood up and took a tentative step towards the girl. "I'm really sorry. I'm still not sure what happened, but…I think you somehow traveled here from an alternate reality.

A/N: To be continued…

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