StarnightSam – 12/2007

Chapter One

“You’re like chasing the wind, Jack O’Neill.”

Had she really said that to him? What the hell did she mean? She’d never chased him! He always knew when a woman, any woman was coming on to him.

Hell, she’d made it clear that they should leave it all in the room. All of it. He’d asked her if she was okay with it. And what the hell had she said? Nothing. Nadda… Not a damn thing! Not then. Not since.

‘I’m like chasing the wind?’ He thought to himself, ‘Me? Well, if she thought she was chasing something, then someone needs to give her lessons in chasing. ‘Cause it’s damn sure she doesn’t have a clue how to chase!’

Yeah, he’d just tell her that too!...., just as soon as he could get his equilibrium back.

What on Earth was she talking about?

Jack had spent the last two hours walking up and down his drive. Every since she’d made that comment to him, he had been completely brain dead. Did she really think she’d been chasing him? How? When? Where?

God only knew how much he wanted to be caught by her! But he sure had missed the chasing part! Last he’d heard she was seeing that Pete-something or other. He just didn’t think that counted as chasing after him. On the contrary, it seemed she had no interest in him at all. It was hard to admit that, but after the humming and the twinkle in her eyes in the elevator what else could he do?

Was it that Sam was still suffering from the concussion? She had hit her head really hard on the Prometheus. From the mission reports, they were lucky to have her alive, plus she’d made sure that the whole crew and the ship were returned. She’d pulled another impossible feat out of her butt…. uh, head.

She had accomplished that feat with a severe concussion. She’d talked some unknown aliens into returning all her crew after the Prometheus was trapped in a gas bubble, and saved the same unknown aliens to boot. He didn’t understand all the report said, but he knew she was the reason they’d all made it back.

She should have already been promoted to Lt. Colonel before this, she’d already earned it. But she certainly should be this time. But their superior officers in their stupidity stated something like it wasn’t enough time since her last promotion!??

Idiots! Didn’t they have a clue that she was the only reason their butts were still snake-free? He’d like to tell them all what he thought of this. Egotistically chauvinistic bigots, that’s what they all were! If it’d been any of the present male officers, the higher ups would have made a big to do and pinned those birds on so damn fast all heads would spin, plus give them the metals. He could name at least a dozen other Special Ops who had been promoted from Major to Lt. Colonel in less time than this. The Powers that be certainly understand how much more dangerous this gig was.

He couldn’t do anything more than push Hammond for her full-bird, but he could make sure that she would receive the metals; he and Hammond both agreed on that.

Jack pulled his keys from his pocket and popped the lock open on his truck door one more time. Pulling himself up into the big truck, he decided he’d just go the bar he liked to frequent. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around what she’d meant, but he wasn’t brave enough to ask her just yet.

Couldn’t open that door, not yet. She was just too important to the Stargate Program. They needed her, which meant he couldn’t have her, unless he retired or moved from her chain of command.

But now, she was dating! Dating! Damn it! How had he missed that? She had actually been humming in the elevator few days ago. Humming! Even admitted to dating that cop!

He couldn’t let himself think of her actually sleeping with someone else. Someone Else? What the hell did he mean by that! He sure as hell had never slept with her. Not him. Big damn dummy! That’s what he was!

Chasing the wind? When had she chased him? Had he missed something? He was older than she by at least a decade, but he would have surely noticed her chasing him. Wouldn’t he? It was true; he made a lot of effort trying not to ‘notice’ just how feminine she really was. But… No… He just knew he’d have noticed if she was actually coming on to him. He knew he would. Right?

0o0o0o0o0o0o

After the third drink, Jack decided he’d had enough ‘courage’ and left the bar. He drove around for a while, torn between going home and going to her house.

What if she wasn’t alone? What then? Would he just push the cop aside? What if she was alone? Would he just march in and demand to know what she meant?

Was she just teasing him? She sure hadn’t seemed like she was laughing. In fact she seemed angry with him. Why? What did she have to be angry about? She was the one dating! But that didn’t have anything to do with this, did it? He was so confused.

The more he thought the more upset he became. He couldn’t stop his truck from driving straight to her house. He tried three times to turn down the wrong street, but he couldn’t. He kept getting closer and closer to her house. What would he do?

He stopped across the street a house down from hers. He thought it was the cop’s car parked just up from the gate of her house, but he wasn’t sure. But he couldn’t make himself leave. He wanted to know what she meant and he couldn’t wait until Monday that was three long days. He’d go bonkers before then. Okay maybe he was already bonkers, but he was certain he wouldn’t make it until then.

It was only 7:50 PM. He hoped to God that she wasn’t in bed with that cop this early. He didn’t know if he could handle that. Even if he did suspect she’d been sleeping with the guy, he certainly didn’t want to see it.

‘Stop it, Jack,’ he chastised himself. ‘Don’t go there.’ He got out of his truck and walked the few steps to her fence gate. He stood there another few minutes and then jacked himself up enough to walk to the front door. He tried to see into the window as he walked but the curtain was closed. Not a good sign, he thought.

He stood at the door another few minutes before he had the courage to knock. He waited his heart in his throat. The door opened and there she stood. Boy! Carter, no, make that Samantha, in a little black dress that showed off those beautiful breasts he’d only glimpsed on occasion as she changed into her BDU’s.

The skirt barely flared at the waist and had a touch of red trim around the neckline. Heaven help him, she was so beautiful, tall, long shapely legs in the sexiest high heeled sandals he’d ever seen. Her hair was styled in an uplift with cute little curls around her temples and neckline.

Carter actually had on makeup. He’d seen her in make up before, but never like this. She was gorgeous! Her much too blue eyes seemed to stand out, glimmering the deepest blue he’d every seen them. He really didn’t know why.

Jack had never seen Carter look so good. But then this was Samantha, not Carter. She was magnificent, gorgeous, sexy, and just beautiful. What he wouldn’t have given to have her dress like that for him. But he knew it was for the cop, which made him wonder where he was. It didn’t appear that he was here after all.

TBC

By StarnightSam

“Sir? What?... What?... are you doing here?” He couldn’t answer at first. He was mesmerized by her beauty. He looked up and down her body, landing at her breasts for quite a long moment before he made his eyes move to her face.

“Uh… I.. I.. need to talk to you?” Jack’s words came out more like a question than a request, and his voice was filled with what could only be called lust.

“Sir, now’s not a good time. I have a date.” Sam couldn’t miss the look in his eyes.

“Oh?” Jack’s vision seemed focused only not on her face.

“Please, Colonel, can we do this some other time?” She was becoming more anxious by the moment. Something was off. When had the Colonel ever let her catch him staring at her….body?

“Sir?” Jack looked back at her face.

“No. Carter, you said something and I can’t forget it. I need to talk to you.”

“Okay, but Pete will be here any minute. We have to make it fast.”

Jack almost laughed at that. But he didn’t want it to be fast, not what he had on his mind. “I’m not sure if I can, Carter. It’s up to you.”

She stared at him as if he were a snakehead. “What?”

“Please, may I come in?”

“Colonel, Pete will be here at 8:00, he’s never late.”

“I wouldn’t be either if this is what waited for me.”

“What?!” It took her a moment to realize what he said although she couldn’t believe it.

“Carter, how long have we known each other?” He asked as he walked into her den and sat down on the sofa.

“Sir, you know very well how long. What’s this about?” She asked following him.

“Your accusation.”

“What accusation?” She was beginning to understand the cause of his visit.

“That’s right. You know what I’m talking about.” He could read her expression the minute she realized what he meant.

“It was just a phrase, something that people say. It didn’t mean anything.” But Jack could tell from her tone of voice that it did.

“I don’t believe you.”

“You calling me a lair, Sir?”

“Yeah, Carter. I am.”

They stared at each other a long time or what felt like a long time. He couldn’t take his eyes from her. He thought he saw something that he’d never seen there before. He just didn’t know what it said.

“I’m sorry, Colonel. I shouldn’t have said that to you. I was out of line.”

“Won’t work,” Jack huffed and leaned back into the couch. “Sit,” he said patting the couch beside him.

“Please, Sir. Pete is due any minute,” she whined.

“Don’t care.”

The door bell rang. “He’s here. Sir, please just go.”

“Then tell him you’ve been called back to work. Tell him anything ‘cause you’re not leaving ‘till we straighten this out.”

“What?! You can’t order me to do that! We have dinner plans.” Fear gripped her face and she froze above him.

“I can, and I just did. Carter, you’re needed back at the SGC.”

“I’m not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.” The door bell rang again.

“Should I tell him myself?” Jack asked, raising his eyebrows every bit as high as Teal’c as he started to get up from the sofa.

“You can’t do this to me.” Tears formed a bright sheen over her eyes as she fought to keep them from falling.

“You did it to me.”

“I simply made a statement. A correct statement at that!”

“Well, now at least we’re getting somewhere. You admit you had a reason to say it?” Jack asked as a loud knocking noise came from the front door.

“Sir, please. Can we at least talk about this tomorrow? I do have plans.”

“I see. But, no, Major. We’re talking tonight. Here or at the SGC. It’s your choice.”

“You can’t make me do this. This isn’t work related.”

“It has to do with the cohesion of my team. It damn well is work related. We have an important mission starting Monday. I can’t go without knowing what you meant. Carter?”

“What? Sir? Why are you doing this?” She pleaded. The knocking became harder and louder.

“Do you want me to tell him or will you, Major?” He asked emphasizing her rank. She turned away from him and stomped to the door as well as she could anyway in such high heels. Sam turned to look at him once more, pleading with her eyes. But Jack only stared back at her. “Go on, open the door.”

She opened the door and Pete stood there all dressed in his tux and a bunch of long stemmed red roses in his arms. She thought seriously about just walking out the door with him. She needed this night. She had plans for this night. It would be their first time to have sex if she had her way. Sam Carter couldn’t remember the last time any man had made love to her. She was long overdue.

At this moment she wanted to stomped her CO into the floorboards of her den and just get on with her night. Why had she made that comment to him in the first place? She knew it was her fault. Had she unconsciously tried to sabotage her date?

“I’m so sorry, Pete. But…, I’ve just been called back to work. My CO just came to pick me up. Can we postpone our date? Please?” She looked sincere to Pete. He could tell by her expression she was upset, and that she really didn’t want to break their date. She leaned in to kiss him. He wrapped her in his arms and held her for a moment. Then Jack appeared behind her.

“Carter, we need to get going here. Paul.” He nodded his head to Pete.

“It’s Pete. Colonel O’Neill is it?” Jack just nodded.

“We have plans; I’ve made reservations and everything. Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”

Pete asked Jack.

“No. Son, it can’t.” Now why the hell had he called the cop son? Did he really want him to look any younger to Carter or himself any older?

“I’m really sorry, Pete. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Sam said trying to give Pete a quick kiss as Jack took her arm and pulled her out of her front door. He smirked, thinking to himself at least he’d stopped that kiss. He took the roses from her and handed them to Pete.

“Put those in water, and then lock up, will ya? We’ll probably be all night.” Jack said as if he was addressing one of his subordinates.

by StarnightSam

======================

Jack almost pulled Sam to his truck and to the passenger side of the vehicle. He opened the door and placed his hands under her butt and lifted her into the truck. She blushed from her the top of her breasts to her hairline. He could make her feel things that no one else could, but she never wanted him to know it. She wanted to tell him off, but knew it would let him know what his hands on her butt just did to her. She was furious with him, but was trying to control her anger.

“Lock up,” he demanded as he slammed the door and moved to his side of the truck. He got in and moved out of the lane and into traffic. They sat in complete and strained silence for a long while. Sam suddenly realized they weren’t going toward the SGC.

“Sir, what if Pete’s following us? He’ll wonder why we aren’t going to work.”

“Does he make a habit of following you, Carter?”

“What?! No! Of course not. That’s not what I meant.” She hesitated a long time, then softly added, “Jack, what’s this really about?”

Jack. Jack. She hardly ever called him Jack. It did things to him. Made him want to run his tongue over her lips and down her neck, suck that sweet spot just behind her ear among other things. He felt stirrings in his jeans and shifted in the seat uncomfortably. But Sam noticed. She felt the flush of heat bloom over her chest and cheeks turning her bright red.

They didn’t say anything else until he stopped in front of his house. “I’ll be right back, I have to get something.” He left the truck running and she waited.

It was December in the Springs and really cold. Jack came back in a few minutes with a jacket for her and blankets. It looked like a picnic basket on his arm. What the hell?

Jack placed the things in the seat behind him and handed her the jacket. “If you get cold.”

“Will I need a jacket? I thought we were going to the SGC?” She asked. But he only glared at her.

He drove on for a long time around the curving roads and foothills of the mountain driving up a road that curved up the mountain. Maybe they were going to the mountain after all, Sam thought, but only to herself. She was just slightly annoyed with herself because part of her really wanted him to steal her away, make mad passionate love to her and never again let her go. But Sam knew better than to think that Jack O’Neill would just march in and sweep her away. It was too romantic and she didn’t really think of her colonel as romantic, sexy yes but not romantic. Then there were the regs and the state of the Universe to consider.

Jack stopped the truck at a ledge that overlooked the city. She could see all the lights from where they were. The Christmas lights were shining in different colors, hundreds of tiny bright red, green, blue and gold brilliantly twinkling lights. It was beautiful.

Sam wondered just how many women Jack had brought up here. It was so like him. Jack loved the stars and the outside. She could just see him having wild monkey sex with one woman after another up here. Maybe that was her jealousy seeping in.

She’d always perceived Jack as having one night stands. She knew from experience that women found him very attractive and he seemed eager to return those stares. ‘That is every one of them except me,’ she thought. But she couldn’t remember Jack ever talking about any one woman or dating at all for that matter.

“It’s not what you’re thinking.” Jack said.

“How do you know what I’m thinking?”

“I can read the disgust in your face.” She turned then and looked straight into his eyes. Sam saw something that she’d only rarely seen, his unmasked love for her shining as bright as the stars over them and the Christmas lights below.

He watched the emotions play across her face and knew the same ones were displayed for her.

“I love you Sam. Please don’t go out with that damn cop anymore.” Jack eyes glistened with stinging tears. How had he been able to say that? He didn’t have the right to stop her from having a life. He’d told her often enough to get one.

“I. I uh. …don’t know what to say.” She never took her eyes from his. Silent words filled both their hearts and spilled through their eyes directly from their souls.

“Why would you ask that of me? I don’t understand?” Sam managed to whisper in question. Although she did. She definitely did. She just couldn’t let her heart believe what her eyes were seeing.

Jack only gazed into her eyes. His heart was in his throat and all the things he’d wanted to say to her were stuck in a huge ball. He reached for her hand and brought her fingers to his lips. He kissed each of her fingers and then turned her palm over and kissed it softly. He continued to softly kiss up her arm and back down to her palm again. He still couldn’t say anything. Jack O’Neill had never been a man of words but of actions. But Sam could feel his breath and lips as they gently touched her hand and skin with the softness of down. Her heart rate increased and her breath hitched.

Sam was sitting close enough for him to smell the sweet scent of her perfume. Her dress was low cut, a V-shaped halter style top that fastened at the back of her neck and came down in the front below the drop of her breasts. Jack had watched her every movement, just hoping for her breasts, which were almost completely exposed to his view, to fall out of their holders for so long he couldn’t shallow let alone say anything coherent. She made him feel like a pimply faced adolescent, excitement running through his veins. He couldn’t remember the last time any woman made him feel so out of control.

“Jack, please talk to me. What is this about?” Sam tried again. His attention snapped back to her face. He moved to unlock her seat belt and then his. He opened his door, grabbed the blankets and picnic basket, and then started around to her side of the truck.

She watched as he moved from his side of the truck all the way around the front of the truck to her side. It felt like slow motion and her eyes never left him. She had lost control of this situation the minute she had accused him of being like the wind.

But it was true. He was like chasing the wind. Sometimes he was all into her, and she just knew it. Other times he seemed to have no interest in her at all, didn’t even know she was a woman. Every time Sam made up her mind to let him know how she felt, he ran, fast and far away from her. She had no words or experiences to hold on to, except the ones that “almost” happened. And almost wasn’t good enough any more.

After her experience on the Prometheus and the vision of her father, she’d wanted to tell Jack that she wanted to be with him. But he’d quickly put her in her place when she called him Jack in the infirmary. She’d taken that to mean her visions on the Prometheus were meant to let him go instead of go after him. Even that had taken over a full month for her to completely admit.

It was true, she was a little angry with him. She wanted Jack O’Neill. But Sam couldn’t bring herself to let him know. She really didn’t think he cared for her any longer. She’d teased and flirted with him for the last month. She even invited the team to her house twice hoping to be able to confront her colonel away for the SGC. But he seemed to push her away. He’d made it a point to tell her to ‘get a life’ on three separate occasions.

Wind. You can’t see it, but you sure can see and feel its effects. Hear it. That was like Jack to her. Elusive and almost invisible at times but she could always feel and sense his presence. She could almost read his mind in matters that weren’t personal. Those he clamped down so hard and buried so deep within himself that he didn’t always know how much they actually affected him.

Her feelings for him were so strong that she’d started not only dreaming about him but daydreaming too to the point that she had become uncomfortable around him. She really doubted that she could move on, but she had made the decision to try with Pete.

Jack helped her from the truck and as she slid out, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “This is about us, Carter. I’m gonna show you what it looks like to be chased, cause it’s damn sure you don’t know.”

“Jack, please.. I’m.. sorry I said that. You don’t have to do this.” His hand landed softly on her cheek. It felt warm and calloused, so Jack. He gently moved his thumb across her lips, brushing across them tenderly, then softly back, then across once more with just enough pressure to part them.

She was sure he was going to kiss her, but he didn’t. He only rested his thumb gently on her moist parted lips, covering them so she wouldn’t speak. Looking directly into her eyes with an open sincerity that he’d never offered her before, he firmly spoke in a low tone, “Yes, I do. I’m not giving you to the cop if I have a snowball’s chance in hell with you.”

She stared into his eyes, tears beginning to pool in her lower lids. “I don’t want you to do this, Jack. It’s not right.” Her voice was so soft he could barely hear it, but he knew she really didn’t mean it. Her words were in direct contrast to the silent language that screamed from her eyes. Her eyes were saying words of love and desire, fear and anger all mixed together. These he knew well.

“Right? Why Sam? Because of the regs or because you don’t care for me? If it’s just the regs, I promise I’ll take care of that. If you don’t care for me, well then that’s another thing, but I don’t believe it. You may not love me like I know I love you, but I think you care for me. He hesitated only briefly before words spoken from her past, words that were so embedded in her heart that they had become a part of her softly rolled from the depth of his heart. “A lot more than you’re supposed to.”

Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and then Jack finished his declaration before he completely lost his ability to talk. He’d already said more than was his nature, but Jack had sensed a cross roads. His gut instinct had served him well and had kept him alive. It told him now it was all or nothing with Carter. Death would come quickly if he lost her.

“Or you wouldn’t have cared that you can’t catch the wind.” He stated smugly as he turned and walked her toward the large tree that over looked the bluff. Jack O’Neill had never been as dumb as he acted.

By StarnightSam

“Or you wouldn’t have cared that you can’t catch the wind.” He stated smugly as he turned and walked her toward the large tree that over looked the bluff. Jack O’Neill had never been as dumb as he acted.

Jack spread out one of the blankets and put the others things on it. He leaned into her slowly, giving her time to move away if she wanted. She didn’t. His lips just barely grazed hers, a soft whisper of a kiss, almost too light to feel. He pulled his head back and watched her, longingly looking into her ocean blue eyes. He loved her eyes, more even than her gorgeous body. She could say so much to him with her eyes.

“Sam, I’m sorry that I never held you or made you feel wanted or sexy, like a woman. It’s not because I didn’t want to hold you, and I certainly think you’re sexy – the hottest woman in the world.” He was so close to her lips his breath was seeping into her filling her with his scent, his desire which matched her own. He held himself just close enough for her to feel his lips briefly, but not close enough to really kiss her. He didn’t want to lose eye contact. He didn’t want to close his eyes, he was afraid she wouldn’t really be there when he opened them.

“If you’re gonna kiss me, then kiss me. Don’t tease me, Sir.”

She sighed the honorific and leaned into the hard planes of his body. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. "Jack . . " She said it the way a lover pants the other’s name in the heat of passion.

Undone.

Completely.

Undone.

After all this time, seven long years, to hear her breathe his name….Oh, God! Names don't change but feelings that express the name does. His name was whispered off her sweet lips, lips and eyes that begged him to kiss her.

“Jack….”

Undone.

No rules, regs nor all the Petes in the world could have stopped the avalanche of emotions that followed. He smiled then, a genuine honest to goodness smile, just before his lips covered hers with a force she’d never felt. Sam could feel her whole body igniting. His kiss became harder soaking her with desire. His tongue swept across her lips as she instinctively opened her mouth. He stroked his tongue into her mouth, searching and tasting each corner. She tasted so good, so Carter. His whole body shook with desire and need.

He couldn’t get enough of her. They had only shared a few such kisses before, when they were changed to Neanderthals, the kiss that he stole during the time loop and the few they managed on the Ice Planet. There had been no doubt in Jack’s mind that if they’d stayed on the Ice Planet another day, they would have made love. Damn it! How different things would have been if they’d had just a few more days there.

He thought to himself how weird that he’d actually wanted to stay on a dirty, frozen, underground energy facility being held against his will just to be with the one woman in the universe he couldn’t have.

But he had.

He felt her tongue in his mouth. He sucked it in fighting for dominance. The dance continued until they had to stop. Both their chests were heaving painfully devoid of oxygen. Pants of heated breath mixed together as they looked at the other’s eyes. Passion, lust, desire, love and fear all mingled together in their exchanged blazing scrutiny.

