Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to other people and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: I found these bits in old emails I was cleaning out. I have not story to go between them, but, apparently, the two bits are the Epilogue and either the prologue or chapter 1 of a cross-over story my muse was entertaining between Stargate SG1 and Stephanie Plum. No clue where it was going with this, but, here you go.
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Feedback: Send to TT at: ttsmiscellany@yahoo.com

Prologue and Epilogue of a potential Plum/SG1 crossover
By TT

Prologue

A curse slipped out of Stephanie as her skip, John Buttress, took off on her once more.

As if it wasn’t bad enough she’d had to follow her skip all the way to Washington D. C., now he had her running through the strange town and she didn’t even have Lula as backup.

Pumping her arms harder, she began to make up ground on the scum. The fact that he tripped over a leash as he turned to look over his shoulder helped with that.

When she saw him a corner, she groaned internally as she panted and watched him climb the fence into the private parking lot.

Not seeing any other option, she scaled the fence as well and dropped over the other side, grateful she hadn’t gotten hung up on it.

As she sprinted after the fleeing form, she vaguely noted the presence of an older looking gentleman.

Unfortunately, the skip apparently saw him too and headed toward the stranger.

“Stop!” Stephanie gasped, hoping more than believing Buttress would obey.

She put on another burst of speed as she saw her skip trip and fall to the ground.

By some miracle, and ignoring the stitch in her side from exerting herself on the run, she caught up with Buttress as he was scrambling to his feet.

Reaching behind her, she withdrew her cuffs and was just about to slap the first one on his wrist when the man gained his feet and his balance.

Without giving her a chance to react or defend herself, he kicked out with his foot, sending her flying backward, straight into the stranger who had been steadily approaching them.

She heard him grunt as she slammed into him, but lost track of what was around her as a brilliant flash of white light surrounded her.

When she and the man eventually landed, she couldn’t help but grunt as the last of her air was knocked from her.

It took her adrenaline-filled system only a few hundredths of a second to determine it was some sort of metal underneath her not asphalt.

It was only a few seconds before her surroundings began to register.

She was in the strangest room she’d ever seen. It looked almost like something out of a science fiction movie or something.

Turning her head, she spotted a large screen. A window, maybe? With white blurs streaking across a black field.

An incredibly uneasy feeling filled her stomach as her spidey sense began to go nuts.

She once again turned and began taking in her surroundings. One thing she knew for sure, she really, really shouldn’t be here.

A voice bellowed from behind her, “Thor!”

Jumping to her feet, she spun around and found the older gentleman from the parking lot on the floor behind her. What was more, now that she wasn’t running after Buttress, she noticed he was in a uniform of some sort. It was blue and it took a moment for her mind to throw out the answer that it was an Air Force uniform.

“O’Neill,” a voice from behind her returned.

Spinning around a small shriek escaped her as she jumped backward. There was a small gray creature standing behind her staring at her with large black eyes.

When the, for lack of a better term, alien blinked at her and cocked his head as if puzzled, she felt some of her fear and anxiety leave.

“You could have called,” the human man grumbled. “And especially could have waited until I was alone.”

“There was no time,” the alien replied.

Stephanie turned to look at the man.

Closing his eyes and rubbing his hand over his face, the man sighed before straightening his shoulders and smiling at her. “I’m General Jack O’Neill. This is Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard. And you are?”

“S-stephanie Plum. I’m a Bounty Hunter,” she stammered.

“Well, Miss Plum,” the General replied, still smiling. “It would appear your horizons are about to be expanded.” Turning to the small gray alien, he continued, “Thor, buddy, have you installed any chairs in this thing? I have a feeling Miss Plum is going to need to sit down.”

“We could simply…” Thor began.

“Ah,” O’Neill objected holding up his hand to stop Thor from speaking. When he was satisfied that the Supreme Commander was not going to interrupt, he continued, “It may come to that, but for now, I’ll explain the basics and then you can tell me what was so urgent that you had to steal me away.”

“Very well, O’Neill,” the alien sighed.

Stephanie thought the small creature sounded rather put-upon. It was a tone she’d heard from her mother semi-frequently over the years.

“Follow me,” Thor instructed before turning and walking away.

Stephanie stood staring after him. She started slightly when a hand came to rest on the small of her back. Turning her head, she found herself looking into warm, brown eyes.

“Shall we?” the General asked.

With a nod of her head, Stephanie turned to follow the Asgard.

Epilogue

Stephanie rested her head on the window, her eyes drinking in the familiar sights. There had been times in the past two weeks when she was afraid she’d never see them again.

A little bit of adventure was one of the things that kept her bounty hunting, but her recent experiences gave her a whole new perspective.

She would never forget the people she’d met or the things she had done and learned. She would never forget that she had been crucial in saving the day on that far-off world, but, right now, she needed some time to accept it.

A smile curved her lips as she remembered her childhood dream of being an intergalactic princess. For her, it had always been a good thing, a chance for her to fight the evil that lurked in space, but the reality she’d found out there was far more treacherous.

Her smile faded as images from her time off-world flitted through her mind.