He pulled her down to the blanket and covered them with the other two blankets he’d brought. He quickly covered her body with his, kissing her lips again just as thoroughly as before. He raised his head again to look at her beautiful face.

Her eyes met his and held his heated stare, then closed as she reached for his neck pulling him toward her lips. He kissed her lips then worked his way up her jaw line to her ear, kissing, nipping and licking her sweet scented skin. He nipped the ear lobe that he’d dreamed of so many times causing an electrified thrilling pain to streak through Sam’s body. He licked the bitten spot, soothing it and then ran his tongue around the shell of her ear.

Sam’s breath hitched and her body pressed hard into his. Her moans of pleasure were getting to Jack. He sucked at her neck just under her ear and Sam felt tingling pleasure and desire sweep through her body again and again. She moved her knee between his legs. She wanted to touch his skin so badly, but could only feel the rough fabric of his jeans pressed tightly against her leg.

He ran the tip of his tongue down her throat and sucked at her pressure point. He could feel the blood moving through her throat and neck. He licked and kissed at her heated, sensitive skin until she didn’t think she could stand it any longer, only to have him move down her body.

He pushed the jacket off her shoulders and down her arms, then the flimsy dress top down from her shoulder. He wasted no time. He kissed across her naked skin, and then nuzzled it with his nose as if he had to smell her skin. He could see sparkles on her shoulders and across her naked skin shining in the moon light. He didn’t know what it was, but instinctively knew it was purposely put there to entice Pete into wanting to taste it. But Jack needed no such enticement. She was enough for him. Dirty and stinky or clean and sweet smelling like now, just Sam was certainly enough for Jack.

They lay on the blanket for a long time, just making out; kissing, caressing, tasting, exploring places that were forbidden. Jack moved the dress down even lower, exposing her navel. Chill bumps popped on Sam’s skin, but it wasn’t only from the cold. Jack stared at her for a long time. She was glowing in the moonlight.

He’d never had this opportunity before, not even on the Ice Planet, it was always too dark there. She was beautiful. Gorgeous. Jack had never seen such a perfectly beautiful woman.

He thought his heart would burst with the love and longing for this one woman. His. No other word came to mind expect his. His Carter. His. To hell with the regulations, the Air Force, Pete, and every other damn thing that had kept her from him! He vowed no more. Never again.

He lowered his lips to her naked skin and smothered her with kisses again. His lips left moist hot trails over her. Her chill bumps seemed to meet. He looked back into her eyes, “I’d suggest we go home and continue this, but I’m too afraid you’ll stop me if you have time to think.” He pleaded with his eyes and heart for permission to continue.

“I’m not cold, Jack. In fact I’m burning up,” she purred. She didn’t have time to say anything else. He kissed her passionately then stripped the dress all the way down her body and over her feet. He quickly covered her in the top blanket and removed his own clothes as fast as possible. He was as gorgeous to her as she was to him. His toned hard body made her mouth water as she licked dry lips and the words just whispered from her lips. “Oh, Jack.”

His hot gaze seemed to thrill her even more as he lowered his work hardened muscled body over hers. Jack was gorgeous. She hated she didn’t have more time to just look at him. He quickly pulled the blankets tightly over them head and all. After all it was early December and freezing weather in Colorado Springs even if it didn’t seem to be affecting them at all.

Inching his way slowly down her body and kissing and caressing every few inches stopping to smell her skin. Smelling Sam! Oh, he never in a million light years thought he’d get this opportunity. She smelled like a piece of heaven. His most coveted desire in the universe was about to be granted.

He’d dreamed and even fantasized of this for over five years, since the day that he’d first admitted to himself that he not only lusted after this beautiful woman, but was in love with her. The day he’d watched she and Marty make goo-goo eyes at each other Jack had realized that he was jealous; jealous because he had no right to look at his 2IC the way that the damn Tok’ra could. He had seen the love between them. He’d wanted that, wanted Sam to look at him like that.

He pushed all thoughts out of his mind and went to work making Sam feel everything he’d ever wanted her to feel at his touch, at his lips. It didn’t take long for Jack to realize that she was ready for him.

Did that prove she really wanted him as much as he wanted her, or was she just sexually turned on? Was this normal for her? He really hoped it was him. He wanted to be the only one to heat her up like this. He wanted her to want him in the same way he wanted her. He wanted to possess her, totally, body and soul. He wanted to push all thoughts and desire for any other man from her totally.

Sam was so lost in the sensation he was causing to flow like hot molten lava through her body. She had never felt so much, so strong. It was almost too much.

She closed her eyes.

She had wanted and waited for him every bit as long as he had her. She wanted to explore his body, feel for herself each and every toned inch. Squeeze his tight little butt and hold him in her hands.

But she was so out of control all she could do was give in to his control of her body and mind. She usually hated not being in control, but not tonight. Tonight she was completely lost in the most pleasurable feelings and sensations she’d every felt.

Was it because it was Jack and she loved him so damn much or was it because he was just that good? Or was it both? She didn’t know for sure. Maybe it was because they had waited for so long and repressed and buried deep feelings surfaced and exploded taking with it all measure of normality. She let go of all the questions and followed his lead. She could no longer think coherently as she allowed her body and mind to absorb the pleasure he was creating.

She screamed….. … She should be embarrassed. She is not a screamer, not one to let go this much. But all she could do was feel.

“Oh, God, Jack. Wonderful.” She sighed as tears filled her eyes.

“You don’t have to call me God.” Leave it to Jack to lighten any mood.

She giggled at him. “Well, that was amazing, Jack,” she corrected emphasizing Jack.

“It was? Well, now let me see if I can make it more amazing,” he whispered as he slowly and completed loved her. For once in his life, Colonel Jack O’Neill lost control of the situation. Something he’d spent hours and hours, months and months learning how not to do in Black Ops.

He was so lost in the feel and knowledge that this was Carter, his Carter the only woman he loved, that he couldn’t control himself. Sam seemed to sense this change in Jack and tried her best help.

Later, lying together in each others arms, he whispered against her ear, “I really do love you, you know.” He leaned in to kiss her again.

“I do now.” She kissed him back.

“I’m sorry.”

“Really? Why?" She was suddenly afraid that he regretted what had happened.

"Oh, no! Not sorry for loving you! Never that! Sorry for, well you know..." His eyes pleaded with her for understanding.

"Sorry, no. Don't be. Working as a team has always been what we do best. Why should this be different?” She smirked up at him, trying to lighten his mood.

Samantha.

Samantha, the hot, sexy self sufficient woman. His hot, sexy, self sufficient, Samantha, his woman.

“Do you think we could go back to my place now, I’m getting really cold….. Now.” She giggled.

“I think I’m gonna love this side of you, Carter.” He grinned back at her.

“Which side is that, the naked one or the funny one?”

“Oh, I already love the funny one; it’s the naked, sexy one that has me undone right now.”

She giggled again, “Really? Colonel Jack O’Neill is undone?”

“No giggling, and yeahsureyabetcha I’m still undone!” He pulled her to his lips.

She sat up to find her clothes and his jacket. They quickly dressed and wrapped the blankets around them as they walked back to the truck pressed tightly into the other’s side, arms wrapped around the other.

“Jack, it was really great. It’s been a really long time for me, and I can’t tell you what this means to me. I’m glad you came after me.”

“So am I. I have a feeling, that if I hadn’t maybe the cop would be walking on this cloud now instead of me.” His comment was filled with an anxious fear as his eyes dared to almost question her, but she didn’t answer. She really just wanted to forget Pete. Now, anyway.

TBC

Pete Shanahan was pissed. He’d been here since that asshole O’Neill had dragged Sam off to work. But since he had the next two days off, he decided to wait for her return. He knew she sometimes worked all night, but in his opinion Samantha Carter was worth waiting for. Although the plans he had for her tonight might be a big incentive for waiting.

0o0o0o0o0o

“You didn’t open the basket. What’s in it?” Sam asked as he opened the truck door for her.

“Nice change of subject, there Carter.”

“Can we just not talk about him. He’s sweet, but he’s not you. Never could be. You stopped me from making a big mistake. Okay? Is that good enough?”

“Yeahsureyabetcha!” He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “I really love you.”

“I really love you too.” She smiled back at him real happiness shining in her eyes, and reached up to fully kiss his lips.

Jack reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses before he put it and the blanket he had wrapped around himself into the truck. He handed them to her; then he helped her into the truck and walked around to his side. Sam pulled her blankets snuggly around her covering her whole body from neck to toe.

After Jack got into the truck and started the engine and heat, he opened the wine and poured a small amount into two glasses. He offered her one and then made a toast to them. “I kinda got ahead of myself back there. I meant to say all the things I hold in my heart for you first, but after I kissed you… well… you know.. .. I’m male, we kinda think with our..”

“Okay, I get the idea.” She giggled at him then moved across the big truck to sit close to him.

“What? Jack? What do you hold….,” she paused and placed her hand over his heart, “here for me?” She left her hand on his chest, pushing hard enough that he could feel the pressure through his shirt and jacket.

“Love, Sam. Love, respect, admiration, pride, desire, need, lust, jealousy…. Love. You name it; I’ve felt it for you.” He took both their glasses placed them in the cup holders. “I can’t live without you in my life, nor do I want to. I can’t stand the thought of you dating someone else………..that I could lose you to someone else? No way.”

The tears that had filled her eyes with his exclamation ran down her face. “I love you too. I don’t want to lose you either. It’s just that I didn’t think you felt this way about me. Not anymore.”

“Carter….. Sam……” Jack’s eyes locked with heated desire on hers. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. I’m so sorry that I never made you feel loved or desired or sexy or like a woman needs to feel. I don’t want to interfere in your career, but I can’t lose you either.”

“Oh Jack, I’m not lost. You found me in time to save me from myself.” She kissed him again and before either could stop they were panting from the hard, lust-filled breathless kisses and roaming hands.

Jack pulled away, “We’d better… uh… get going or I’m likely to ravish you again right here.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that, Jack O’Neill. I certainly do.” Her sultry smile was not helping Jack at all.

He moved back under the steering wheel and put the truck in gear pulling away from the lovely cliff that would come to mean so much to them both. “Then let’s go home.” He grinned his trade mark O’Neill grin, the one that made creases down both his cheeks, the one that melted Sam’s heart every time he graced her with it. ‘God he’s so gorgeous’ filled her thoughts.

Snuggling as close to Jack as she could get, she spread some of her blanket over his legs and ran her hand down his jean covered thigh. But to Jack the newness of her touch might as well have been on naked skin. She continued to caress his leg firmly enough for him to know it, but not enough to feel like a massage.

“Sam… uh.. I....,” he stuttered as she got closer and closer to the center of his legs. “Whatcha doing?”

“What? You need instructions?” She teased as she squeezed him.

“Uh… no, but if you keep that up…..we won’t make it back to your place,” his breath was coming in ragged huffs.

“Maybe that’s what I’m after,” her gaze hitting his with bolted lightning flares between them. Jack pulled over on the side of road and grabbed her hand bringing it to his lips sucking her fingers until she thought she would die from desire.

He pulled her face to his and covered her mouth, stroking his tongue into her repeatedly, sucking her breath into himself. She filled him. Sam moved to wrap her arms around him and then tried to straddle him. “Want you now,” she panted, pushing her tongue into his mouth.

“Uh.. Sam.. You think it would be better if go home first. Someone could stop here.”

“I don’t care,” she said pulling at his shirt. But he stopped her hands and stilled her hips.

“I do. I don’t want anything to look bad for you, Carter. Let’s take this to a private place. Promise I’ll give you all you want; that you can be sure of.” He smirked at her in his most Teal’c voice.

“You ass.” She whispered as she kissed him once more. “But how much more private can you get? A mountain road in the middle of the night?”

“I think I’ve got me a tiger, or did I just unleash Pandora’s Box?” He teased her as she moved from his lap.

“Jack!” She warned.

She certainly had a way of causing him to lose control. He’d never been so unable to maintain control of such a situation except with her. He placed his hands on the sides of her hips and helped her straddle him.

“You okay?”

She leaned into him with her head back and eyes closed. She slowly opened her eyes and they locked with his again. Love mixed with lust traversed from her to him in blood boiling waves. “Just want you now,” she mumbled as she showed him just how much.

He would never tire of hearing her, of seeing that look of uncontrolled bliss cross her face. God! Could it get any better than this? He smiled reaching for her lips one last time.

0o0o0o0o0oo0o

They drove on. It seemed like a long time before finally reaching the highway that lead back to Colorado Springs. Damn! Had it taken this long to get up this mountain? Their hands were locked together and Jack’s thumb was gently caressing the top of her hand. It was causing havoc with her nerves. Fire traveled up her arm and down to her womb with each caress.

Couldn’t he drive any faster? What was with her, she couldn’t ever remember being this turned on, especially since she had just been as satisfied as she’d ever been in her life.

“Jack! Stop!”

Perplexed, he slowed the truck even more and turned to look at her, “What?”

“Stop this damn truck!” He did, and turned to face her. “Sam? Is something wrong?”

“Yes,” she demanded, “kiss me now.” He did. After several minutes of heavy petting, he pulled back and smiled at her. “You wanna go on or stop, it’s supposed to start snowing tonight. As much as I’d like to continue this right now, we probably need to get off this road before it starts.”

“Then you have to stop touching me.” She glared at him and he laughed out loud.

“Jack! It’s really not funny.”

“No, it’s not. I just love that I can do this to you. Why didn’t I know this already?” His question was filled with happiness and a little regret at the same time.

“Well, you know it now, so…” She waved her hand as if to say let’s go.

Jack reached over for Sam’s hand and pulled her fingers to his lips. He gently kissed each finger then let her hand go. He didn’t touch her again and she moved all the way to her side of the truck.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Finally! They stopped outside Sam’s house on the street just in front of her mail box. He made his way to Sam’s side of the truck and lifted her in his arms intending to carry her into the house. But Sam Carter had other ideas. “Jack, put me down,” she demanded rather loudly as she scrambled to her feet. “I’m heavy. I’m not through with you yet and I don’t want you hurt,” she smirked at him drawing his lips to hers kissing him passionately.

“I like the sound of that, Carter.” She giggled as they walked up her front path arms wrapped tightly around each other. Oddly, neither of them had noticed Pete’s car parked just in front of Jack’s truck.

“I have a lot in mind actually,” she teased stopping to kiss him once more. It seemed they had opened the flood gates and couldn’t stop kissing or touching each other. Jack had pulled over on the side of the highway three different times after they had made it off the mountain road. Once they were barely able to stop, but Jack didn’t want to rush and he didn’t want to get them caught. He wanted to make love to Sam the way he’d dreamed and not act like some sex starved maniac. He wanted her in bed and he wanted to wake up beside her tomorrow morning.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Pete had settled in, turned on the TV and was asleep on the couch when he heard a lot of commotion outside. Not realizing that Sam was a level four in hand to hand combat, Pete decided to stay on the couch and surprise Sam as she came into the house. He laid deathly still and quiet waiting for her.

Sam’s hands shook with cold and anxiety as she tried to unlock her door. She was so ready to get Jack inside and naked. “Here, Carter let me open it,” Jack said as he took the keys from her and opened the door.

As soon as the door was opened Sam glued herself to him their lips locked and hands roamed over the other’s body. Jack shoved her up against the wall across from her front door slamming the door with his foot.

She grabbed at his belt pulling it off and quickly unzipped his pants pushing them down his long legs. She dropped to her knees and reached inside his boxers. She licked her lips and then ran her tongue out of her mouth.

It was just then that Pete decided to make his presence known. “Sam?” His voice rang with surprise and shock, anger and fear all at the same time. “What in the hell?”

“Oh, shit!” Exclaimed O’Neill.

Pete screamed her name as if she was a child and he was about to reprimand her. “What the hell!” Pete repeated in a more demanding shrill voice than he’d used even screaming her name. What the hell!" 

“Oh, shit!” Jack exclaimed a second time only louder. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid man thinks he has a chance with her using that tone!’ he thought as he hurriedly pulled his clothes back on. He’d never talked to her like that and he was her commanding office, but he respected her and valued his life.

“Hey, boy! Just who in the hell do you think you are and who do you think you’re talking to?” Jack’s anger flared and his voice was that of a commanding officer chewing out an airman.

Pete snapped an angry reply not caring who Jack was or who the hell he thought he was. “Who the hell are you to talk to me that way?!” Pete was mad. Mad because he felt that Sam had betrayed him and mad because he realized he didn’t have much chance with her after what he just witnessed.

Jack started toward him. Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face her. Both fear and anger flared like homing beacons, but she stood her ground. Silence filled the room and Jack understood every non-spoken word.

Smiling, he stepped aside and waved her on. Pauly… was just about to get it, only he just didn’t know it. Yet. “It’s your house, Major.”

Sam gave Jack her most brilliant smile and then it turned off as fast as it turned on as she turned back to Pete.

“You, you slut! Does you brother know about your little whoring ways? This is how you got to the rank of Major? Prostituting yourself!”

“Get out! And don’t ever come back!” She advanced toward him, but he started walking to the door.

“Don’t worry. Why would I want to be involved with a tramp? Bet your brother’s gonna want to know this. He can’t understand how you’ve been promoted so fast.” Pete snarled the words as if she was a perpetrator and he was the bad cop interrogating her.

Before he could move past her, her fist met his nose. “What the hell!” Pete straightened up and took a step toward her, but Jack’s voice stopped him.

“I’d think twice, Pauly boy. She could’ve broken it if she’d wanted to.” She’s a level four in hand to hand. Bet you’ve never fought a level four, have you boy?

Pete stared at her then looked at Jack with such an evil hateful gleam, but he said nothing. Sam stood in a ready stance waiting for him to make another move. “I’m telling you, you’ll be sorry,” Jack’s sing song voice was filled with humor. “Guess I’ll just grab me a set and watch her beat your ass.”

Pete backed toward the door and then as he opened it he slurred hurtful words toward Sam, “Slut, don’t worry, I wouldn’t touch you now if you were the only woman on Earth. I’ve had my share of whores and unfaithful bitches.”

“Carter, if he doesn’t leave soon, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions. He’s out of time.” Jack’s look was pure evil, one that Pete recognized. He walked out and slammed the door. They could hear him as he loudly proclaimed, “Good riddance,” on the other side of the door.

Jack moved to Sam and pulled her into his arms. She was shaking. He just held her tight and they swayed together for several minutes saying nothing. Her body finally began to relax and she stopped shaking. Jack moved his head from the curve of her neck and drowned in her eyes. They were filled with unshed tears creating a shinning brightness.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Jack knew she was on a cross roads. Being caught red handed by anyone was something that she would have hated. But the probability that her brother was going to find out was the worst, and she knew what he would think when he did.

Sam and Mark used to be close, really close. But when she joined the Air Force Mark had put her in the same class as their father because he still blamed the Air Force and his father for their mother’s death. He hadn’t exactly disowned Sam, but he’d made it clear that he wasn’t happy with her life choices.

That had hurt her very badly, because as a younger sibling she had idolized Mark. He’d been her playmate, her protector, her friend and her hero until she announced on her nineteenth birthday that she had been accepted into the Officer’s training courses for the Air Force. She had just received her first BS degree.

She knew Mark wouldn’t like it, but she felt it was her best advantage to get into NASA which had been her dream for many years. Besides, she wanted to be a pilot; she had always loved planes and adored every opportunity to fly with her father.

The distance between them only increased as years moved on. Sam was stationed in too many places, too far away from Mark and eventually their emotional distance equaled their physical distance. But she still loved Mark and still sought his approval almost as much as when she was a child.

As if Jack could read her mind he quietly suggested, “You call Mark, before Mr. Potato Head has a chance.” She smiled and the tears stopped. Then she started to giggle. Her giggles turned into outright laughter and before long the tears were streaming down her face again.

“Sam?” Jack was baffled. “What’s so funny?” It took several minutes for her to stop laughing and answer him.

“Just… just think about it Jack. It is funny. Us bursting through the door, and me stripping you naked, well partly naked and then….. with Pete watching. Did you see his eyes? It is funny! Then you call him…. Mr. Potato Head. Well it just cracks me up!” Her giggles started before she could finish her sentence.

“I’m glad you find it so funny.” He said but he was laughing too. Anything that made Carter smile was okay by him, and for her to really laugh, well it just made his day. …..Almost as much as the previous activities had. Almost…..

After they had pulled themselves together, Sam found her purse and took out her cell phone. Finding Mark’s number she pushed the call button and waited. It only took two rings before Mark answered. “Hello, Sam, how’s everything. You and Pete having a good time?” Pete was Mark’s friend. He had introduced them and then talked Sam into going out with Pete.

“That’s what I’m calling about, Mark. Pete.. Uh.. Well….”

“Sam, let me tell him.” Jack said realizing she wasn’t going to be able to tell Mark. He held out his hand for the phone. She gave it to him and waited.

“Mark, this is Jack O’Neill, Sam’s CO. We just wanted you to be the first to know that Carter and I have decided to get together… …as in a couple. And… it seems that Pete may have… uh..seen more that he wanted. Well, anyway, here’s Carter.” Jack smirked as he handed back her phone.

“Gee thanks, sir!” Sam’s eyes were as big as Pete’s had been. “Now I really have to explain!”

Jack could hear Mark yelling over the phone, “Sam! Sam! What’s going on… Sam!”

“Mark, Mark, please stop yelling. I can hear you just fine.” She paused a moment and it gave Mark time to start with the questions.

“What did he mean Sam? How can you be a couple? Isn’t he your CO? Sam? What about Pete? He’s really crazy about you. Are you going to mess that up because of an old Air Force Colonel? Isn’t he too old for you? Sam? Why would you want him? Sam? Sam? You better start explaining this!” He finally had to breathe.

“If you’ve finished with twenty questions, I’ll try to answer…. I love him, Mark. That’s all there is to it. We’re together and that’s that. I don’t need to explain anything. I just wanted to tell you before Pete calls you.”

“What did he mean; Pete saw more than he wanted?” Mark asked.

“Well….., he was here when we came home…. We… we didn’t know anyone was here… Well… you get the picture I’m sure.”

“Yeah, my kid sister really messed this one up. Way to go Sam. Just when I find someone decent for you, you do this!”

“Now what a minute, Mark! First thing, I don’t need you to find anyone for me. I do fine without your help! Second, he wasn’t as decent as you think. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I’m serious about Jack before you hear from Pete. He called me a few choice names and I’m sure he’ll have a lot to tell you.”

“I’ll call you back, Sam. That’s Pete now trying to get me.”

“Mark, don’t bother. I have nothing else to say right now.” With that last sentence, Sam slammed shut her phone. “I wish he could have heard that.”

“Heard what?” Jack asked watching the emotion play across her face.

“Me, slamming the phone shut.”

Jack chuckled and wrapped her in his arms. “There’s one more person we have to tell before Pete can cause too much ruckus.” He whispered against her neck causing goose bumps to pop up and down her body.

“Right now? Don’t you think it’s too late?”

“No. We need to be the ones he hears it from. Besides, it’s only 1100 hours he couldn’t have been asleep long.” Jack smirked at her.

“He’s not going to like it.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think he’s been expecting it for a long time.” Jack answered her gazing into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”

“Do you really think I’m beautiful?” Jack pulled back with a jerk and a startled expression crossed his face.

“Carter? Are you serious? Don’t you know how beautiful I think you are? Don’t you know how beautiful you are?” As he watched the emotions play across her face Jack realized that she didn’t. It was a serious question for her. “God, Carter….Sam…You’re the most gorgeous, sexiest woman I’ve ever known.”

“I know you think I’m pretty and sexy, but beautiful? Really Jack…”

“No, Sam. You are beautiful…. …from the top of that gorgeous blonde head to the tip of your big toe. Sam, you’re beautiful inside as well.” He kissed her then letting her know with actions what he’d just told her with words. Pulling back and wrapping his arms tightly around her, he whispered in her ear. “My beautiful Carter. Mine.”

“We had better call the General now or he could hear it from someone else.” Jack said after looking into her eyes for a few long moments, debating with himself. He really wanted to take her to the bedroom, but Jack knew this was too important to take lightly. The General needed to know from them not someone else.

“I love you, baby. No matter what’s said or what happens. No one’s keeping us apart.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

“General, I’m glad you agreed to see us so late. I’m sorry to cause you all this trouble.” Jack said as General Hammond showed Sam and him into his den.

“What’s up Jack? It has to be important for you to call at this late hour.”

“Well, General, Sir…. Uh… Carter and I,” he hesitated looking at Sam for help, but she didn’t say a word. In fact she looked as if she would throw up at any second. No help from her!

“Jack?” General Hammond encouraged. He could tell this was about them. Not that he hadn’t been expecting this conversation for some time, but it did surprise him that it finally was going to take place and in his den apparently.

0o0o0o0o0oo0

“He took that pretty well.” Jack said as he helped Sam into the truck and shut her door.

When he walked around the truck and got in Sam answered, “All of it. Even the bit about Pete… uh..seeing us.”

“Didn’t think he was gonna stop laughing at that. What if we’d told him what you were doing!” Jack chuckled.

“He got the picture. I’m sure of it. The whole picture I’m afraid.” Sam never blushed more in her life. It was the single most embarrassing thing of her life. The fact that Pete had actually seen them bothered her a lot less that having to tell General Hammond what Pete had seen. Well almost tell him. They hadn’t explained details. The General got the picture just fine.

“You think he can persuade the Joint Chiefs and the President to agree?” She asked Jack.

“What? To let us be together? Or agree to my resignation?” He asked. “I told you it doesn’t matter what they say. I told him too. I mean it Sam. I’m not giving you up.”

Jack gathered her, pulled her to him and kissed her sitting in his truck in front of General Hammond’s house as if to make a point.

Pete Shanahan sat in the back booth of the all night diner. He had called Mark as soon as he could get himself together after leaving Sam’s house. To say that he was still mad was an understatement. He knew in his heart that getting this upset over a woman he’d only gone out with a few times didn’t make much sense. But after trailing his wife and catching her and her lover over six month ago, Pete still had not quite regained his equilibrium.

He’d also known from the beginning that Samantha Carter outclassed him by miles. She had a good sense of humor not to mention she was a blonde knock out. And Pete loved blondes. But she had seemed to really enjoy his company and had good times on their dates. So he thought he had a chance with her and he intended to move fast.

Tonight his plans had been to find out just how hot she really was, only not the way he had. He’d never forget that image of her on her knees as long as he lived. The more he thought about what had occurred at her house, the angrier he became. Only anger had already engulfed a large part of Pete resulting from the damage his wife caused and Sam’s seemingly unfaithfulness magnified his feelings of rejection, pain and anger tenfold.

Normally Pete was a responsible and caring person, but the last six months of his life had left him a shell of his former self. He had placed so much hope on Sam in such a short time that he didn’t realize he had transferred his feelings for his ex-wife onto Sam. If he’d been his normal self, he would have realized that he hadn’t known her long enough to have any real or deep feelings for her. But Pete was still to hurt to realize that Samantha Carter, as beautiful and as much fun to be with as she was, was a rebound relationship.

Since he didn’t realize what had happened to him and since he didn’t know Sam well enough to know that what she and her CO were doing was a new and first time thing, he blamed her for his current pain and hurt entirely. Pete was mad. He was mad at life for suddenly burying him in such a way that he didn’t know who he was or what to do next.

But right now he only wanted to return some of the hurt he was feeling, and since he could no longer hurt his real target, his ex-wife, he transferred every ouch of anger and hatred to Sam. He had sat in the booth in the back of the diner long enough for his legs to go to sleep. He was tried of waiting.

Pete had called a friend, Farrity, who worked for the FBI, and was waiting for him to get back to him. Pete asked him to run a check on both Major Samantha Carter and Colonel Jack O’Neill. He made a lame excuse for needing the information, but his friend really didn’t care. Pete and Farrity had helped each other out on several occasions and neither asked a lot of questions. They had been friend a long time and he trusted that Pete needed the information for a legitimate reason.

Pete finished his fourth cup of coffee. He’d been here since calling Mark. He needed a place to think, and he needed his coffee fix.

He’d stripped off the tux coat and tie but still had on the shirt and pants. He hated the monkey suit but had been willing to go all out to impress Sam. “Well, this sure went well,” he huffed under his breath.

Mark had talked to Sam before Pete called him. Finding out that she considered herself and O’Neill a couple made his temper flare again. If she was so into someone else why had she led him on?

How could she be attracted to such an old man? Why him? He had to be at least twelve to fourteen years her senior. Didn’t she realize by the time she was fifty that O’Neill would be an old codger, probably someone she’d be taking care of?

Well, he hoped the old fart made her life miserable, as miserable as his had become recently. The longer Pete sat brooding, the more things he thought of to cause them the same pain he was feeling now.

His phone rang bringing him out of his reverie. “Shanahan.” He barked in a sharp tone.

“Hey buddy. It's me. I got what you wanted.” Farrity stated.

“Just give me the highlights,” Pete demanded.

“Well there's a lot of backstop ID.” Farrity answered.

“They work for the Air Force. Deep space telemetry for NORAD, I know. Is that all you found?” Pete snapped.

“Actually it's what didn't turn up that say's the most. The backstop dead ends on both of them,” Farrity answered ignoring Pete’s attitude.

“She's been scrubbed.” Pete stated. “They’ve been scrubbed.” He quickly caught his slip up.

“Yep. Someone went in the system and wiped out every possibility of her and left only what they want others to see. She's probably connected with some top level stuff. Him, they left some early stuff, but nothing that would give you anything useful. The rest is just like her, scrubbed clean,” informed Farrity.

“Connected how?” Pete asked, not quite able to believe what he was hearing.

“Black ops, covert units. Things the government denies all knowledge of, you know what I'm saying? Look Pete, if you ask me, these two are highly connected. You might wanna back off from this one ok buddy? It’s way out of your league,” Farrity warned.

“Hey! It's not like I'm dating her or anything,” Pete barked, realizing the reason she was a trained level four combatant.

“Right!” Doubt was evident in Farrity’s voice. For the first time he realized he probably trusted his friend too much. He’d hacked into files that he was sure held tracers and now it seemed it was for Shanahan’s personal needs. He could feel his blood boiling. He’d just put his job on the line. He hated to do what he knew he had too, but it was his butt he had to try and save now.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Jack pulled away from Sam’s lips. He couldn’t believe his luck. He was kissing the one woman in the universe that he’d never in a million light years thought would kiss him back. But she was, and not just kissing him, but kissing him in the front yard of their Commanding Office’s home.

As soon as she could catch her breath, she began to protest his last statement. “But…….”

“No buts…,” he interrupted. “I promise you I’ll fix it. If George can’t convince them to let me marry you, I’ll resign.”

“Marry me?” Sam was so stunned, eyes wide and glaring. “Who said anything about marriage?”

Jack panicked. “You don’t want to marry me?”

“I… …I didn’t say that. It’s just that….” Sam’s eyes filled with tears and her voice choked. “I. uh.. I’m not ready to give up SG1 or you.……..I want you both.”

“It’s not like I’ve got much time left on the front lines, Carter. You know Janet’s threatened to take me off during my last couple of physicals.”

“No, I didn’t know… How would I?” She stared him down. Had he said anything like that to her she knew she would have remembered. “Why would she do that?”

“My knees,” he stated sadly.

“But I thought that Ba’al’s sarcophagus healed them?” She questioned as she watched Jack flinch at the mention of Ba’al.

“They were for a while, but I’m too old to keep running and jumping down alien gullies. It didn’t take long to re-injure them. One bad jump. Well you know.” He failed to tell her he’d landed wrong on one of the planets while looking for her when she was stranded on the Prometheus and re-injured his knee.

“Jack stop with all the old talk. You’re not old.”

“Talk to my knees. They have a different story. But you haven’t answered my question.” His tone and look gave away his uncertainty.

Chasing the Wind

Chapter Eight

“Jack, can we just go back to my place to talk about this? I just don’t feel comfortable in Hammond’s front yard,” she smiled her trademark smile at Jack and tucked her head toward her chest. “Please.”

“As long as you promise to answer.” Jack’s look belied his fear. But Sam still heard the anxiety in his voice.

She took his hand after he backed the truck out of Hammond’s drive and pulled into traffic. He pulled her fingers to his lips and softly kissed her fingers.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Farrity slammed his office door behind him and dropped with a thud into his chair. Swinging the chair around and pushing his feet under his desk, he breathed a hard breath and ran his fingers through his hair. He’d really made a mistake this time.

The files he’d searched belonged to two very important people, people he would never want to mess with if the ass chewing he just received was any indication of their importance. ‘

'A review.’  They were reviewing him, deciding if they would keep him here or not. Ten years he’d been working for the FBI and not once had he been reprimanded. Not once. But it seemed that searching these two people’s files had already made it to the top of the FBI, even before he had time to report it himself. It seemed the trace on their files ran to the top of the military.

Damn Shanahan! Didn’t the damn fool have a clue to the ties these people had or did he care? Shanahan had been acting strange lately, since his wife left him actually.

He cursed himself again. He should have known better. As soon as he reasoned he was hacking into an Air Force Major’s file that had been scrubbed without permission, he should have aborted, reported to his boss and not tried to search the Colonel’s file. But the truth was he had been fascinated with her file. It wasn’t often that he came across such even in his line of work. It had intrigued him as to exactly what Shanahan was on to not realizing until he’d called him back with the info that this was personal for his long time friend.

Now he would probably be busted down to a beginning rank if he didn’t lose his job completely. A hard learned lesson for him but one he wouldn’t forget. Damn Shanahan.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

General Hammond reached for the phone by his bedside as it woke him from another short nap. It seemed that tonight was going to be a busy one. He had only been back in bed a short time after his two officers left.

“Hammond,” he barked into the phone.

“This is Barkley,” his voice was as commanding as Hammond’s and he wasn’t taking any time for pleasantries. “It seems there’s been a breach in security. Some idiot FBI agent ran a search into O’Neill’s and Carter’s files. Don’t know the reason. Yet. I’ll get back to you as soon as I know. Have them be ready for anything that could come from this.”

“Will do. Thanks.” Hammond slammed the phone down cursing under his breath. His gut instinct, which had saved him on so many occasions, told him that this had something to do with what had already happened tonight. Now how the hell could the President’s staff already have wind of this? If that was it and he almost hoped that was the case and not something worse.

He picked up the phone and dialed.

“O’Neill.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Pete moved from the table with little grace. The anger spread across his face and was reflected in his movements. He stalked to the cashier and threw a ten dollar bill on the counter. “Just give the rest to the waitress.” His voice gave away his anger.

“Sir, is everything okay?” The manager asked. Pete turned around and stalked out of the diner not bothering to answer the manager.

“Well, wonder what’s up his ass?” The manager asked no one particular.

Pete picked up his phone and dialed a number that he had looked up earlier. He was sure the General would want to hear what he had to say.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

“Sit Rep.” Hammond barked into the phone. He was sitting at his kitchen table drinking coffee having given up on sleeping tonight. The voice on the other end of the phone was not one he expected or recognized.

“Is this General Hammond?” Pete asked realizing that man on the other end was waiting for a particular phone call, just not his.

“Who’s calling?” As usual the General took charge with little effort. On some level Pete realized he really didn’t want to do this, but it was already in motion and he just couldn’t stop.

“General you don’t know me, but I’ve been.. …dating Sam… Samantha Carter. Tonight I found out that she and her CO are having an affair. I know the military regulations don’t allow for such, so I thought… I thought you should know.”

“You didn’t say who you are.” Hammond demanded really ticked off that this man wanted to hurt two of the most important people in his life.

“Pete… Pete Shanahan. If… uh…if you need me to testify please feel free to call me. I’m with the Denver Police. Actually I’m a detective.” Pete said, pleased with himself that he had busted them. ‘After all, unfaithfulness and breaking military regulations should be condemned. Right?’ He thought.

“Detective Shanahan. Yes, Major Carter said as much. Now, let me get this straight. You ask…” Hammond stopped to look at the notes he’d written down the last time Barkley called. “….FBI agent David Farrity to break security and give you information on two high level Air Force Officers. Is that correct?”

Pete felt his heart thump in his chest. How the hell?…. Dave wouldn’t have reported this.. No way. Something was up…He snapped his phone shut. Now what?

General Hammond placed his third call to his second in less than forty five minutes.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

They sitting on her couch waiting when his cell phone rang and he talked for several minutes before Jack yelled, “That son of a bitch!” as he snapped his phone shut.

“Sir? What is it? Who? I thought you were talking to the General.” Sam questioned a worried look on her face.

“Oh, I was. It’s that sorry Shanahan. He had a friend of his, an FBI agent run a search on our files.” He turned to look at her, “Sir? What’s with the sir? I thought we had worked through that.”

“You mean… Pete?…” She completely ignored the reference to his honorific. She couldn’t imagine that Pete would do that. Or why.

“That’s exactly what I mean. Man, Carter! He’s a winner. I’m really surprised you agreed to go out with him more than once.” Jack took one look at her face and realized he’d said more than he should have. It wasn’t her fault.

“I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t mean to sound like this is your fault.” He pulled her to him and hugged her tight. “I’m… just mad. That jerk!”

Sam didn’t say anything. He had hurt her feelings. Pete wasn’t anything like this on their dates. In fact he was so completely opposite that it was hard for her to believe any of this. Her instincts about people had never been great, but never this far off. It was true that she’d lived in her own little world much of her life. She’d always been too smart and too young to fit in with her classmates, even in college she was four or five years younger than ninety nine point nine percent of them.

Sam had always been sort of a loner until she joined the air force and there she felt more like she belonged than she ever had, but she was still so much smarter than most of them that she only opened her self up to a hand full of people. Most of them were the people that had originally worked on the Stargate project in the early to mid nineties before O’Neill took the first team to Abydos. She’d made her first true friends in those early years, Catherine Langford being one of them.

As she thought about things, maybe she did make a mistake. It hadn’t always been so easy for her to trust people, especially after Hanson. But Sam had true friendships now people who truly loved her and people who truly respected her not only for her amazing intelligence and abilities but as a person, a sweet compassionate caring person.

She’d let down a lot of her barriers after becoming a member of SG1. The fact that each of them would give the other their lives and had proven it time and again and the Colonel’s trust that she could always make miracles out of disaster gave her a new image of herself. She wasn’t the same person that she’d been after her mom’s death.

No now she was more like the Sam before that one event that had changed her so drastically. Now she felt loved and cared for and needed by her friends and even some of her colleagues. This new image of herself had finally given Sam the courage to look for individual happiness. True, buried deep in her heart she’d always had hopes that it would be with the Colonel, but after the events on the Prometheus and his visit to her in the infirmary, her ideal of life with him had been trampled down so hard that she’d let herself believe it was impossible. Until now.

But it still didn’t change the fact that he’d just made her mad and now she didn’t feel like burying her anger. There had been many times that Major Sam Carter had to bury her anger at Colonel Jack O’Neill, but she didn’t intend to start doing that same thing in a personal relationship with Jack. She wanted this to last, and she knew that the only way it would was for them to be completely honest with each other. No holding back anything.

“Jack, you’re such an ass! Sometimes you make me want to hit you!”

He pulled away from her enough to see the hurt and anger in her eyes. “Well, you know that. It’s not like I’ve changed suddenly.” He smirked at her smugly. “So if you want to hit me then hit me. As long as it’s Samantha who is doing the hitting and not Major Carter, then I have no problem.”

He smiled again. “In fact, I’m sure it won’t be the last time that ‘Samantha’ will want to hit me.” But that thought brought a quick flicker of fear to his eyes and was evident in his voice, “Will it?” This was so new to Jack. He’d never been too good with relationships either and he didn’t want to end this one before it really started.

He could always affect her mood and usually change her mind. This was no exception. How could she stay mad at such an arrogant but sweet man, especially this one, whom she loved with all her heart?

“No, I’m sure you’ll continue to piss me off!” Her eyes glared at him.

“Just as long as you let me ‘keep’ doing it.” The doubt in his eyes was clearly begging her not to hold his attitude against him. “You know how fast I can fly hot, Sam.”

“Yeah, I do. It’s just that you can say and do some pretty hurtful things, Jack. Even if I do know you really don’t mean it. You’ve said it. It hurts just the same.”

“I’m sorry, Sam. Really sorry. I never meant it to sound like I thought any of this was your fault. I’m… I guess… I was jealous of him anyway. So, for him to do this… Something to hurt you…,”

“I know it’s him you’re mad at, but Jack…”

“I know, Sam. Don’t say it.” He found her lips and like ointment to a burn it soothed her hurt. She loved him and she knew him. He could be so sarcastic at time and sometimes he could fly hot really fast, but she’d always loved his wit and his quick reactions had saved their collective asses more than once. With Jack O’Neill you took the good with the bad, but she knew that too. It had never stopped her from loving him.

“Getting back to the matter, what did he say about Pete? What has he done exactly?” She asked still close enough to him to feel his body against hers.

“Seems he’s got a good friend in the FBI. Seems the friend ran a search into our files. The brass thought at first it was someone trying to infiltrate SG1 or SGC security. But they traced the source to a David Farrity within minutes of the breach. Seems the guy didn’t even bother to cover his trail. Guess that made them realize his statement was true.” Jack finished his brief recollection of Hammond’s report to him.

“Pete had a friend break into our military files?” She couldn’t believe it. “Why?”

“Don’t know. Farrity seemed to think he had a personal interest in the ‘woman’ as he put it.”

“Oh hell! What was he thinking? Why would he investigate me? Us? What was he looking for? You think he could be working for someone else?”

“Hammond said the agent who interrogated Farrity didn’t think so. He kept saying that Shanahan was interested in the woman. At first he thought the request was for a case, but the brass checked out his cases and they couldn’t find any kind of link. Seems Farrity was right. It was a personal interest for Shanahan. Farrity has checked out people before for him. He might lose his job. Pete… Well, Hammond’s got people checking him out now. They’ll find out for sure if it more than personal for him.”

Jack paused before adding. “The other thing is that Pete called Hammond and told him about us.”

“God! No. Why would he do that? What did he tell him?”

“No much, seems when Hammond confronted him with Farrity, Pete hung up the phone. Only thing he told Hammond was that we’re having an affair.” Jack watched as every emotion she was feeling displayed across her face. He knew she’d hate to be outed, but like this was the worst. And she still had not answered his question. A slight panic surged through Jack.

Lost in his thoughts Pete sped through the traffic heading toward the freeway. He needed to get back to Denver and try to counter any damage that might have been caused by his investigation of the Air Force officers.

He’d only wanted to find out about them especially Sam, not start a war with the Air Force. He’d been attracted to her from the moment they met, but she wasn’t forthcoming with anything about her work. That held a red flag for him. He hated being left out of anything, especially details about the people he cared about. And he had intended to be a big part of her life.

0o0o0o0oo00o0

“This is General George Hammond. I need to speak with the supervisor of Detective Peter Shanahan.”

“I’m sorry general, but he’s off duty,” replied the officer.

“This is important put me through to his private number or give it to me. Your choice.” As usual General Hammond expected that his orders be followed. The officer never questioned the general’s command even though he’d never give the chief’s private number to anyone without ID. But before he could stop himself he rattled off the chief’s home phone number.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

“Affair!” Sam’s eyes were wide and glared as recognition dawned. “Oh, hell! Why did he do that?” She whispered bringing her eyes to meet Jack’s.

“I think because he wanted me out of the way. It’s his attempt at splitting us up. Sam, we aren’t gonna let him, are we?” Jack’s eyes pleaded, as his fingers moved up her arm and held tight at her elbow.