Despite the newness of it all, despite the, for lack of a better term, alienness of it, life off-world wasn’t so different from life in Trenton. There were those who went happily about their lives, refusing to acknowledge anything that didn’t belong, like many in the Burg. There were people who set out to make the galaxy a better place, like the people at the soup kitchen where she frequently found Eula. There were business people and people just trying to make their way. There were those that held the line against the darker side of life like the TPD and Rangeman. There were those who lived in the darkness and desired nothing but power and control, like the mafia, gun-runners and drug dealers.

Looking at the familiar buildings flashing by, Stephanie felt unsettled. It wasn’t that she had a burning desire to be out there. After all, what use would the Air Force have with a half-trained bounty hunter? But, somehow, Trenton just didn’t seem to fit anymore.

As the car pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building, her eyes were drawn upward to the sky and she realized what had happened. Her view of the world – of the galaxy – had expanded.

It wasn’t that her job here wasn’t important, it was that there were other things that seemed more so. She now understood why Ranger would go “in the wind”, why his interests expanded beyond the Trenton area. There was more out there than one city or neighborhood.

“We’re here, Miss Plum,” the driver announced as he shifted the car into park.

Stephanie snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at the man, reaching into her purse to extract her keys. “Thank you,” she said as she opened the back door and stepped out of the car. Her only response was a nod.

The thought that he already had the vocabulary of a Rangeman popped into her head and she smiled more broadly.

Closing the door behind her, the car slowly pulled away as she headed toward the lobby.

She was about three steps from the door when it opened and a fast-moving blur of black headed straight for her.

As soon as the strong arms wrapped around her, Stephanie was hit by the scent of Bulgari and knew who was.

Throwing her own arms around him she held on tightly as she felt his lips press against her neck. “Babe,” he greeted, his voice rough with emotion.

“Carlos,” she whispered, not realizing she’d used his name. She felt a shudder run through him as he pulled his head away. Before she could formulate a question, his lips met hers in a searing kiss.

When they finally broke the kiss, Stephanie was panting and trying to catch her breath. She looked into his eyes and couldn’t make sense of the overwhelming emotion she saw there. It was just too much for her to sort out.

“Let’s go inside,” Ranger said, placing her feet on the ground once more and guiding her inside, past the smiling faces of several of her neighbors.

Once they were in Stephanie’s apartment, Ranger led her to the couch and sat beside her, never letting go of her hand.

“What were you doing in my apartment?” Stephanie asked her curiosity getting the better of her.

“Picking up mail and feeding the rat.”

Stephanie rolled her eyes “He’s a hamster,” she corrected. She couldn’t help but return Ranger’s smile. Her eyes then drifted to their relative position on the couch. After his greeting, she was surprised he wasn’t keeping her closer. Not that she really expected it, after all, they weren’t a couple or anything. Of course, after she spoke with Joe, they wouldn’t be a couple either. She just didn’t fit with him anymore.

“Babe,” Ranger said softly. “Stephanie,” he added, drawing her full attention to him. “What happened? Where have you been? All we could find out is that you were chasing John Buttress through the streets of D. C. and then you disappeared.”

Stephanie stared into his eyes. She wanted to tell him of her adventure, of the amazing things she’d seen and done, but knew she couldn’t. Not only would he not believe her, but she had signed all of those papers. Biting her lower lip, she knew there was only one answer she could give. “You know that old saying, ‘I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you’?”

Ranger froze and searched her eyes.

Stephanie knew they reflected how absolutely serious she was being. This was something she just couldn’t share, a secret she was going to need to keep.

“Yeah?” he finally asked, obviously understanding that she had been involved in something pretty major.

Stephanie could see he understood. “Yeah,” she nodded in confirmation.

Ranger pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her, eventually drawing her into his lap.

They sat like that for a while until Stephanie’s breathing evened out and her body relaxed into sleep.

Still holding her, Ranger arranged himself more comfortably on the couch before pulling his phone out.

He punched in the number of a high-level government contact. After explaining what he needed, Ranger settled in and waited, wondering how long he would have until word got around that Stephanie was back, before he would have to let her go again.

As he was pondering that question, he phone rang once more. “Yo,” he greeted.

“Let it lie,” the flat voice of his contact advised. After a moment’s silence, he continued, “You don’t have clearance for it. I don’t even have clearance for it.”

“Do you at least know who?” Ranger demanded.

There was a heartbeat of silence before the response came, “You’re asking a lot.”

Ranger remained silent.

“The path of information leads toward Homeworld Security,” the man on the other end of the line eventually murmured.

“Homeland security?” Ranger asked, puzzled by the wording.

“No,” Ranger’s contact replied. “Homeworld.” The man blew out a breath. “Look, it will be healthier for everyone if you drop this now. Just accept it and move on.”

Ranger knew enough of the way the government worked to heed that warning. “Thanks,” he said before hanging up and slipping his phone back in his pocket.

Reaching his hand up, he smoothed away the hair from Stephanie’s forehead. “What did you get yourself into, Babe?” he asked softly before wrapping his arms more securely around her and placing a gentle kiss on her temple.

End