There had always been such a wide self imposed distance between them, one that had been necessary to do their jobs. It was difficult now even after their night of lovemaking and honest admission of long repressed feelings to bridge that distance easily. It was difficult to trust that either of them wouldn’t be hurt by their current actions. But God help him he couldn’t let her go now. Jack knew he had to do something out of the norm to help her get through this with his desired outcome.

He could read fear in her eyes and then she visibly relaxed. He pulled her against him and placed his lips against her neck. She felt each breath tingle its way into her. Her heart raced and she knew she’d never let him go so easily either. Only she didn’t know just how to make all the pieces of her life fit. Sam loved her job. She wasn’t ready to give it or Jack up. But she didn’t want to lose him from SG1 either.

She wanted it all. Was that so much to ask? How many times had she saved the planet? Wasn’t she due something in return! She normally asked nothing for her service, it was who she was after all. Giving all she had to give to her work and the excitement of traveling from planet to planet was reward enough, until now.

She wanted Colonel Jack O’Neill. All of him. Sam raised her face to his and kissed him. She replied softly, “No.”

“Come to bed. It’s late and I need to hold you,” Jack whispered against her lips, barely touching her but his essence enveloped her making her different somehow. Sam had rarely if ever felt so willing to let another person control her, but she gave in to him just as easily as she submitted to his command in the field. She vaguely wondered if it was the same thing. She hoped not.

Jack’s six sense was on overtime even now. He knew tonight was pivotal in their future. He knew what he had to do at the moment or he could lose her to the same damn thing that had kept them apart over seven years. Jack refused to go back. It would feel too much like losing his family the first time. And now he wouldn’t get through it, not now after giving her so much of himself already.

He swept her into his arms and walked toward her bedroom. Their eyes never left the other’s, locked in longing, love, desire and uncertainty. It was the uncertainty that scared each of them the most, the uncertainty of tomorrow. Tonight, tonight they would take. Maybe for the last time maybe the beginning but tonight would be theirs.

He laid her gently on the bed and sat down leaning over her his eyes never leaving hers. His fingers gently danced over her neck leaving chills as he found the clasp of her dress. He loved the way her body responded to him. It had been unexpected although he had no clue as to what he had expected. But it delighted his heart.

She wrapped one arm around his neck and pressed her other palm to the side of his face. She said nothing, but her eyes told Jack all he needed to know at the moment. There she was.

Ready.

Willing.

His Carter. He could see her eyes were filled with desire and even love for him. Jack thought his heart would explode, he couldn’t remember ever feeling quite so owned, not even by Charlie. He’d never loved anyone with such abandonment like he had his son until now.

But his feelings for Sam were different. She had wormed her way into not only his heart but she had become a big part of him so much that he thought the same blood must ran through both their veins. He might not die if he lost her now, but he’d certainty have no life left in him, nothing left to give.

Suddenly Jack was filled with the same loss of control that had come over him earlier tonight. All he could think of was her, loving her, wanting her. As if they were in slow motion he lowered his lips to hers and gently kissed her. The kiss was so loving and sweet. The kiss was that of a couple in love and had been for so long that the first thing they gave the other was a sincere expression of that emotional bond. It was different from any kiss that they had shared. Their first kisses of the evening had been sweet and good, passionate and filled with a burning desire to be together.

But this time their actions were those of a couple who had been pleasing each other for a long time and knew the other well. Jack sensed this even though he had no words to explain his feelings. Somehow his hands and lips did.

He slowly moved the dress down her body and dropped it beside the bed. She could feel his fingers drag slowly around her body. Her body arched and he smiled at her. Yeah, he loved this. She wanted him and she left no doubt about it.

He’d noticed the different colors of her eyes before, but he’d never seen this one. It was too dark earlier when they made love. He’d seen the desire and want in her eyes then, but now the color mesmerized him. God, she was so beautiful and even more so now. Her eyes were the darkest blue he’d ever seen them and spilled out hot desire.

She pulled his lips to hers and forced her tongue into his mouth, tasting, exploring, and causing trails of twisting need to cascade down each of their bodies in rippling waves. They held the kiss until they had to break for air and Jack immediately dove for her neck. Sam felt the explosive fire travel down her.

“I love you, Sam. Please remember that.” He said nothing else but Sam knew what he hadn’t said. She smiled at him, but offered no response. He kissed her again while his fingers caressed her body.

She’d never felt so excited about a man’s body before. It wasn’t that she was frigid or didn’t like sex, but Sam instinctively knew this was more than sex. This was Jack and even if she wasn’t able to quite believe in the idea of soul mates, she knew she’d found the one love of her life. There could never be another that completed her, made her as whole as Jack.

This time he was in control, total control. He wanted them to feel so connected so much a part of each other that she’d never be able to break their connection, no matter what the military brass said.

He wanted her much more than he wanted her body and only God knew how much he wanted that. Only when he knew she was sated did he let himself go, only then did he let his aching body relish in her rapture and only then did he dare join her in his own ecstasy. She was what mattered most to him. He would only be satisfied if she was. He would only be happy if she was.

It seemed she was.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Pete walked into the station at 7:00AM and went straight to the chief’s office. Knocking on the door he heard the chief answer and opened the door. Sticking his head in he said, “Chief, need a word.”

“Shanahan, just the one I’ve been looking for. By all means, come in.” Chief Coker answered.

“Looking for me, sir? Why?” Pete felt his stomach sink.

“Yeah, seems you’ve been making a few waves with the Air Force. Shanahan, tell me it’s because of a case you’ve been working on.”

“Sure, ….of course it is.” Pete stuttered. His face betrayed his words.

“Really, cause that’s not what this……,” the chief looked at the report lying open on his desk, “General George Hammond says.” The chief locked eyes with Shanahan. “Do I need your case reports?”

Pete swallowed hard. “Look, I’ve been seeing this woman, Sam Carter. I…. I.. just wanted to know what she did for a living. She never talked about her job. Then when I.. Well, she came back home with her CO and they were.. Well they weren’t expecting me to still be there.” Pete stuttered through, but his anger was apparently increasing with each word.

“So you reported this to this general in order to what? Get back at her or just to be a good citizen?” Pete could tell by the chief’s voice he was royally pissed. He didn’t appreciate anyone questioning his command. Pete just stood there waiting. He knew the chief well enough to know he wasn’t finished.

“Shanahan, normally I wouldn’t give a tinker’s damn how many people you talked the FBI into investigating. Far as I’m concerned it’s their mess. They broke the security not us. But it seems these people are linked high up and my boss is own my ass to drop any ongoing investigations into either of them. I had your cases pulled. Didn’t see anything about either of them.” He frowned raising his eyebrows at Pete.

He studied Pete for a minute. “I was hoping you’d come clean when I asked about them. I always thought you were one of my best. For that reason alone I’m not busting you, but so help me if you ever try to deceive me again….” He glared at Pete then added, “And drop Major.”

“I won’t. I got it chief. I found out fast she’s not worth it. I’m….sorry about… I just didn’t…” Pete quickly backed to the door, hoping this was over.

“I’m not finished. This incident will be reported in your file, and just so you’ll know, it seems she is worth it. She’s so worth it that the President of the United States has also rang in. Looks like it’s your lucky day. They don’t want any more brought out about these two. But I’m warning you, anything else…”

“I got that chief. Really.” Pete left as fast as he could. But he really couldn’t help wondering what these two were involved with.

By StarnightSam

=====

Hammond sat at his desk drinking his third cup of black coffee. His stomach churned and he had a bitter taste in his mouth. He’d just spoken with the President and was now waiting for Walter to make the arrangements for him to be in DC by tomorrow morning.

He didn’t like it. He’d hoped that the matter had been solved with his phone calls earlier, but this nosy detective’s snooping had alerted the wrong people. Now he wasn’t sure if the President would or could go alone with their earlier plans.

George hated being out of control, something he rarely had to deal with. Ninety nine out of a hundred times his decisions were final and never questioned. His only concern now was who knew the exact details of what Shanahan witnessed. He knew that Jack had left out the intimate details of two of his most important and top ranked officer’s first night together. Which was well and good, but Jack had hinted enough for him to know what Shanahan saw, to Sam’s mortification.

The question now was who did Shanahan tell and just what did he tell? George was good at his job and his best quality had always been the ability to protect his trusted officers when the situation warranted. Could he now?

Kinsey and his goons were always after the SGC and especially his premiere team, SG1. But that was old news to everyone, including the President. He hoped, no he prayed, because after all was said and done George was still a praying man. False gods were easy to explain and see through, but to him there was still no doubt that the real one existed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Pete sat at his desk. To say his feathers were still ruffled would be a bad metaphor. More like he had the red ass. His partner watched Pete for some time. They were close and he knew Pete well. Their lives depended on their knowledge and trust of each other. They worked together like a well oiled machine. But he knew Pete needed a little space with this one. This was personal and he’d bide his time before drawing him out. Pete hadn’t quite been himself lately and Jim had adopted a protective attitude toward him. He knew Pete would eventually overcome his pain but he knew from experience himself just what it had cost Pete to find his wife in bed with her lover. He’d been there himself. Never trusted another woman since.

But Pete was different from him and Jim knew it. Pete was a caring and loving person and needed the close contact of a relationship. Someone would come along and make his buddy happy again. He just hoped Pete didn’t self destruct as he had before he could heal. Jim turned to alcohol. It took him three years to break that death cycle.

But he could read Pete. He knew he was planning something, just not what. Pete had told him about the woman he’d recently met and Jim realized something was terribly wrong. Jim knew that when the chief asked for their case files along with the questions he’d asked him.

Jim had used Farrity himself, many times. They were all buddies, had been for a lot of years. But it never occurred to Jim that Pete would use Farrity for personal reasons. It was sort of a sacred cow, having such a personal link to the FBI. He really couldn’t believe that Pete would endanger that for a woman.

Poor Pete, he was worse off than he’d believed. Who else would he bring down with him? As much as he loved and respected his buddy he sure as hell hoped it wasn’t him. But in any case he’d be on Pete’s side. They were after all closer than brothers. They had each saved the other’s life on more than one occasion and that forged a bond that was closer than most marriages.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jack rolled over and suddenly realized he wasn’t in his bed. Memory rushed back into his sleepy head and he smiled. Big time. As he opened his eyes all he could see was a lovely shapely feminine leg and backside. He let his eyes travel up her body to her messy blonde hair.

Jack let himself revel in this experience. Waking up with Carter in her bed no less! And she was naked and almost completely out from underneath the sheet. He raised his head just a little not wanting to wake her just yet. He wanted to enjoy just looking. He’d wanted well over seven years just to see all of her! He intended to enjoy the sight.

He wanted to touch the silky smooth skin that covered her long toned legs and her sweet tight butt, but he knew he’d wake her. She was a light sleeper off world, but so was he. He wasn’t sure of her habits on world. Only time he’d been privileged to watch her sleep on-world was in the infirmary and she was usually drugged.

Her hair was slightly longer than she normally wore it. It made her look even more beautiful. He really liked the way its sassiness curled around her face and neck; he thought it made her look more feminine too. Only until this minute would he ever allow that thought to be voiced even inside his own mind. Now blonde wispy waves were sticking out from all directions. He smiled. He’d never forget this moment, his first time to watch her wake from her sleep after loving her long into the night, almost possessing her. It couldn’t be any better.

“Whacha thinking about flyboy?” She asked turning slowly to face him, her voice soft and sleepy sounding. His eyes locked on her breasts and his breathing became heavier.

“Well, until you turned over, I was thinking about those long legs and that sweet backside. Now.. Well…now…” His eyes were focused like rockets on her breasts and he softy ran his knuckles over her breasts stopping and catching a nipple between his middle and third finger knuckles.

Sam giggled. “Now you’re what? Thinking about my breasts?”

“No, not exactly. I’m thinking about kissing.” His lips met hers and his body gently rolled to cover hers. After long enough that the necessity of breathing forced he to stop, he asked, “Wanna get up for a while?” Love and desire filled Jack’s eyes.

“Only long enough for a bathroom break. Don’t go anywhere.” Her sultry voice was something he thought he’d never hear.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Walter walked to the door of the general’s office. “It’s all ready, sir.”

“Great, thanks son,” he replied; only his voice didn’t sound to Walter like it was great.

“Walter, would you close the door behind you, please?”

“Sure,” Walter didn’t feel good about this. Something was in the air, and usually he was in the loop enough to figure it all out, but not this time. The general hadn’t even hinted at the problem. But Walter was sure there was one. He knew his boss too well to miss the signs.

Hammond sat back in his chair in deep thought. He needed to give Jack a warning, but he didn’t know just who already had info on them. He didn’t want to unnecessarily alarm them; he felt they deserved each other and some time to get it settled between them. In heart the general was a romantic. A big time romantic.

He’d been happily married for forty five years before he lost his wife and he couldn’t think of anything worse than what Jack and Sam had gone through. He knew from the moment they saw each other it was just a matter of time.

Sparks had not only flown around the briefing room that day but lit up the whole mountain. He’d witnessed those sparks get brighter over the years. It seemed that only the two of them were oblivious to the evidence that was left behind. They deserved this time. They deserved to be happy. The members of SG1 had actually given their lives on several occasions and they had given their heart and soul to this cause. George could do nothing less than try to protect them at all costs.

Signing and getting up from his seat, he hoped he was doing the right thing. George gathered his briefcase and walked out of his office. He’d decide after he talked to the President.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Pete fetched his cell phone from his pocket and entered the sped dial number for Farrity. Forever! It seemed the wait was taking forever for Farrity to answer.

“Matthews.” The voice on the other end of the phone definitely wasn’t Dave’s. Pete held the phone away from his ear as if to ask if he’d dialed the right number, but it had cleared the digital readout.

“Uh… I’m looking for Farrity. He in?” Pete felt the bottom of his stomach reach his throat.

“No, he’s on leave.”

“Leave? How long?” Pete questioned.

“Don’t know. Look, I’ll get a message to him, but he won’t be back at this number. He’s being reassigned.” Matthews informed Pete.

“Oh…” Pete’s hesitation was evident.

“You want to leave your name and number?” Matthews broke into Pete’s thoughts.

“Yeah, sure. Just tell him to call Shanahan. He has my number.” Pete snapped the phone shut with a pop and tapped his fingers loudly on his desk.

“Reassigned……Awwweeshittt!” He spoke softly to himself but Jim had overheard his end of the conversation and he heard that last remark.

“Pete, what’s up?” Jim stood over him curiosity expressed over his board face.

“Let’s take a ride, don’t want to talk here.” Pete answered.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Jack was searching for something to fix for breakfast. Anything. All he found was yogurt and a box strawberries and one of blueberries. He knew she didn’t cook, but he didn’t know that she didn’t shop either!

Sam sat at the bar watching him, softly giggling. “We could just order in.”

“Breakfast?” His eyebrows would top Teal’s any day of the week as they almost touched his hair line. “You want to order in breakfast? Where?”

She handed him the menu from one of The Deli Shoppe’s. “Breakfast?” He smirked. “Carter do you cook at all?”

“No, it’s just cheaper to order out. I’m never home long enough to use anything up, so I don’t shop for food, only drinks, cookies, ice cream, snack stuff.”

“Junk food! Carter I never knew you were a junk-a-holic!”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, sir!” She teased. “And besides, I have the fruit and yogurt for breakfast sometimes dinner too.”

He reached for her, pulled her to her feet and kissed her soundly on the lips. “But, I love what I know and I can’t wait to learn the rest.” He kissed her again. “Hungry!” He roared in a king of the hill tone of voice.

Sam giggled into his lips, “For food?”

“Yeah, that too. Need energy.” He smirked, “To keep my girl satisfied.”

She slapped his arm and smiled up at him. “Don’t call me that. I’m not anyone’s girl!”

“Really?” He looked apprehensive.

“Well, maybe. Yes….. Just don’t call me that!” She smiled back peaking up at him through her bangs that had made their way into her eyes, “That’s if you want to keep me “your girl.”

“Gotcha!” He let her go after kissing her once more. He picked up the menu and handed it back to her. “Order woman! I’m starved! Yogurt just doesn’t sound like it’ll do the trick.” Giggling she took the menu and picked up the phone.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Silence reigned as Pete and his partner, Jim drove through traffic. Pete was headed to their favorite morning coffee shop. He wanted to tell Jim what happened the night before, but so far he couldn’t find the right words. He wasn’t sure what was up with Farrity, but his gut told him it wasn’t good and it probably was his fault.

Pete wasn’t really a bad person; in fact he really felt bad about the way he’d hurt Sam and was really mad at himself for calling her base commander. When had he become so vindictive?

He found a parking spot on the street and they both got out of the car and entered the coffee shop. Pete found a table and waved at the waitress. She’d been the same one since he started patronizing this popular coffee shop. “Hey, Maggie. We’ll have our usual.”

She smiled back and let them know she’d heard and moved to get their coffee and breakfast sandwiches.

“Pete, what’s up?” Jim was beginning to think Pete had changed his mind about talking to him, but he really wanted to know what was going on that would cause the chief to pull their case files.

“I think I’ve really messed this one up, Jim. I…. Uhh….I’m not doing so good keeping it together since Mel left me.”

Jim waited for him to say more, but Pete just looked at his hands. “And?” Jim asked knowing there was more than that on his mind.

“I.. I… may have cost Dave his job, and destroyed Sam’s career.” Pete never raised his eyes; he seemed to find his hands very interesting.

“How so?” Jim was beginning to worry even more.

“I.. I ask Dave to run a search on her and her CO’s Air Force personnel files. I.. I didn’t realize how connected they were…..” Pete paused and looked up at Jim. “The agent who answered Dave’s phone said Dave was reassigned. My gut says it’s because of the search. Dave told me they both had been scrubbed.”

“Awwhhhcrap! Pete! You used Dave to do a personal search for you? Pete! You know how damn valuable his help is to us. Why? Why would you risk that and risk his job?” Jim stopped short of saying more. He realized it was too late and it wouldn’t help Pete or Dave.

“I know….. I know. I was just was so mad when I left her house. I didn’t know it would come to this. I wouldn’t have hurt Dave for anything or our connection to the FBI files…..” Pete paused for a few long moments before he continued. “She just wouldn’t talk about her job. Then when she came home with her CO and they…. were in such…. a comprising state….” Pete took a depth breath and raised his eyes to Jim.

“And you what? You wanted to know about her or hurt her?”

“I don’t know for sure if it was just to know about her. I was so mad. It was like seeing Mel again with that…” Pete hung his head and closed his eyes.

“Pete, you know this woman isn’t Mel. Right? You’ve only known this Carter woman a short time. Man, you only had a couple of dates? Why the rush to know about her?”

“I don’t know. She’s beautiful, smart, and I really do like her, but there was something that was just so untouchable. And she wouldn’t say too much about her job. Gave me some bull about Deep Space Telemetry or something stupid like that. It just made me curious. Then when her CO came and dragged her off to work, I decided to hang around 'til she came back. She really seemed like she didn’t want to go with him. I really thought she liked me. Boy, did I get a surprise.”

“Pete, you have to let this go. She’s just not for you.” It was hard for Jim to talk too much about personal stuff as with most men. But he felt for his friend. He had made some stupid mistakes in his life too, and he wouldn’t judge Pete now. “We need to find out about Dave, though. See what we can do there. You will probably have a lot of apologizing to do with him.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ve lost a good friend over this.” Pete looked sadly at Jim.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

“George, come in, come in.” The President spoke affectionately to General Hammond. He truly liked and respected George, unlike Senator Kinsey who was out for the blood of not only the two Air Force officers of SG1 but Hammond’s too.

“Mr. President, as usual, it’s an honor.” Hammond said as he shook hands with the President.

“Sit. I’ll have Bill bring us coffee. Yours still black?” The President asked.

“Yes, thanks.” George was surprisingly comfortable considering the subject of their conversation.

After the coffee was served and both men were seated the President looked up at George and asked, “Tell me, George, what Kinsey’s goons are spouting isn’t so.”

Hammond looked through soft blue eyes that left much unspoken. “Well, I guess that would depend on what their spouting.”

“After our conversation this morning, I have to be sure this just started, George. You understand.”

“I can assure you of that, Mr. President. As we’ve discussed before, they’ve fought their own feelings for a long time, but the moment they couldn’t I knew they would come clean with it. They’re too honorable not too. And that’s just what they did.”

“Why’s Senator Kinsey involved, Sir and how did he know about them?” Hammond asked.

“He doesn’t know this, George, only about the search. That’s what has his dander up; he can’t get any one to tell him why the search was run.” The President smirked. He loved getting under Kinsey’s skin. He just didn’t like it at George’s expense.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

“Jim, you have Dave’s cell number stored?” Pete asked.

“Sure, just a minute.” Jim reached for his phone and punched in Farrity’s number then handed the phone to Pete.

“Hi, Jim. What’s up?” Dave Farrity asked thinking he had Jim Willis on the other line.

“It’s Pete. I… I tried to get you at your office. Was told you’d been reassigned.” Pete sounded unsure of himself. But Dave was too angry at him to care and before Pete could say anything else he lit into him.

“What the hell were you thinking? Do you have any idea who these two are? Their files are tagged. The damn Air Force, NID, even the President’s office has interrogated me. Now some damn Senator screaming to know why I ran a search on them. Damnit Pete! Why??”

“I’m sorry, Dave. I had no idea they were connected so high up or I’d never asked you. I’m sorry.” Pete waited but only silence came through his phone. Finally Pete found his voice and asked, “Dave, what’s with the reassignment?” Pete held his breath hoping it wasn’t what he thought.

“I should just hang up and not talk to you again.” Dave answered. “But I should have stopped when I realized her file was tagged. Well, I guess it makes no difference now.” Dave continued to rant not answering Pete’s question. Pete remained quiet, realizing that Dave needed to chew him out. He felt he deserved it too.

“You know they’ll want to talk to you too. Don’t you?” Dave asked. “What’s the reason for the search, Pete? Is it really all about a woman?”

“Yeah, it is. I’m sorry, Dave. I should never have used our friendship. But I truly didn’t know it would turn out like this.” Pete’s contriteness went a long way in helping Dave get through his anger; maybe he would be able to forgive him. Someday. But right now he was being demoted and losing his rank and current pay rate. He was still somewhat mad, but he was as mad at himself as he was Pete.

He had realized as soon as his boss confronted him that he’d made a serious mistake in judgment, but he was the one who ran the file search, not Pete. He was the one who put his job on the line, and he knew the minute he realized that the Major’s file was scrubbed that he should have stopped and reported it. But he hadn’t, his curiosity had over taken his reason.

“Pete, the NID contacted Senator Kinsey’s staff and there were a lot of questions from them, too. Seems they’re really interested in why a police detective would have searches run on these two Air Force Officers. Never mind the chewing I got from the Air Force Brass when I didn’t have the answers they seemed to want. Just to give you a heads up, they’re gonna talk to you too.” With that Dave broke the phone connection. He really didn’t want to talk to Pete right now. Maybe later he’d be able to get over this, but right now he just didn’t want to hear anything else about any of this.

Pete wondered what he meant. Why would Senator Kinsey or the NID be interested in him?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Pete thought about that. He’d only tried to tell General Hammond what he actually saw and he really never got that far into his explanation. What could Dave mean? Why would Senator Kinsey or the NID give a damn about Sam or her CO? Pete was even more curious.

What the hell did they do at Cheyenne Mountain that the President, the NID, the top brass of the Air Force and a senator would get so involved so fast? Was it because of the file search or his conversation with Hammond? He wished he knew. He also wished he’d never met Samantha Carter, beautiful or not. She was way out of his league besides that she definitely had a thing for her CO. Didn’t her brother have a clue? Why would he set them up?

He knew he had to try and apologize to Sam. She at least deserved to hear the words from him. He should never have reacted as he did. He knew that, he’d always prided himself for his ability to control himself in all situations, but the last few months he knew he’d changed. The next thing he had to do was get himself checked out and some help or he’s stand to lose everything he’d worked so hard to achieve. But right now, he was going to start by apologizing to Sam and her base commander, Hammond.

0o0o0o0oo00

“Sam, don’t hang up. Please. Just let me apology first.” Pete begged into his cell phone. She didn’t say anything at first, then after a long pause, “What do you want Pete?”

Jack’s head jerked toward her and then quickly back to the road. They were on their way to the mountain when Sam’s phone rang. “Tell that son of a bitch were he can go.” Jack’s voice was loud enough for the people in the next car to hear him.

“I’m sorry, Sam. I just wanted you to know I shouldn’t have said what I did. But most of all I’m sorry for going to your commander with this. I was terribly wrong.” Pete sounded sincere but Sam was still so mad at him for going to Hammond she didn’t want to hear an apology.

“Sam, hang up that damn phone!” Jack demanded causing her to glare at him. She was completely capable of fighting her own battles and she’d never liked being told what to do in her personal life. She had to obey so many commands and orders in her military life that she’d be damned if she started out with Jack like this in their private lives.

She turned to Jack and glared, “Damnit! Sir, I’m not a child!” Then she turned back to her phone. “Pete, I have absolutely nothing left to say to you. I’m just so glad the real you came out so fast.” She snapped the phone shut then turned to Jack, her eyes were blazing. But Jack didn’t give her time to say anything.

“Sorry Sam. Just the mention of his name set my blood boiling. How dare he think he can do that to you and then come back and apologize like it makes it go away!” Jack was mad all over again.

Sam just huffed and turned to look out the window. After a few minutes Jack reached for her hand and their fingers intertwined. “Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to give you orders.” He quickly looked at her face but she didn’t look at him. He gently pulled her hand toward his lips and kissed her fingers until she looked his way. Tears had filled her eyes but she smiled at him.

“Okay.” She whispered, “I know it will take us some time to get adjusted.” She squeezed his hand then turned back to the window. Jack’s heart jumped to his throat, he hated that he’d hurt her. “Sam? Honey? I’m really sorry. Next time just deck me.”

She snorted trying to hold back her tears as well as her giggles. “Okay, Jack.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Jack opened the door and started around to Sam’s side of the truck, but she was too fast, she was out and waiting as he approached the door. He placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her toward the first check out of Cheyenne Mountain. He leaned a litter closer to her and whispered in her ear although there was no one around to hear him.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep my hands off you today. I keep wanting to pull you over to the side and have my wicked way with you again.” Jack smiled trying to make the tension that had settled between them lighter.

“I’d like that, but we’ll just have to wait until we get home. We have to maintain our professionalism here, sir.” Sam looked up at him and smiled. All was forgiven. She was trying hard to wear her Major Carter persona now. She was right; it was going to be a difficult adjustment.

“Well, if you keep smiling at me like that, I know I’m not gonna last.” He winked at her.

They stopped at the check in and both signed in and started to walk down the hall. The guard suddenly stopped them, “Wait, Sir. General Hammond left word for you to call him at 1430 hours on his cell phone. He left his number if you need it.”

“That’s okay, airman. I have the number.” Jack said as he looked at Sam and they walked through the corridor. “Wonder what he wants.”

“Wonder where he is?” Sam queried.

They reached the elevator and just as soon as the doors closed Jack pulled Sam into his arms and kissed her. As the kiss broke he gazed into her eyes, “That’ll have to do me 'til tonight.” His smile warmed Sam’s heart. It felt so good to be able to express feelings that had been hidden so long that they were almost forgotten. They pressed their foreheads together a few long moments staring at each other’s eyes before the elevator bell rang indicating the end of the NORAD levels.

As they changed elevators and pressed the level 19 button, Sam quickly placed a peck on Jack’s lips and squeezed his hand. “Call me as soon as you’ve talked to the general, okay?” Sam asked smiling sweetly.

“You betcha. Why don’t we just meet for lunch at 1130 hours and for cake at 1530 hours so I can tell you in person.” Jack’s grinned spread across his face.

“What? You can’t go all day without seeing me?” She teased. Sam couldn’t remember seeing him look so happy and relaxed. It seemed they had created their own little world so fast, and she tried to keep any bad thoughts to the back of her mind. She refused to give Jack up, but she had no clue as to how or what to do next.

The doors started opening and Jack squeezed her hand once more before letting it go. He indicated for her to exit. She smiled at him not saying anything else as he pushed the elevator button to his level. The last thing Sam saw was him winking at her as the doors closed. Well, if the world ended today she would die happy, she thought as she walked away.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

0o0o0o0o0o0o

“Sam?” Sam looked up when she realized that Daniel was standing over her. From the tone of his voice and the way he was looking at her with that almost knowing smile she realized that he’d been talking to her.

“Oh, sorry, Daniel. I guess I was miles away.” She smiled at him. “What did you say?”

“I asked how your date with Pete went, but from the smile and the way you’re daydreaming, I guess I don’t need an answer.” He teased her.

Sam looked apprehensively at Daniel. “Well…” She struggled to get out the words.

“What? You didn’t have fun? You sure are acting like you did.” Daniel looked at her. He knew Sam better than anyone, probably including her family and Jack, and he knew something was going on. “Sam, what are you not saying?” Like a dog with a bone that was Daniel. Sam knew she’d never get anything past him and she really wanted to tell him anyway. She knew she could trust Daniel; she just wasn’t sure how he would take the news.

“I.. uhh.. …My date with Pete was interrupted.” She hesitated a little too long for Daniel.

“How? You didn’t have to come back to work did you? I know how much you were looking forward to it.” He asked sincerely hoping she’d been able to go out with Pete. Sam needed a break from work and Daniel knew she needed a break from the emotional roller coaster her life or lack thereof had been with Jack. He had no qualms against them being together, quite the contrary, he would love for them to be able to get together. But Daniel had given up on that ship long ago, they were both such hard headed people, and they both refused to consider giving up their roles on SG1. So he’d stopped badgering Jack a long time ago not that it had ever done any good.

“No… uhmm. Colonel O’Neill…”

“Don’t tell me Jack interfered in your date.” Daniel griped interrupting her. “What? He can’t have you but he doesn’t want anyone else to either! Don’t you think that’s a little selfish of him?” It was obvious that Daniel was peeved. “I’m sorry I told him about your date, Sam. I never thought he’d try and stop you.” Daniel said, looking sheepishly at her.

“I wondered how he knew, but I never asked him.” Sam said as if she were talking to herself.

“I’m so sorry.” Daniel repeated.

“Oh, no. Daniel, don’t be sorry. It’s okay, great even.” Sam smiled at him. She wanted to tell him, but she and Jack had not talked about telling anyone else, even their teammates.

“Great? What do you mean, Sam?”

“I shouldn’t tell you; we didn’t discuss…… I don’t know if Jack would like it…”

“Jack??” Daniel looked dumbfounded. All the years he’d know her he’d never heard her call Jack by his name. It seemed off even to him.

She smiled at Daniel, worried her bottom lip and ducked her head sideways as she did when she was torn or worried. “Yeah, Jack. Would you be upset if I told you that Jack and I are….together?” Her eyes pleaded with Daniel to be happy for her. She loved Daniel as much as her own brother and she didn’t want to upset him or their working relationship.

“What?!” Daniel just stared as if he was watching her eyes turn into a Goa’uld flare, gold lights and all.

”What?” He repeated.

Sam smiled at him. “Daniel, please don’t be upset.” He grabbed her and hugged her tight.

“Oh, holy Hannah! You know I’m happy for you. Both of you!” He swung her around before letting her go.

0o0o0o0oo0o0o

Hammond’s glare told the President how upset he was to learn of Kinsey’s meddling. “You mean he’s starting an investigation just because their personnel files were searched? What can he possible be looking for?”

“I don’t know. Could be he’s just doing his usual and stirring the pot to make it look like trouble. George, we both know he would like nothing better than to destroy the SGC, you, and SG1. He’s had this vendetta since we opened the Gate. He wants control, plain and simple; and he knows he has to get to you or disgrace both you and Jack O’Neill in some way to get you out. Major Carter just happens to be along for the ride I’m afraid.” The President stopped speaking to take a sip of his coffee.

“Well, his…. I guess I should keep my views private.” George huffed.

“I know exactly what you’re thinking. But what I have to know is why that search was run and then we can go from there.” The President had a thoughtful look. “George you have to interview this Shanahan character before Kinsey can get to him. What do you think is the quickest way to do that?”

“Have him brought to Cheyenne Mountain and detained in holding until I can get back,” George offered, liking this idea the more he thought about it. “It should sure scare him. Maybe he’ll be more forthcoming after he sits and stews for a while. I can have the SF’s pick him up in minutes.”

The smile on the President’s face conveyed his agreement. “Just don’t let O’Neill get close to him. I like Jack a lot, really proud of him: but with what you’ve told me about him and the major and the situation with this Shanahan, I don’t trust him within spitting distance. I’d be the same so I can’t really blame him.

And it will sure keep Kinsey from getting to Shanahan first if he’s buried under that mountain!” The President’s laughter filled the room. George’s eyes brightened with the thought of beating Kinsey at his own game.

George placed the necessary call to Walter to set in place their plans. As soon as Walter answered George became the Base Commander again. After he explained what and how he wanted things done, he ended the conversation with one last directive, “Sergeant, I don’t want any of this to get out to Colonel O’Neill or Major Carter especially that Shanahan will be at the SGC. Whatever it takes to keep this from them. You got that?”

“Yes Sir!” Walter had been planning in his head from the start of their conversation, but it had included O’Neill and Teal’c. It really surprised him that the general didn’t want O’Neill involved. But he dare not asked why. Walter had known something was up. His intuitive nature had been buzzing since making the plans for General Hammond to go to Washington. Now he was sure, and he was afraid it would have some bad effects for Colonel O’Neill. Why else would the General not tell O’Neill? He told him almost everything that went on here. It worried Walter.

As George hung up the phone, the President made one last comment, “George, you know I’d never have brought you here to discuss any of this if it weren’t for Kinsey. I trust you George, completely to run personnel matters within the SGC. So does the Joint Chiefs.

Fraternization regulations or not, it’s always the decision of the Ranking Commander of any command in such cases. I wouldn’t give a ticker’s damn what O’Neill did if not for fear of Kinsey. He has power, George, whether we like it or not. But I’ll be damned if I let him run any part of the SGC or any part of any military branch including anything to do with any of our officers. That’s not his job. Won’t be as long as I’m President.

And I’m glad you decided to run their situation by me. It certainly wasn’t necessary, I would back any decision you made concerning the two of them or any of your base personnel. But they’re two of the finest officers in the whole of the military. I don’t want to lose either of them.”

“Thanks, Mr. President. I appreciate that. That’s exactly why I called first thing this morning; I wanted you in the loop. After Shanahan called last night and then Barkley, I was afraid this was turning into more than just two officers who’d broken frat regs. Anyway I had to be sure that’s all it was. And to be frank, Sir, I’ve always known you’ve had our back.” George stood and smiled while shaking hands with the President as he readied to take his leave.

The next call George placed was to Jack as he left the building.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00

Jack looked up just as Teal’c stuck his head into his office. “You wanted to see me, O’Neill?”

“Yeah, hey Teal’c. Come in will’ya and close the door, please.” Jack looked a little green around the gills.

“I have something to tell you, and I need your assurance you won’t say anything to anyone, especially Carter or Daniel.” Jack waited for his response.

“Of course, on my honor as you wish O’Neill. What matter is this that has caused you such obvious discomfort?” If Teal’c was one thing, he was certainty loyal to his team and especially the Colonel.

“It’s Kinsey.” Jack rubbed his hands through his hair and back down his face. The damn SOB was trying to cause trouble, trouble that would break him and Sam up before they could even start out in life together.

“What do you mean O’Neill? What has this snake in the grass done now?”

“Good one Teal’c. You’re getting better with Earth’s slang.” Teal’c’s remark brought a slight smile to Jack’s face. Teal’c merely titled his head as he was inclined to do.

Jack took a deep breath and looked up at Teal’c. Jack was sitting with his feet on his desk and as he tried to frame the words to explain to Teal’c what was going on he moved his feet to the floor and looked pensively at him. “Wan'cha sit, T? This could take a while.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o

The SF’s were waiting as Pete and Jim entered through the main precinct doors. Pete’s heart skipped as he noticed the Air Force symbol on the airman’s uniforms. He couldn’t believe they were here; could they be here for him? Just at that moment the desk officer motioned him over. Oh, yeah, they were here for him!

“What you need Chuck?” Pete asked innocently, leaning on the tall desk.

“This Air Force SF’s have an order to take you in, Pete.” Chuck looked apologetic but they all knew how this game was played. Pete stood up straight and looked at the SF’s, “Did the warrant say why they are taking me?”

“No. Here it is, you wanna see it?” Chuck asked as he handed it over to Pete. By this time the SF’s had realized who this man was and walked toward the desk.

“Detective Pete Shanahan?” One of them asked.

“That’s me.” Pete responded with a curious expression.

“We have been ordered to escort you back to the SGC.” No thrills or explanation, no smiles or expression of any type, just direct information with nothing to spare.

“Why? What would the Air Force want with me?” Pete had looked at the official order and it was vague, the way you would write an arrest warrant when you were fishing.

“We only have orders to pick you up, Detective. Nothing else.” The other one spoke just as crisp and formal, his eyes didn’t even blink as he stared at Pete.

Had these guys been ordered to scare him? Pete wondered. “Okay. Let me inform my chief.” Pete started to walk off but the SF moved to stand in his way.

“He has already been informed. You are to come now.” The first SF demanded.

“Okay. Jim, you want to make sure that he knows….., maybe all of it.” Pete said giving Jim the okay to tell the chief the whole story.

What Pete didn’t know yet was that the Chief of Police had been called by the President’s staff informing them of the unwarranted file search that had been requested by Pete. And that nothing concerning this matter was to be spoken of or documented. This was a classified matter and any inquiries from any sources including any branch of government should be directed to the President’s staff. The fax that followed contained the official seal of the office of the President of the United Sates.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

“Hammond’s met with the President. Kinda let’s you know how important this has turned out to be, huh?” Jack began, but as usual he didn’t have a clue as to what to say. Teal’c only nodded his head briefly and looked very confused.

“Yeah, I guess if I explained it you’d have something to say.” Jack looked as if he had survived an all night drinking binge and he’s hesitancy was beginning to worry Teal’c.

“Indeed. O’Neill what has transpired?” Teal’c asked waiting for Jack to say something.

“Hell! It’s just my luck. I finally, finally make a move on Carter and she responds then the whole damn Air Force, the NID and even the damn President has to know about it. Not to mention that jackass Kinsey!” Jack had found a few words but the longer he talked the louder he became. Now Teal’c realized the reason for the closed door, something that O’Neill never did.

“O’Neill? Are you saying that you and Major Carter….” Teal’c wasn’t sure exactly what to ask, but the happy spark suddenly shining from his friend’s eyes told him he had hit on the right idea.

“Yeah. That.” Jack smiled even though seconds ago he was furious. That’s what this was doing to him, wrecking his emotions and carrying him on a seesaw. One minute he wanted to dance the next he wanted to punch someone.

“But I don’t understand, O’Neill. What has the agencies of Earth have to do with your decision to take Major Carter as your wife?”

“Now wait, buddy. I didn’t say that!” Jack suddenly stood, and then sat back down. “Well, I did ask her, but she hasn’t answered yet.” Worry evident in his dark brown eyes. “Now she probably will say no for sure.”

“O’Neill, I do not understand, please explain this from its beginning. I am much improved on Earth’s colloquialisms, but you have lost me.” This made Jack smile; boy did he love this guy.

Jack made his way to the end of the food buffet and picked up a tray. He kept an eye on the door looking for Sam. He picked up two pieces of chocolate cake, placed them on his tray and poured two cups of coffee, one black and one with sugar and cream. He started walking toward the front of the mess hall. Finding an empty table near the door he sat the tray down and waited for Sam. He was nervous so he stood over the table never taking his eyes from the door.

He’d told Teal’c everything, including the scene in Sam’s home that Pete had witnessed. If anyone had told Jack that he would have spilled his guts to anyone, especially the stoic Jaffa who didn’t say much, he’d had them checked out by the base shrink.

But when he’d told Teal’c about Kinsey he had to explain or it wouldn’t have made any sense. When he started talking he just didn’t stop. What was it with him? He was doing and saying things that weren’t like him in the least.

He shook his head as if to shake off the last hour, he’d never liked sharing and this was no exception. Only thing that saved his ego was that he could put up his life that Teal’c would never breathe a word of their conversation. But if Teal’c knew, that would mean that Daniel would have to know or he would get his feelings hurt and Jack didn’t want to put up with a sulking Daniel.

If Daniel knew, then it would only be a matter of hours before Frazier knew. Daniel thought he and Janet had hid their relationship, but Jack knew about it. Probably Sam did too. Jack knew it was in the beginning stages, but after Daniel’s trip as a glow bug, Janet had been different around Daniel. He smiled at that thought. He was glad that Daniel was finally able to let go of Sha’re’s memory enough to open up to the doc. They seemed to fit so well together. But Jack knew about grief and the way it could lock you inside yourself for so long. If not for Sam and Daniel, he’d still be locked away from life.

But that he was able to tell ‘T’ all about him and Sam!? He’d never expected that to happen not even as he was saying it.

It worried Jack a lot that the General had found out that Kinsey was aware of the search that Pete had instigated. That was one more thing for the snake to latch on to try and dig up dirt on him and the SGC. He hated that snake in the grass and if it had been another part of his life, Jack knew he’d be able to kill him in cold blood with no regrets. But the trust he’d earned from General Hammond and the true feelings he knew his team had for him had caused a good change in Jack. The angry, suicidal, black operative part of Jack that had gone to Abydos with Daniel was gone.

Then there was Cassie and Jack knew she needed them all. He had sort of assumed the ‘father’ role in her life and he loved that girl like his own. Now he had Sam’s love too. He’d never do anything to lose that.

Hammond told Jack to trust him that it would work out. He’d also told him to have SG1 stay at the SGC until his return. Hammond didn’t tell Jack, but he wanted him out of harms way and if he stayed underground he was much more likely to do that.

Jack looked up just at Sam walked in. He quickly picked up the tray and walked toward her. “Let’s go back to my office. We should talk in private.” Jack smiled but Sam could read the tension on his face. Her anxiety picked up several notches.

They walked side by side but not close enough to touch. After entering Jack’s office he sat the tray on his desk and closed the door. Sam watched wondering what Hammond had said, worrying about the look on his face.

“Sir?” He glanced up looking at her with a curious look.

“Jack?” She whispered. “What did he say?” He moved his eyes to the camera indicating for her not to say anything else. He moved to his desk and switched the camera control to off. He’d had Siler install it long ago. It cut the camera feed in his office. He may have to explain why it was off, but it was better than evidence that could be recorded.

She realized what he’d done, but made no comment. “What did General Hammond say, Jack?” He could hear the worry in her voice. Pulling her into his arms his hungry kiss stopped her next inquiry.

“That everything’s gonna be okay and to trust him.”

He kissed her again. “That Kinsey knew about the file search and was digging.” He kissed her again, but this time she pulled back and looked at him. He knew full well what she was thinking. Her eyes were shining with controlled desire and at the same time revealed her worry. Jack could see the battle she fought within herself. But in the end her look gave him courage. He could see doubt but he could see love most of all as the tears glistened.

“I trust him, Sam. He said he’d explain it all when he came back. He wants us to stay here on the base ‘til then.”

He pulled her back into his arms and buried his face in her neck. Sam’s heart raced. This wasn’t a good idea for them to be in such close physical contact on base. She tried to pull back, but he held her tighter. “I’m not giving you up, Carter, no matter what. You got that? Don’t even try leaving me behind. Not now.” He pulled his face away from her neck enough to see her eyes silently pleading for her to agree.

“Yeah, I got that.” Her eyes held a lot more uncertainty than her voice, but her actions gave him hope. She placed both her hands around his neck and pulled him to her lips. Who would have ever thought she’d willing kiss her CO on base. It was so unlike her, but Sam couldn’t stop herself. It was as if flood gates had opened up in her heart and she needed his touch more than she needed her own breath. He had filled her being and fused them together; she knew she’d never left him go willing, not now she needed him. Imagine that, she thought, Major Sam Carter, Miss Independence herself, needed a man. But only this man.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The SFs stopped at the main check in and asked the guard on duty to call General Hammond’s office.

Walter answered the phone, “General Hammond’s office, Sergeant Harriman speaking.”

“Sergeant, Green here. The general asked that we let him know when we arrived with the package.”

“Everything’s ready. Take it straight to the holding cells through the back elevators. Stay with him until General Hammond gets back.” Walter instructed.

The guards signed in, picked up Pete’s pass that Walter had delivered to the main check in and guided Pete through the corridor down toward the service elevators. It wasn’t long before they were leading him into the interrogation room. Indicating for him to take a seat they took their positions outside the door, one on each side stoically waiting for General Hammond or their relief which ever came first.

Pete was extremely nervous. He chose not to sit but instead continuously walked around the room from one side to the other. It seemed like hours since he had been escorted to this room. He didn’t know if he could stand the wait. Pete had always been a doer, waiting and stake outs weren’t his favorite thing; but these was much worse. He hated being out of control even more than waiting.

He’d tried several times to get the guards to talk to him, but they seemed even more stoic than the Queen’s Royal Guard. He didn’t see how they could be so still and silent. He’d never be able to do that for so long.

He finally sat at the table and stared at the wall, nothing to do but think. He’d already tried his phone, it didn’t have a signal. He knew he was deep underground, but he really had no idea how far below the surface they were.

He was beginning to think he’d be lucky if he ever saw the sun again. This was the military and Pete had his doubts about what they would do with him. He didn’t think he’d commented a capital offense, but he’d never been involved with any situation that had drawn attention from the President of the United States or the Joint Chiefs of the US Military. Had he somehow committed treason or could they say he had?

He knew his rights, but he wasn’t sure that the military actually held them as sacred as the rest of the world. Or maybe he was blowing this out of portion. Sure, that was it. He just hated being left here not knowing what the hell was up.

Pete was sweating. He couldn’t remember ever being more uncomfortable or unsure of his future. He really didn’t think they would do anything life threatening, but he really wasn’t sure. He folded his arms placing them on the table and laid his head on top closing his eyes. He had no choice but to wait. And wait. No wonder so many suspects creaked under this pressure.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Walter waited at the elevator for General Hammond as he had requested. “Walter, everything in place?” The general asked as soon as he exited the elevator, before the doors had time to close.

“Yes, Sir. The package is in place and no one other than those you authorized knows about it.” Walter waited for his next orders.

“Great. How long since it arrived?” The general asked.

“Five hours.”

“I’ll need a minute in my office before I open it. Will you get me a sandwich and coffee and bring it to my office? I missed lunch and looks like I’ll miss dinner.”

“Sure thing, Sir.” Walter could tell the general was tired. He had been to Washington and back in one day and it was only twenty hundred hours.

“Oh. Walter. Find Teal’c and asked him to report as soon as possible.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam was working in her lab, but for once she wished she was home or either with the colonel. It had been a long and trying twenty four hours. It really seemed impossible with all that had happened that it was only twenty four hours since Jack stormed in her house and dragged her away from her date with Pete.

She sat looking into space in a dreamlike trance remembering all that had happened between her and the colonel. He’d really asked her to marry him, promised even that they would work out whatever was necessary for them to be a couple. Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her face. What should she do? She was so afraid if he retired he would come to resent her, that is would destroy what they had finally found together. And she really liked him being on SG1. She hated the thoughts of losing their team.

She just couldn’t think of any way other than her resigning from the military for them both to still work together. Truth was they most likely wouldn’t be allowed to work together on SG1 any longer anyway. Frat regs or not, they had developed too close a bond. Sam knew in her heart that Jack could never do what he’d done when the entity overtook her mind and body. There was so much more between them now than even two days ago.

She felt his hands squeezing both shoulders and his fingers run softy up the base of her neck. She had been so lost in her emotional state that she didn’t hear him come into her lab. She quickly swept away the tears and turned her face toward his. Her eyes glanced upward toward the camera.

“I know. Meet me in my quarters in half an hour. No cameras there.” He watched her face for any sign that she was about to object, but she only nodded her head.

“You talked to Hammond?”

“Only briefly. He has something to do first, then he wants to meet with us. You okay?” It seemed that he just noticed her red nose and tear streaked face but he stood in the door for a few minutes and watched her before he entered the lab. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and hug away the anxiety he’d seen in her face but all he was allowed to do in front of the cameras was briefly touch her for reassurance.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She tried to smile but it never reached her eyes, she intuitively felt something was off.

“Sam. It will all work out. Trust me.” Jack pleaded, not so sure himself. He would kill Shanahan with his bear hands if his actions destroyed what they had finally found together.

She stood, shut down her computer and picked up her purse. “Half and hour. I’m going to get a couple of sandwiches and I’ll be there.”

“Okay. Cake too?” He grinned.

“You betcha.” She smiled back. It did reach her eyes this time. She loved that he could act like such a little boy from one minute to the next.

He wanted to touch her so badly but he turned on his heels and walked quickly to the door. Stopping and turning back to look at her, “Half an hour or I come after you.” Then he quickly left.

Sam took a deep breath as if preparing for a physical workout. This was exhausting. She knew he wanted to tell her the latest news from the general, but she wasn’t sure she could be alone with him in his quarters. But where else could they talk since the general had insisted that they stay on base?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

General Hammond stopped outside the door of the interrogation room that housed Shanahan. “At ease, airman. I don’t want any interruptions unless you have a message from the President himself.” His kind blue eyes looked tired and slightly bloodshot from fatigue. He closed the door behind him and the guards stood straighter their eyes fixed straight ahead.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam hurried down the corridor to Jack’s quarters. She felt guilty. It was rare that she met with him in his private quarters. But she needed to know what he knew and she had stood the uncertainty as long as she could.

Before her knuckles knocked softly a second time the door was jerked open, Jack pulled her inside and locked his door from the inside. “Anyone see you?” He asked.

“No.” She didn’t like this sneaky feeling. It made her feel like they were doing something wrong and she really didn’t want to feel that way.

“Good. I’d rather not have the whole base know about us until we know what Hammond has in mind.” Jack spoke softly but it felt wrong even to him.

He took the sack that held the sandwiches and canned drinks and sat it on the corner table. He took Sam’s hand and led her to one of the chairs. Still holding her hand he gently pushed her to sit and he knelt beside her chair.

“I promise this will be okay, Sam. Don’t look so worried.” Dark brown eyes captured her and she felt the pull from his heart to hers. She loved him; there was no doubt of that. Always had and always will. She knew that, but was love enough? Could they really be happy if one of them was forced to leave SG1 or even the SGC? Jack retired? She didn’t think he was ready for that.

“Guess it depends on your opinion of okay. But we’ll make it through, I guess. Jack, what if one of us has to leave not only SG1, but the SGC? Can we do that?”

0o0o0o0o0o

“Sam, I’ll do whatever it takes. If Hammond decides that one of us has to leave here, I will. Gladly, if it means I get to keep you. Hell, Sam you know my knees are shot. I’m way older than any of the front line team leaders by years.”

“Dixon.” Sam interjected.

“What?” He didn’t follow her thoughts.

“Dixon is your age or within a year or two.” Sam kept looking at him as if it proved her point.

“So?”

“I saying you’re not too old and the SGC needs you. That’s all.” He tried to read her, but she’d pulled her mask down tight and left him with only doubt.

“Sam, you know Janet isn’t gonna keep pushing me through my physicals.” He studied her as she thought about that.

“Jack, are you lying about your knees?” She stared into his eyes as if she could read his mind. How could she possibly know that the trip down Baal’s private planet of hell had cured what ailed him? But this was Sam. How could he fool her?

He sank down and sat flat on the floor and rubbed his hands through his hair and down his face. Yeah, he was lying, but he thought only Janet knew the truth. For all the hell he’d gone through and the nightmares that would never stop, there was something good that had come from that torture chamber. He was as fit as a twenty year old.

Jack had lost count at twenty five. He really couldn’t remember much of the details after his twenty-fifth trip in Baal’s sarcophagus. It all seemed to run together. He did remember that without Daniel or rather the glow bug Daniel, he would never have managed to hold out. But he had and when Yu’s fleet bombarded Baal’s stronghold, Jack had moved on instinct alone. He couldn’t remember much of that either.

It was two weeks after he was claimed by Janet and her magic before he knew where he was or who for that matter. That was the worst time in his life, it even topped his four months in Iraq; although the torture there had been different and much more of a personal nature. He’d never told anyone the truth of those four months. Not even Sara.

Jack’s blank stare told Sam he had retreated into his own private hell. She lowered herself to his side and wrapped her arms around his chest and waist. “Jack?” She whispered in a low soft tone. He didn’t answer or look at her. “Jack? Talk to me.”

He turned his head slowly toward her, eyes focused on her blonde hair. He wouldn’t or couldn’t ever tell her all that was locked inside him. He had buried most of it so deep; at times it was if it had happened to another person. But other times it flashed it ugly head back so vividly that Jack knew it was real, so real that it seemed it was happening now.

Flashbacks! He hated them. He’d almost stopped having them about Iraq when he was sent to Abydos. Then the first six years of SG1 he’d refused to let them get a hold on him. Then came Baal and that damned spider web, and death after death after death.

Sam started to kiss up his neck, she called his name several times and he still had that glazed look. She didn’t want him to stay where he was in those nightmares. She was sorry she’d even asked him about his knees. She knew the truth, why had she wanted him to say it? She’d known from the first mission after his recovery from his captivity in Baal’s fortress.

Sam had spent hours watching her colonel after his release from the infirmary. She’d quizzed Janet over and over for details, using the premise that she’d need to know what signs to watch for in the field. But she really wanted to know what he’d had to go through. She felt most of the blame for him being there. If not for her, he’d never agreed to the Tok’ra symbiote. She knew that he did that for her, not for his own life.

Janet, being the doctor that she was, wouldn’t tell her much of anything. And she never mentioned anything at all about the screaming ramblings that Jack had relived again and again as she sat by his bedside and held his hand while he screamed out the pain again and again.

Janet would never tell anyone about Jack’s private hell. That was for him and him alone to share, and she knew Jack well enough to know he never would. But Sam never gave up, she’d asked at times when she thought Janet would say something. It never worked. Janet was too smart even if she was three sheets to the wind at the times that Sam picked to ask.

But Sam knew. In her heart she knew what had happened and it made her sick to think of it. She had never been able to do anything to help him until now. She moved to straddle his lap and placed both her hands on his face. Softy she called his name again, “Jack, I’m here.” She said nothing more, only gently rubbed his face. Leaning in she kissed his lips softly offering comfort. He still sat as still as a mouse but he did focus his eyes on hers.

She smiled. “I thought you’d left me for a while.” She kissed him softly again, and pressed her face into his neck. Whispering softly, “I love you. Jack. It’s okay. I know we’ll work it out.” She kept the soft mantra for several long moments until he moved his hands around her waist and pulled her tighter to his body.

“I want you so much, Sam. But we can’t here.”

“I know. Just hold me, Jack. That’s enough for now.” She laid her head back down on his shoulder and for several long minutes neither of them said anything. The needy look in his eyes had melted away any fear or doubt for Sam.

Jack’s hand moved slowly up her arm to her face lifting her chin to meet his gaze, “I don’t want to live my life without you intimately in it. Sam? SGC, SG1 or not. It’s you I want most.”

She realized he meant it. She really felt guilty that she wasn’t as ready to give up on the SCG or SG1 as he was. She loved him more than life itself, but to give up her life’s work and ambition?? She just wasn’t sure. But if he really was? Could she let him for her? Would Hammond?

“I need you, Sam. I realized how much when I found out you’d more than one date with that cop that I could lose you…. If not to him then to someone else…. I can’t let that happen.”

He had put his heart on the line, something he’d never done before. Never had Jack O’Neill begged a woman, not even his ex-wife, to be a part of his personal life. It just wasn’t him. But then, there was no other woman he’d ever loved, including the mother of his child like he did Sam. But he had been pushed as far as he could go with his heartfelt declarations. He had opened to her and said all he could. Now it was up to her. Sadness filled his eyes, he didn’t know if it was enough.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Teal’c stood outside the door of the interrogation room, “General Hammond has requested my presence here, airman.” His command held no doubt that he meant to enter the room. But the airman had their orders from the base commander and no one could counter them.

“Sorry, Sir, but General Hammond has requested no interruption unless the President himself calls. I can not let you go in.” Green’s replied was strong and his voice tone stated that he meant what he’d said, even if it was the big bad Jaffa that was demanding to enter the room. Green felt sure that if the general had wanted Teal’c inside, he’d left that message. He wasn’t afraid.

Teal’c stared at the marine. It was few humans or anyone for that matter that he couldn’t intimidate with his stony stare. That had been the catalyst for his trust in O’Neill from the beginning. Nothing intimidated O’Neill. Teal’c decided he liked this marine and that he could trust him. He would store that information for a time when it was needed.

“Very well, I shall wait here until he beckons me.” Teal’c didn’t change his face from the stoic glare, but his eyes were much softer. He took a stance similar to the one the marines had adopted and waited. Green let out a silent breath.

0o0o0o0o0o00

Pete looked up just as the door opened and the shorter red faced man walked in. He realized that this was a man of importance just by the way he held himself. As the general walked closer to the table where Pete was seated, Pete noticed the stars. Yep. Important.

Pete stood not wanting to add any more insult to what had occurred. His gut told him even before the general spoke that this was the same man he’d called in the middle of last night. He never took his eyes from the general’s. Pete was good at reading people. He recognized a steely determination hidden behind those soft blue eyes. Pete had never been fooled by a man’s appearance; strength came in all shapes, sizes and ages.

“Sir, I assume you’re General Hammond.” Pete was good at taking charge of a situation. It was part of what made him so good at his job.

“You assume right. I’m General Hammond, base commander of this facility.” Hammond’s gaze never softened. “Detective Shanahan, I have one question. Why the hell were you investigating my people?”

“I.. I’m dating Sam. Sam Carter. I just wanted to find out about her.” Pete’s voice started out a bit shaky but he quickly gained control of himself.

“You always go around having FBI searches down on your girlfriends?” Hammond’s voice held a slight edge of disgust to it.

“No Sir. Sam was so secretive. I just thought I could find out about her and not keep hounding her for information.” Pete kept eye contact with General Hammond.

“How long have you known Major Carter?”

“Little over a month, sir.” Pete knew he didn’t have to respect the general’s rank but he felt it to his advantage to do so.

“O’Neill?” Hammond’s inquiry was obvious.

“I. I saw them together. I didn’t like what I saw. I needed answers before I got anymore involved with Sam.”

Hammond knew well what Pete had seen. He was glad that Jack had seen fit to tell him everything. It really made his job easier and he trusted Jack even more. He knew how hard that admission from O’Neill and Carter had been for them.

“Did you and Major Carter have a committed relationship this fast? It’s not like Major Carter to move so fast. She never does anything impulsive. She has the most analytical mind I’ve ever know.” Well maybe she had moved pretty fast with O’Neill, but that really wasn’t spur of the moment either. They had been building into that heated explosion for years. No, after thinking about that thought, Hammond could honestly say, Sam was never impulsive.

O’Neill. Yeah, maybe. That’s one reason they fit so well together and why SG1 had meshed into a powerful team. All four of them were so different that together they were an unstoppable force.

“No, we weren’t committed. But I was hoping to have the opportunity to get there. But I needed to know about her. She wasn’t too open about her job.” Pete answered.

“Why were you in such a hurry? What reason did you have not to trust the major if you’d only know her for a month? I’m sure she told you her work was classified. Don’t you understand that she couldn’t be forthcoming about anything to do with her job?”

Hammond was digging. He had to be sure that Shanahan was telling the truth. What if he was working for one of the agencies that wanted control of the SGC or worst Kinsey who wanted to destroy them all?

0o0o0oo0o0o

“You won’t lose me.” For the first time Sam realized it would be impossible for her to let him go no matter the consequences. Maybe it was his vulnerability a few minutes ago, or maybe she knew it from the beginning. But Sam was one who simply had to analysis and dissect every part of her life, every decision. Nothing emotional had come easy for her since her mother’s death. She still was not on board with Jack retiring, but they would work out the details after they found out what Hammond would do.

Jack pulled her to his lips and kissed her deeply, although not lustfully. It was the first kiss they shared that spoke only of love and commitment, love and a future.

Pulling back enough to see his eyes, Sam smiled, “I love you too much to ever give you up.” He kissed her again, but this time desire and want was spilling into the contact. Fire burned through their bodies and warmth spread throughout.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Kinsey sat on the visitor’s side of the President’s desk. The President’s aide had Kinsey come in and wait. He’d been told that the President was aware that he was here and would be right with him.

The smirk on his face indicated he was well pleased with himself. Thanks to Farrity’s blunder he thought he was on to something he could use against O’Neill and Hammond. The fact that the President requested to see him only added to his certainty. It was well known that they didn’t set horses, especially where the Stargate Program was concerned.

All he had to do was keep digging. He made a mental note to find that snooping detective as soon as he left the Oval Office. He’d find out why he’d tried to investigate O’Neill and Carter if he had to have it beaten from him. The staff personnel he had working on this would find him. He’d had Farrity interrogated and he knew he was hiding something. He’d take care of him too. He didn’t like people who got in his way.

Who in their right mind would believe he’d done it as a favor for a friend or that he had no idea why the detective wanted the information. No, Kinsey would never buy that. He wasn’t born yesterday. No agent would investigate both Carter and O’Neill if they weren’t doing something that they needed to hide. And he was just the man to expose the blunder they had made. His gut told him that this cop, this Shanahan had something on them, something he could use. He’d always thought of himself as a patient man, he could wait this out. His smirk only became more pronounced.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Hammond stared at Pete. He hoped that the cop was telling the truth. Hammond had always been good at reading people, and his instincts said that the cop had just made an error in judgment and he was telling the truth about the whole mess.

Hammond certainly understood why any man would fall head over heels for Sam Carter in just a few days. She had a charisma that drew people to her. Of course being so beautiful and sweet went a long way in her attracting most men even if she was unaware most of the time.

Hammond sat down and continued to glare at Pete. Pete never moved his gaze from Hammond’s. It was as if he wanted to assure Hammond that he hadn’t meant any harm.

“Look, General Hammond, I can only say that I’m sorry. I never meant for all this to happen. I was mad, really mad when I called you. I shouldn’t have done that. I tried to apologize to Sam, but she wouldn’t let me. I don’t blame her. I don’t know why I called you. I guess I just didn’t take enough time to think it all though.”

“But I swear, sir, I had no other reason to ask Dave to do the searches than to find out about Sam.” Pete held Hammond’s gaze, he knew people couldn’t normally continue to look straight into someone’s eyes if they were lying. Hammond believed him. None of the investigation had uncovered any motive other than Pete’s personal interest. It also helped that he’d called Mark, Sam’s brother, after talking with the President.

Sam had told him that Mark and Pete were best friends and he set up her first date with Pete. Mark explained Pete’s run of bad luck, so the general could see why the man had gone overboard. Only thing that bothered Hammond was Kinsey the rest he could take care of. But Kinsey was a continuing threat to the SGC and his people. Hammond had a bad feeling that he hadn’t heard the last of this. He didn’t get the stars on his uniform by being lax or dumb.

Even if he believed Pete, he still had ever intention of making absolutely sure Pete wasn’t working for anyone else before he let him go. Kinsey was a sneaky SOB, so he didn’t put anything past him, even using a cop. Worse things had been known to happen.

“Tell me about this friend of yours, Farrity.” Hammond requested.

“What do you want to know?” Pete wasn’t sure what Hammond was asking him.

“Why would he run these searches for you? It’s my understanding that searches that are initiated from the FBI are supposed to be in an official capacity. Is he inclined to just break protocol to do a friend such a personal favor? Has he done this for you before?”

Pete swallowed hard, “Well, no. He didn’t know it was personal. I’ve never asked him do to a personal favor like this. It’s always been for a case I was working. And yes, he always runs the searches.” Pete felt the guilt about what had happened to his friend move through his body. He hated that he had damaged Dave’s career and caused his reassignment.

“You think Farrity could have been approached by anyone else?”

“If you mean did he search their files for any one other than me? No. He didn’t even know who they were and he told me to back off after he realized their files had been scrubbed and tagged.” Pete answered. Hammond studied his face. He found no reason to disbelieve this man. He seemed honest enough, if he could just get in his mind for a certainty that Pete’s motive was personal.

“If anyone, anyone at all, I don’t care if it’s the President or a senator inquires about this I want to know immediately. You got that, Shanahan?” Hammond’s eyes had changed from a soft blue to a stone cold crystal blue. His face was fixed and set in a scowl, no hint of humor or that he didn’t mean what he said. “Take this card; it has numbers where I can be reached any time.”

“Sure, General Hammond. Immediately.” Pete answered with no deception in his voice and pulled out his wallet to slip the card inside, but he read all three numbers before pushing the card into the card slot.

Hammond moved with such grace and energy it seemed he was in his thirties instead of his late sixties. He was bone tired and he was in desperate need of rest, but other than his bloodshot eyes it didn’t show. He thought for the hundredth time in the last twenty four hours that he was too damn old for this job. He should seriously think of retiring and letting someone younger take over this command. But there was Kinsey to contend with and he’d hate to think of him gaining a foothold with someone else in charge. He left the room in a little better frame of mind than he’d entered, but he still wasn’t happy.

He stopped outside the door and motioned Teal’c to the side. “Teal’c thanks for waiting. We have a situation here with this detective Shanahan. I wish I could tell you what it is, but you’ll have to trust me.”

“I am aware of the situation, General Hammond. O’Neill has informed me of this incident.” Teal’c assured the general there was no need of further conversation. Hammond should have known that Jack and Sam would tell their team. They never were good at keeping secrets between the four of them.

“Good. I need you to sit with this detective. No interrogation, just give him that famous look of yours and make him sweat. I want to know that he’s telling the truth. If he has to look at you for an hour or two, I think he’ll get the message.”

Teal’c gave the general a slight bow of his head and turned to go into the interrogation room. He shut the door behind him. Hammond nodded to the guards, “No one and I mean no one is to go in there other than Teal’c and myself.” With that he stalked down the corridor and to the elevator. He was going to his quarters for the rest of the night, he hoped!

Pete looked up as Teal’c entered the room. Shock was evident on his face. He was sure that General Hammond was going to let him go. Had he misread the man so much? “Who are you? You come to escort me off this base?” Pete asked the big man. He glanced at his tattoo. It was interesting. He had never seen a raised tattoo before. Must be something new. It looked like real gold too.

Teal’c didn’t answer, only gave Pete a hard look. He sat on the opposite side of the table and stared at Pete. Pete was getting nervous again. He’d been so sure that the General believed him, but now…. Well….he wasn’t so sure. Damn Mark Carter. Why had he ever tried to fix him up with his sister? He had to know what she did was classified even if he didn’t know all the details of her job. Mark should have warned him.

Teal’c continued to stare.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Jack broke the kiss and moved so he could see Sam’s eyes. “We should eat something. I know you’re hungry. And we should get some rest. We can stretch out on the cot together.”

“You sure? Together?” She asked. “I’m not too sure I can keep my hands off you.” She giggled softly.

“Well, if you kept giggling, I may not be that sure,” he grinned at her. “But we’re on base and I know you pretty well. I don’t think you’ll let me get by with too much here.” He helped her move from his lap and then she reached for his hands to help him up. Still holding hands both stood still and looked into the other’s eyes. “I love you.” Jack whispered.

“I love you too.” Sam answered. This was such a new experience for them that each time he said it she felt like it was the first time. He kissed her once more but broke the kiss before it became too heated. Their lips parted slowly and their eyes locked again. Jack could see desire in her eyes and he knew he hadn’t been able to hide his feelings either.

Trying to lighten the moment he added, “Truth is I’m not a spring chicken, and I’m too tired anyway. I think you’re safe here. Will you stay with me?” Jack asked. He didn’t want her to leave, but he wouldn’t stop her.

“Yeah, I will, but I don’t buy it for a minute.” She said sliding her fingers up his arms. They sat in the chairs by the small table and Sam handed him a sandwich, a drink and a piece of chocolate cake wrapped in clear plastic.

“I’m almost too tired to eat. It’s been a long day.” Jack said as he opened the wrap on his sandwich and took a bite. He popped the tab on both their canned drinks and they ate in silence.

Jack reached for the cake and unwrapped the plastic covering. Sam smiled. She couldn’t remember Jack turning down cake too often. It had to be his favorite, although he loved pie as well. He took several big bites and then noticed she wasn’t eating hers.

“You want a piece of mine?” He asked slowly passing the caked filled fork under her nose. His eyes twinkled. She opened her mouth and groaned as she ate the cake. The sound she made caused his temperature to go up a notch and she smiled, enjoying the effect she had on him.

“Sam, Sam,” he grinned slowly shaking his head eyes twinkling, “you shouldn’t do that to old man!”

“Ah. But you’re not old. We’ve had that conversation already. Right?” She gave him a heated look.

“If you keep looking at me like that I might have to reconsider the old thing.” He leaned across the small table and licked the chocolate from her lips and then kissed her. Pushing back from her he shook his head.

“That was not a good idea!” He smiled and took her hand. He ate the rest of his cake by sharing it bite for bite with her. When they had finished and put the trash away, she moved to the small restroom to wash up for the night. Then he took his turn.

She was sitting on the side of the cot her boots on the floor beside the bed; she had pulled the blanket down and was waiting. He sat on the same side and pulled off his boots.

“You think I should wash my feet?” Jack teased.

“I may change my mind about staying here if you don’t put that sock down,” Sam giggled as she moved away from him. He grabbed her and pulled her down on the sheet and they lay together, both keeping their BDU’s on. Jack reached for the lamp switch and turned it off. He kissed her soft lips once more and then spooned behind her. This was perfect. He hoped nothing would damage what they had. Seemed he’d wished that a lot sense last night.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Pete had lost his patience. He was tired and angry. It had been at least two hours since the general had left. They had no right to keep him here, especially all night in this room with not only guards on the outside, but this strange looking soldier in the room with him. The man just kept staring at him. It had unnerved the hell out of him.

He had tried time and again to get the guard to talk, but he was even more closed off than the other two. It was beyond Pete why anyone would want to be in the military, but as a guard? That was even more unimaginable. He finally gave up and laid his head back over his folded arms on the table. He’d try and get a few winks. It helped just to shut the sight of this man out of his vision. Maybe he could forget he was there.

Teal’c smiled slightly. It was good to see this man, who had caused his friends trouble, so unnerved. He was glad O’Neill had told him what happened. It made this particular job fun.

0o0o0o0o0oo0

The President turned off the lights in his office as he left for the day, or rather make that night. It had been a long day and night. The meeting with Kinsey had gone just as he had thought it would. Bad. It never failed to amaze him that this jerk had been elected to office by the people. It was proof positive that Kinsey could disguise his true self well.

He hated that his last term in office was nearing an end, because with the power that Kinsey had he wasn’t so sure that the jerk wouldn’t be the next President. That would be terrible for the whole country. But, he knew that Kinsey would destroy the Stargate Program and most likely lose all their off-world allies in the first two months.

He had to get some people in place before he left office to keep a check on him, people with power to match Kinsey’s. He also needed to think of starting a new oversight committee to oversee the SGC. Maybe that would help keep Kinsey from getting complete control over it.

With the secrecy involved with the program, it would make it easy for a snake like Kinsey to ramrod his way into control. And he knew that Kinsey had designs on the SGC for his own purposes. He’d said it was to protect the planet from alien invasion. Please!

He knew Kinsey much better than that. Kinsey wanted alien technology no matter the cost and he had never been happy with the way Hammond ran the SGC. Hammond was too humanitarian for Kinsey’s selfish wants. And then there was O’Neill, an ex-black ops soldier that had broken every rule and regulation in the books. But was one of the best officers he had ever had the pleasure to know. He knew that O’Neill had put his life on the line for his country so many times over his long military career and that he’d do whatever it took to get the job done. But he also knew that Kinsey hated O’Neill with a passion.

But at least with the report from his staff that they had drawn the same conclusion from their interrogation of Farrity that George had from his interrogation of Shanahan, he felt better knowing that Kinsey had no part in the search of the SGC officers’ files. Kinsey had also let a couple of things slip that gave away truth, he’d only found out after it happened.

Although now he knew Kinsey would continue digging until he found something. He would have to tell George to keep a close reign on his officers and to keep an eye on that detective. He’d never put anything passed Kinsey, even kidnapping if it served his purpose.

TBC

0o0oo0o0o0o0o0

Jack tried to turn over but something held him in place. He realized there was no room and opened his eyes to a fluff of blonde hair. His heart swelled. He edged closer to her and tightened his arms around her. She was beginning to wake and tried to turn in his arms. He allowed her enough room to turn to face him. The smile on her face was bright enough to make up for the windowless room of his base quarters.

Jack’s heart jumped into his throat and he couldn’t say anything. Their eyes locked in a thrilling exchange of silent conversation that spoke only of the love between them. Sam moved closer and kissed him briefly.

“Need to get up,” was all Sam could vocalize. “Be right back.”

Jack watched as she got up and moved to the restroom. He lay back in the small cot taking up most of the space and rested his head on his arms. A grin stretched across his face and his eyes twinkled. Holy Hannah, how he loved that woman!

His cell phone beside his bed chimed the Simpson’s theme, picking it up and flipping it open he answered, “O’Neill.”

“I need to see you and Major Carter at 700 hours.” Hammond was brief and to the point. It seemed to Jack that he could hear the fatigue in his voice. He wondered just how much sleep the older man had been able to get in the last two day.

“Yes Sir. 700 hours, I’ll inform Major Carter.”

“Good.” Hammond put the phone down and eased into his chair in his office. “Walter,” he called over his intercom, “Will you get Teal’c and I need coffee and one of those cinnamon things from the mess hall as soon as possible. Bring the same for Teal’c.”

“Yes Sir, I’ll go now.” Walter pushed the intercom off and left. He first went to look for Teal’c.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Pete woke with a bad cramp in his neck from sleeping in the chair with his head leaning on the table. But at least he was alone in the room. He didn’t know when the bad looking soldier had left, but he knew it was a long time ago. He had already woke once and realized he was alone in the room. He wondered how long they planned to hold him.

He looked at his watch. It was 5:30 AM. Crap! He needed the rest room and a strong cup of black coffee. He wondered if it was worth asking the guards. He stood, stretching out his cramped muscles and walked to the back of the room. He had already found the small room with a sink and a toilet.

0o0o0o0oo0o

Sam stood in the door of the small restroom watching Jack. He was still lying on the cot smiling up at the ceiling. She felt a wave of joy run through her body. She walked slowly back to the cot and sat down by him. He opened his eyes and looked at her a smile still on his face. Sam leaned in and lightly kissed his lips then snuggled her head into his neck.

“I like waking up beside you.” All their feelings and emotions were raw and on edge. It had been so long since either of them had been in an intimate relationship that they felt like giddy inexperienced teenagers.

“Emmm. Me too. This makes two days in a row.” He held her tightly for a few more minutes. “Hammond wants to see us at 700 hours. Didn’t say anything else.” He added before she had time to ask.

“We need to get moving. I’m starving,” she said as she pulled away from his body and sat up straight. “You want to go to the mess hall with me?” She asked gently rubbing her fingers up his arm.

“You betcha,” Jack answered sitting up and pulling her to his lips. “Let me… just wait… need to pee.” He grinned. “Be out in a minute.” He kissed her once more before they both got up.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Teal’c was standing in the serving line when Jack and Sam walked into the mess hall. Jack waved and they walk over and stood in line behind him. “Hi T. How’s things?” Jack asked. Teal’c nodded his head and Jack noticed his lips move up just slightly into an ‘almost’ smile.

“Major Carter, O’Neill.” Teal’c bowed his head in response to Jack’s greeting.

“Hey, Teal’c.” Sam added, “You look tired. Everything okay?”

“Just ‘peachy’ Major Carter,” he replied, nodding his head to her. Jack grinned and Sam giggled.

“The colonel rubbing off on you too, huh? You want to join us for breakfast?” She asked.

“Indeed.” Teal’c answered just as Walter came through the door and spotted them at the serving line.

“Teal’c, General Hammond needs to see you as soon as possible,” Walter informed him.

“T? What’s up? You beatin' up the new kids in the gym again?” O’Neill asked jokingly.

“I have not, O’Neill. I do not know ‘what’s up.’ I’ll see you both later.” Teal’c answered grabbing a bowl grapes and a banana.

“It’s okay, Teal’c. I’ll get that. Go…. Go find out what Hammond wants.” Jack offered. Teal’c bowed his head again and left.

“He really does look tired.” Sam added as she watched him walk away. She turned to Jack and noticed the twinkle in his eye. Suddenly she realized, “You told him!”

Jack swallowed a frown and his eyes grew large. ‘I… I… did…. I didn’t mean too. It just came out! How did you know that? Are you mad?”

“No. I’m just surprised that you told him, really. You! Talking about something personal? You and Teal’c?” She was looking at him with a strange expression. Jack said nothing only watched her. “I guess now is a good time to tell you… I told Daniel too.” She added as his expression changed from fear to horror.

“You didn’t! Daniel? Carter! You know he’s gonna tell Janet and first thing you know everyone on base will know!”

“Keep your voice down or we won’t have to worry about Daniel and Janet.” She glared at him. “You know neither of them would never do anything to hurt us. They won’t say anything. Will they?” There was doubt in her eyes as well as his.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Senator Kinsey sat in his office waiting for his assistant to get the private detective that he used on occasion on the phone. This PI was good at getting the job done and the Senator never bothered to ask how. All he knew was that in all the years he’d used Ben Keen he had always gotten what he paid for and he paid a lot. Now it would be worth any price Keen asked to find out what O’Neill and Carter were hiding. Kinsey knew that there had to be something really bad for the FBI to run those searches. He wasn’t the military brass’s fool. No, he was much smarter that any of those order following robots.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Teal’c made his way to the general’s office. He’d eaten all of the grapes and had peeled the banana and was eating it as he walked down the last corridor to Hammond’s office. He was tired; he hated this feeling of weakness that now invaded his body when his required rest. Even after all this time without his symbiote he still was not used to the changes in his body. As soon as he was finished with this meeting he planned to go back to his room and get a couple more hours of sleep, or so he hoped.

The cost of freedom from slavery from the Goa’uld came with many costs. For the big Jaffa learning to live without the enhanced healing power and strength that his symbiote gave him had been surprisingly hard. But it gave Teal’c much more understanding of his human peers. He had also come to realize that freedom itself was enough to fuel one’s fight against oppression and injustice.

Being able to fight freely for his principles gave him energy from somewhere deep within, a place he’d never known existed without the power of his mediation and symbiote. It somehow made his body’s weakness in his current state seem like an honor achieved through much sacrifice. And what sacrifices this man had made to help free his people.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Daniel stumbled almost blindly into the mess hall. He was studying the writings on one of the stone tables SG-12 had brought back for Px1-951. He looked up just as Jack called to him.

He walked to the table where Sam and Jack were finishing their breakfast. “Whatcha got there, Daniel?” Jack asked noticing that Daniel’s eyes were shining as bright as a child’s playing with a new Christmas toy.

“I don’t know yet, but it’s not like anything I’ve seen before. Seems to be similar to Celtic.” Daniel stated smiling at Jack. Daniel didn’t miss the contented look on Jack’s face. He smiled at his friend and spoke in a low tone and voice where no one else could hear, “I’m happy for you both.”

Jack glared at him, “Daniel we’re in the mess hall. Let’s not talk about that here.”

“Not talking, Jack. Just congratulating you and Sam. ‘Bout time!” He smiled at Sam then.

“Daniel, we’d like to keep it down for a while. Give Hammond time.” Jack commented, but Daniel couldn’t help but see the difference in Jack. He actually looked happy, really happy.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

“Daniel! Are you telling me the truth? Why didn’t Sam tell me?” Janet exclaimed, excitement spilling out of her. “Where is Sam, I have to talk to her!”

“NO! Janet. No. You can’t. I’m not supposed to tell you! You have to wait for Sam to tell you.” Daniel begged as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her office.

“What? You’re kidding right? I’m supposed to just play dumb until they decide to make it public? Not on your life Daniel Jackson. Sam’s my best friend and I want to talk to her. I want her to know how happy I am for her.” Janet’s eyes were big and bright.

”Uh… Have you told her about us?” Daniel asked softly. He wasn’t sure if she had but he couldn’t believe that if Sam knew she would have said something to him by now.

Janet stopped still and locked eyes with Daniel. “No. No, I haven’t.” She realized what Daniel was getting at. “I didn’t tell her yet because I didn’t want it to get all over the base. Daniel you know how this base is about gossip.”

“Yes, I do. I think that’s why you shouldn’t say anything to her. They are trying to work things out with General Hammond, but Jack’s still her CO. Janet you know what could happen if the wrong people find out.”

She looked up at Daniel, “Hammond knows?”

“Yes.”

“You’re right I won’t say anything yet. It’s just that I know how long they’ve care for each other. Daniel, I’m just happy for them.” Tears of joy filled her eyes.

“I know.” Daniel wrapped her in his arms and smiled into her hair. Daniel knew how happiness felt with this sweet, compassionate, spit fire of a tiny woman in his arms. Yeah, he knew. He was happy that Jack and Sam had finally found this together. “Me too.”

0o0o0o0o0o

“Teal’c knocked on the door and heard General Hammond call him, “Come.”

“General Hammond, Sgt. Harriman has informed me of your request for my presence.”

Teal’c expression of the English language always made the general smile. It was so formal, and since George was Texan born and raised his own speech patterns often contained several Texan and sometimes southern slang, never mind his accent.

“I did, Son. Have a seat.” George waited for Teal’c to sit, “Walter brought us some coffee and cinnamon buns. Help yourself.” Teal’c reached for the cinnamon rolls. He’d found that he enjoyed the fruit and sweets of the Tau’ri much. They were different from his world’s confections and fruits and were so much more plentiful. Even after being on Earth for most of seven years it still thrilled him to be able to eat as much of them as possible.

“I do not wish to drink the coffee, General Hammond. It does not appeal to me.” Teal’c answered. General Hammond handed Teal’c a glass of water he’d poured in anticipation of his comment. He knew Teal’c didn’t drink coffee, but he knew that SG1 had a way of convincing Teal’c into trying things they all liked and coffee kind of grew on a person’s tastes. No matter George would drink it. He felt he’d need more than one cup during the next few hours anyway.

“Teal’c, how’d it go? Shanahan talk any more or say anything that we should check into?” The general asked.

“No he did not. He said nothing of importance, but I did not question him. It was my understanding that you did not wish me to do so, only that I needed to make him see that there could be consequences of his actions.” The General snickered at that comment. Having to sit in a room with a silent Teal’c half the night should make the rest easy.

“That’s right, Son. Just wondered if your silent stare had broken him.” George chuckled, “It would most folks.”

“I do not think there is anything to break Detective Shanahan from, General Hammond. I think he has told you the truth and he is just in awe of Major Carter’s beauty. He wanted to know about her. He seems to be a simply man. Major Carter has had that affect on many others since I have known her.”

General Hammond smiled at that. She sure had, especially one Colonel Jack O’Neill. Truthfully who wouldn’t notice sure a beautiful and talented woman?

“Teal’c, you have any suggestions as to what we should do next? I don’t want Shanahan hurt, but I don’t trust Kinsey’s people either. If we let him out whose to stop them from taking him and if that happens we don’t know what will come of all this. Kinsey has ways of making things exist that don’t. I don’t like the odds right now. But I don’t have any grounds to hold him. I’m at a loss right now.” George finished.

“I understand General Hammond. I offer my services. I will be honored to track him for you if you find it warranted.”

“I thought as much. How’s the driving coming? You had time to practice much?” George knew that Teal’c would need a car if he was to tail Shanahan. Maybe he’d assign his best SF as his driver; one he knew had driving skills and had been in Special Forces. They’d need such skills to keep up with a trained police officer.

“I have not. I do well with the controls of your Tau’ri driving machines, but I would prefer an assistant. I am only familiar with the areas of Colorado Springs that my friends reside.”

TBC

0o0o0o0o0o0o

0o0o0o0o0o

General Hammond spoke to the guards in front of the room where Pete Shanahan was being held. He opened the door and took a few steps into the room. Pete had finished eating the breakfast provided and was holding his coffee cup. As soon as the general entered the room the detective stood.

“General, I think you need to let me go. You don’t have any right to hold me here. I’m a police officer I know my rights.”

“Now you just hold on Shanahan. I can hold you here as long as it takes for me to determine if you’re a security risk. Not a thing you can do about it. But actually I’m here to let you go and I have a few things to say first. Sit down.” Hammond commanded.

“It seems your little jog into my officer’s military files has alerted a power hungry senator. One you don’t want to get tangled up with. He’s dangerous and desperately wants to control this facility. I can’t tell you anything about this facility because it’s all classified. But Senator Kinsey knows.

Now you listen, Shanahan and you listen well. He’s dangerous. I don’t really know what lengths he’d go to gain control of this facility. He’s been after it for years. If he thinks he can use anything at all about any one of my officers, especially the team that Major Carter belongs, to get what he wants I dare say he’d stop at nothing to get it. You need to watch your back. It won’t be us coming after you, but I can almost promise the senator will send his goons. He wants information. He’ll use you to get it. You should memorize those numbers I gave you. You’ll probably need them.”

Pete stared at Hammond. He instinctively knew this was a man he could trust even though he knew he was royally pissed at him. He couldn’t blame the general. He had stumbled into a classified military situation and had caused trouble he’d never meant to by getting the FBI involved in his personal affairs. Now, he was sure the general was holding back parts of the truth he’d probably need to know, but he did get the gravity of this situation.

“I’ve already memorized them. General? This senator, what would he want with me? I don’t know anything about this facility. Hell, I don’t know anything about Sam. I can’t tell him anything.” Pete queried.

“And that is the danger for you Shanahan. Watch your back. Keep your eyes open. Tell your partner and make sure he knows where you are at all times. Give him my numbers. If I can protect you I will.” The general’s eyes had turned that stony crystal blue that indicated he was serious or mad. “Problem is; I don’t know all his angles or his contacts.”

General Hammond’s gut burned the way it did when he was certain that something was about to happen. He’d relied on this feeling so many times in his life and it always proved true. It had saved his life more than once or caused him to stop trouble in the middle of bad situations. Trouble was this time he didn’t have control of this situation.

“I’m assigning two of my best people to keep a watch on you for a couple of days. Don’t try to lose them. They just might be around to save you life.”

“General, are you saying this senator would have me killed for information I don’t have?” Shanahan’s eyes were bright and large.

“I wouldn’t put anything past Kinsey, son. He’s a dangerous--out of control man. He won’t believe you didn’t know what you were doing. Neither you nor the FBI agent is safe. His superiors are taking care of him.” General Hammond stood up to leave and stopped long enough to look at Pete.

“Look, Shanahan. I believe you. I’m certain you didn’t mean any harm by searching my people’s files, but Kinsey won’t. I’ll tell the guards to let you go as soon as Teal’c gets back up to escort you out of the facility.”

“Sir?” Hammond turned around and looked at Pete. “Thanks and Sir, Teal’c, is he the guard you had posted here with me last night?”

General Hammond smiled. “Yeah, that would be Teal’c.” Pete felt a little better knowing that the strange soldier would be watching out for him.

0o0o0o0o0o

“You okay?” Jack asked as they walked down the corridor toward Hammond’s office. “We need some time alone,” he whispered moving a little closer to her but not touching her.

“Yes, we do. Maybe after we meet with General Hammond, we can get out of here for a while?” Her eyes twinkled as they looked at each other. Jack’ face immediately turned into a smug grin.

“I can’t think of nothin’ I’d like better, Carter.” He gently bumped into her side then back away fast. He knew he couldn’t touch her here or he’d never be able to control his actions. It was hard enough just walking this close to her and being able to smell her perfumed scent.

“Then it’s a date? Soon as we’re dismissed. My house?”

“Yeahsureyabetcha! You know, Carter, it just may be time to go fishing.” Jack whispered winking at her just as they stood in front of the general’s office.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Teal’c and Sgt. Green had just left the motor pool after selecting the vehicle they would use to follow Shanahan. “Sgt. Green, General Hammond has requested that we have everything ready by 900 hours,” Teal’c spoke in his baritone voice.

“It’ll all be ready, Sir. General Hammond gave me his orders before we left to come here. As soon as I have everything in place, I’ll have you paged.” Sgt. Green informed.

“Indeed.” Teal’c bowed his head in a slight nod and left the sergeant to his assigned tasks. Leaving the elevator he walked toward General Hammond’s office.

Jack knocked on the door of Hammond’s office and waited for him to answer. They waited a couple of minutes and Jack turned to Sam, “Don’t think he’s here yet. Let’s wait in the conference room. Jack placed his hand behind the small of her back to guide her. It was the one small touch that he’d allowed himself since early morning. Sam signed at the pressure from his hand, but said nothing. She longed to be alone with him and her plans were to do just that as soon as the general dismissed them from this meeting.

They took their usual seats and waited for the general. Teal’c entered the room and sat down in his usual chair. “O’Neill, Major Carter,” he bowed his head as he greeted them.

“Hi, Teal’c.” Sam greeted Teal’c.

“Teal’c.” Jack replied in response with a slight nod of his head. “Hammond called you too?”

“Indeed.”

“What about Daniel? He wasn’t invited to this shindig?” Jack asked just as Daniel walked into the room.

“You guys not meeting without me? Are you?” He teased Jack.

“Don’t look like it. Hammond just asked me to bring Carter. I didn’t know he’d invited you guys too.” Jack wasn’t sure what this was about. ‘Did Hammond tell his team about him and Sam?’ He wondered. He wasn’t too happy to discuss his new feelings for Sam with the whole group either. Good thing they had already told them both, maybe it would cut down on the personal talk.

General Hammond entered the room and Jack and Sam both stood. Sam was a little nervous, she had no idea what the general had on his mind.

“General.” Jack greeted him as did Sam with a, “Sir.”

“At ease. We have a situation on our hands and you all need to be made aware. Senator Kinsey has begun an investigation into these personal file searches. I’ve had Detective Shanahan detained here in a holding room all night mainly for his protection.”

“Here Sir, on base?” Jack asked. “And I didn’t know he was here?” Jack looked at his superior officer with is quirky grin.

“That’s right, Jack. I had no intention of you finding out. Right now I can handle what’s happened between the two of you,” he informed Jack, “So I didn’t need to add anything to it.” Hammond’s stoic gaze locked with Jack’s. Sam swallowed hard.

“The Joint Chiefs and the President have agreed to back any decision I make concerning you two. But I don’t want Kinsey or his goon involved. That will bring it out and I don’t want that. As you all are well aware, Kinsey has power and a strong backing. The President feels that the best way to handle this is as quietly as possible. I agree. But there’s Shanahan.” Hammond paused and it gave Jack enough time to ask his next question.

“What do you mean, General? What’s his involvement?”

“Nothing other than he is truly infatuated with Major Carter and has stepped on toes he shouldn’t have.” Hammond answered. Sam blushed and looked at Jack. He quickly looked away.

“Ya think?” Jack said softly looking at his hands. His thoughts were if only he could get his hands around his neck!

“Jack, Shanahan could be in danger. Kinsey’s out for blood and we both know he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. And he wants the SGC and us out. If he thinks Shanahan knows something then he’ll want the information. Right now my source tells me that he thinks you two are doing something that he can use for just that purpose.”

Hammond focused on Jack. “He has no idea, yet, of the truth. He’s only speculating. So I’m asking the two of you to put off any plans you may have made until this is cleared up. Then we’ll set up something that will benefit your plans as best as we can. The Joint Chiefs and the President all agree that the SGC can not lose either of you.” Hammond stopped and smiled at his premiere team. He truly was happy for his officers.

Jack looked unhappy. “Right. Put it off.” He looked at Sam and she nodded her head sideways as she did when she really had no answer. “You know how long we’ve put this off, Sir?” Jack asked.

“I do, son. Probably known longer than you have.”

Jack looked up sharply at Hammond. “So I’m asking you to wait a few more days, maybe a couple of weeks until Kinsey settles down. I’m sure once he realizes there’s nothing to find out, he’ll back down.” Hammond’s blue eyes were like lasers targeted onto Jack’s. “Then you’ll have my blessing.”

“Of course, Sir.” Sam answered before Jack could say anything else. “We’ll respect your orders and do what you ask. But I don’t understand about Pete. What could Kinsey possible to do him? Is he in danger? I’m sure he really didn’t mean to start anything like this, he’s really a nice enough guy.”

“I agree, Major. And as for danger, I’d say Kinsey could do anything. That’s why I’ve asked Teal’c and Sgt. Green to keep a close watch on him for the next few days. I don’t want Kinsey to get him.” Hammond answered.

“Nice guy my a..” Jack started but Hammond interrupted.

“Colonel, that’s enough. Now, Teal’c you and Green can get things ready and I’ll ask you to escort him out of the base as soon as you have everything in place. The rest of you are on down time, but Colonel, Major, stay away from each other off base until this is resolved. That’s an order. Dismissed.” Hammond couldn’t bring himself to look at Jack this time.

Hammond stood. Both Sam and Jack chimed, “Yes Sir,” as they stood. Teal’c left the briefing room and Hammond went to his office. Jack was not a happy camper and Sam looked at him sadly.

“It’ll be okay, sir. At least now we know we don’t have long to wait.” Sam reasoned.

“A hell of a lot longer than I’d planned.” The sharpness in Jack’s voice made both Sam and Daniel look at him. “I’m sorry. I’m just disappointed.” His eyes held Sam’s with such love that she had to look away.

“Me too.”

“What now?” Daniel asked.

“We wait.” Jack answered.

“Well, I’m back to the translation on the tablet I was working on. It’s really fascinating.” Daniel added.

“No doubt, Danny boy, no doubt.” Jack teased as they all left the briefing room together.

Four days later Teal’c and Sgt. Green were still tailing Pete on every case he pulled. There had been nothing to cause them worry so far. Everything seemed like normal everyday police work. It seemed that Kinsey had given up his investigation. The President’s staff had not been able to find anything that indicated he was still working it.

General Hammond was not convinced. He’d never trusted men like Kinsey; he knew what they were capable of. And Kinsey, being one of the worst, was in bed with the part of the NID that wasn’t exactly working above board. In fact they had strayed so far off the legal paths of the agency that they operated as a completely separate entity but used the real NID as a cover.

Hammond had hard evidence which Jack and Harry Maybourne obtained from Kinsey’s own home computer when Kinsey tried to blackmail him to get him out of the SGC. Hammond had it hidden away just waiting for the right person to trust with the damning information or to keep as a defense against Kinsey’s dirty hands getting control of the SGC.

Pete and his partner Jim were tracking down informants to aid in their apprehension of a prominent city leader suspected as top level involvement in drug dealing in the metro area of Denver.

It was a good thing that General Hammond had assigned Teal’c this particular SF, Sgt. Green, since he was not only ex-black ops but also from Denver. Teal’c had informed General Hammond that he was only familiar with the areas his friends resided in Colorado Springs. Teal’c hadn’t known that Pete worked in Denver or that they would be following him through every back street in the worst sections of Denver, a city that he’d not driven in before.

Green and Teal’c had worked well together from the get go. Green reminded Teal’c of a young O’Neill. He was sharp and didn’t miss a thing when they were trailing the detectives. He had eagle eyes and seemed to memorize his surroundings. Teal’c had been impressed with him when he’d first meet him, but now he was sure he was a great warrior in the same class as O’Neill. He was tough and strong; a big muscular guy of at least six feet three inches, as tall as Teal’c.

They were parked down the street from an abandoned building waiting for the detectives to talk to one of their informants. The building was ratty and falling down in places. No one else was on the street, but for some reason both Teal’c and Green had an uneasy feeling about this place. They both were on alert with eyes scanning constantly, silently searching out any possible threat.

Pete’s informant called earlier stating that he had hard information on an influential drug lord that they could use to lead them to a possible arrest and a break in a large drug ring. But he insisted that Pete and Jim meet him here where there was no possibility for anyone to see them together. Teal’c and Sgt. Green had followed them at a distance so that no one was aware of their presence but the detectives.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sam sat on the stool at her work bench. Jack was seated on the other side watching her, his fingers tapping constantly. She was busy but she was still well aware of his presence and he was getting on her nerves. It was hard for her to be in the same room and not be able to touch him.

They had decided to stay on base since the general’s demand that they wait to see each other even though they were on down time. Jack also felt that Sam would be safe here. Teal’c was out trailing the detectives and Daniel was still working on translating his beloved tablet found on Px1-951 a few days ago.

“Sir! Please stop tapping,” Sam snapped. She was trying to concentrate but it was impossible, with him so near and his constant fidgeting she couldn’t keep her mind on her work.

”Carter?” He questioned with one eye quirked Teal’c like and a puzzled look on his face. He watched her expression change as he called her name.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that I want…”

“I know.” He interrupted. “So do I, Carter, so do I.” He smiled at her and her face light up enough to make him have to shift in his seat. “Don’t look at me that way, Carter.”

“What way, sir?” She smirked at him.

Jack moved from the stool and stood behind her placing his hands on her shoulders. The camera was on but it didn’t pick up sound. He didn’t allow his fingers to linger on her. “You know what way, Sam.” He whispered. “It’s been too long since I had you alone. I can’t be responsible. Want you too much.” He moved back to the other side of the table and waited for her response his eyes never leaving her face.

Sam’s face was flushed and she didn’t seem to be able to find her voice, her head was down and her eyes closed. “I want you too, Jack.” She whispered. “But we promised General Hammond.” She said raising her head; eyes filled with desire looked into his.

Jack’s breathing became hard almost as if he was having trouble taking in air. Fire lit his eyes and he had to look away from her. “Damn it!” He exclaimed as he walked around her lab.

Sam took in a deep breath and spoke softly just above a whisper. “Jack, there’s a large storage closet on level 11 that no one uses.” She waited for his reply she could feel the wheels turning in his mind as he processed what she just said.

“Storage closet? That’s the level between NORAD and the SGC isn’t it? Nothing on that level but the SGC check in station.” His face was shining with anticipation as he waited for her to answer. This had to be all her idea. He would never push her into anything anywhere but especially on base. No matter how much he wanted just to kiss her.

“It is. There’s no camera close to that closet. Not much traffic on that level.” She said looking directly into his eyes. Jack knew he either had to leave her or take her somewhere he could touch her, because after four days he’d reached his limit without her in his arms. He couldn’t believe how hard it had become to keep his hands off her when he’d spent the last seven years doing just that.

But having tasted her sweetness and held her so intimately gave him such a strong longing to do it again and again. Only they’d both told Hammond they would hold off until this situation was cleared. He just hadn’t known that obeying that command was to prove impossible. Neither had Sam. But there was no danger of Kinsey’s detectives knowing anything about them on base anyway. And even if they had spies at the SGC, they wouldn’t be looking on level 11. As usual Sam was a genius.

“You've been thinking about this?” He asked softly, but she didn’t answer. She never even looked at him again. She had thought about this so much that she’d searched out the least used part of the base. She felt confident that no one would be on that floor but them.

“In half an hour?” He asked as he walked toward the door but he never looked back. He would force her to answer with actions because he couldn’t trust himself if she said no. She wouldn’t would she? After all she suggested it.

Sam said nothing. Jack left going immediately to level 11. He could wait all day if necessary.

0o0o0o0o0o

Hammond was on the red phone listening with a hard look on his face. After what felt like an hour but in reality had only been a few minutes he asked, “You think he’ll have this detective following them? All of them, Shanahan too?”

“George, you know as well as I do that Kinsey is a snake. Of course he will. This PI, this Ben Keen, has been brought in for questioning on more than one illegal job. He has a large staff on his payroll. Not all of them with clean records either. But what Kinsey doesn’t know is that we’re on to him. And George you have no idea how we found out.”

“That’s a fact, Mr. President. I don’t.”

“Good, don’t ask. But I’m thinking the PI will make a move soon. You keep O’Neill and Carter on base, that’s two less my people have to worry about and with Teal’c and Green and my people in place, we’ll nail Keen. I just pray there’s enough to catch Kinsey in his own trap. But I’ve had so much on him before and he always seems to slip right through the net. But he’ll stop this bull crap if his PI gets caught. One thing he’s not is stupid, an arrogant, conniving, and a self righteous, pompous ass, yes.”

0o0o0o0o0o

Jack got off the elevator at level 12 and used the back stairs to take him to level 11. This set of stairs stopped on level 11 for security reasons. The stairs leading to the top levels were stationed next to the elevators at the SGC check in. The check in was at the elevator down this corridor and around two twists of corridors so it was impossible for anyone to see him. He knew Sam would think of this if he did.

He hated having to sneak around with her. He really didn’t want it this way. But he had to hold her, kiss her, and be able to just show her he loved her. Their feelings for each other were still to new and raw. It was impossible for them to be together so much and not be able to touch the other in some way.

Jack straightened up the closet and cleaned it somewhat, at least the area he intended to use. There were several chairs in the closet and rows of standing shelves. He moved the chairs behind the shelves to make it hard to see the spot he’d picked out for them to sit.

There was a light and a fan installed in the ceiling, but he didn’t want to keep them on. There were no offices on this floor. It served more as a buffer between the SGC and NORAD and for storage. Unless someone was bringing something for storage, there shouldn’t be anyone in the hall.

Sam stopped by her quarters and picked up several things that she thought she’d need. She placed them in a box and labeled the box ‘Storage Level 11.”

Jack had been peaking out a crack in the door for hours it seemed. Although he knew it had only been five minutes. He couldn’t wait! Just to be able to kiss Sam! He heard her foot steps before he saw her so he glanced up the corridor so see if anyone was around.

Sam opened the door and set the box down. She’d made sure that no one saw her. She too had taken the stairs, but she exited the elevators on level 14 and walked the rest of the way up. She guessed that Jack would take 12 and she didn’t want to be seen by the cameras getting off on the same floor as him.

“I’m over here, gorgeous,” Jack whispered. He could see her faintly against the crack in the door. She closed the door and walked toward him still holding her box. She put it down and took out a small candle, light it and set it on the floor beside Jack.

“It’s just enough light to keep us for stumbling into something in here and making noise,” she said as she felt Jack’s hands travel over her tee-shirt covered back and up to her neck as he pulled her to his lips. Their kisses were long and hungry.

Jack kissed her lips and stroked his tongue in and out of her mouth until they were both panting, he trailed kisses up her jaw line and latched onto her sweet spot behind her ear, the one he’d found during their first love making session. Sam’s breath was hot and damp as it flowed over his neck. Her tongue leaped out to lick him each time she could reach a spot of skin, but he had her withering and moving her neck so that she had difficultly concentrating. Their anticipation felt as if it was their first time. Jack’s hands roamed her body. He’d pushed her tee and sports bra up gently caressing her smooth silky skin.

She wanted him so much. She didn’t need too much of this torture. She had been ready for him even before he touched her. She’d thought of nothing else since picking up the candles and other things from her quarters.

“Jack, I….” He kissed her again stopping her flow of words, “brought a….” Her tongue stroked into his mouth as his tongue left her mouth. He groaned deep within his chest and pulled her even tighter against the hardness of his body. She could feel him hot against her.

“……blanket… and….. ….pillow…” Her hands found his tee and pushed it up enough for her to feel his skin on hers. Sam moaned into his mouth and he crushed her lips with repeated hard demanding kisses.

Jack pulled away enough to see her face framed in the soft candle light. “God you’re so beautiful, Sam. How did I ever go so long without touching you? I must be some kind of fool!”

“Don’t say that. It’s just the way it is. It’s not anything we did or didn’t do. Let’s just enjoy what we have and not go dwelling on the past.” She begged with her eyes.

He reached for the blanket that Sam left on top of the box, spread it out on the floor and then threw the pillow on top. “Gonna be hard.” He whispered as he pulled her down on both knees and stripped her top and bra over her head.

“You promise.” Lights of laughter, love and desire filled her eyes even in the soft low candle light.

Jack grinned, “I meant the floor.” Reaching for her pants he unsnapped the buttons and slowly gently slipped them down her long legs. Sam shivered as his hands barely touched the silky skin of her thighs. He reached for her panties and with both thumbs slowly slipped them down. He gently pushed her back, untied her boots and pulled them and the rest of her clothing off her body.

Then he removed his own clothes so fast that Sam didn’t realize he had until she felt his naked body cover her, his lips capturing hers. He trailed hot kisses down her neck and over her collar bone then downward. Sam felt thrills of desire travel through her over and over with each kiss. “Jack,” she moaned.

He raised his head enough to see her faint reflection in the flickering candle light. “Shhh, baby. Remember where we are.”

“Then stop and just…” He moved up her body and swallowed her words with his mouth as he kissed her deeply and filled her body with his.

“Sam,” he groaned. “God, Sam. This feels so good, so right.” Jack locked eyes with her and before long they were both falling hard over the edge and clinging to the other’s damp body.

0o0o0o0o0o

The President’s staff had also sent a team to keep Shanahan on a short lease. Only Teal’c and Green were aware of their participation.

Pete and Jim got out of the patrol car and moved slowly with guns drawn toward the door of the building. Pete stopped on one side of the door and stood with his gun drawn pointing toward the unopened door as Jim kicked it open.

It was only a few minutes until Jim voiced loudly, “Clear.” He thought he saw movement and assumed it was Nick, their informant crunched down inside the building behind a large box. “Nick,” Jim called, “you can come out now.”

Pete walked into the building looking around for Nick, but Nick was no where to be seen. Someone hit Pete from behind and quickly strapped his hands and feet together. Jim had moved toward the back of the building still looking for Nick and was not aware that there was someone else in the building.

“Nick, where’re you hiding? Come out, damn it. We don’t have all day, man.” Jim’s voice was loud and echoed off the end of the large open warehouse. A sudden movement caught his attention and he stopped dead still, his gun raised and his eyes stalking out the shadows. “Pete?” He called, but Pete was out cold and now the man that hit him was slowly moving through the building advancing toward Jim.

“Pete? Where the hell are you?” There were only a few very small windows in the top of the walls of the warehouse and it was dark and filled with old crates and boxes that caused shadows and dark places all through the warehouse.

By now Jim was worried about Pete and he reasoned that Nick was no where to be found. But suddenly a movement to his right caught his attention and he found Nick, only he was tied and gagged. Jim could tell he was scared out of his mind. Nick kept moving his eyes toward the left wall trying to warn Jim, but it was too late. The blunt end of a pistol met with full force to the back of his head and he went out like a light.

The man made quick work of tying his hands and feet together and gagging his mouth too. Two others moved from behind the shadows and placed Pete, Jim and Nick in a row with their backs leaning against the boxes. Both Pete and Jim were still unconscious.

“What now, boss?” One of the men asked. He was a short, stocky, red faced man with red balding hair. The other two were much taller and well built. Neither of them weighed as much as the short guy and both were dark skinned and dark haired.

“Now we wait until they wake up and we get some answers,” replied the one that the red faced man called boss.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Teal’c had an uneasy feeling. Something told him that all was not right within the dilapidated warehouse. Pete and Jim had entered over thirty minutes ago. That seemed to be long enough to gather Intel from one willing to cooperate. He’d been able to obtain Intel from an enemy in less time.

“Sergeant, we are going in closer to the building. I do not think all is right,” he commented. “You should cover me.” He added as he moved from the car. They made their way up the street carefully staying close to buildings and ducking into doorways staying out of sight as much as possible.

The door of the warehouse was still standing open and Teal’c was able to hear voices from within. He stopped on one side of the door and Sgt. Green on the other. He quickly moved like a big cat around the door and stopped just inside the door with Green right behind him.

The building was dark enough that they were able to move in shadows and around the large boxes and weren’t detected by the thugs that were holding Pete, Jim and Nick. Teal’c motioned for Green to still. They stood watching, listening to the voices and waiting for a few minutes until they could assess the situation, waiting for the right moment to move in.

0o0o0o0o

Jack held Sam against his body, leg intertwined and her head rested on his chest. His chin was against her short blonde hair. The feeling of her skin against his would never get old. She had her eyes closed but he knew she wasn’t asleep. He gently stroked his fingers up and down her back. They were happy, sated and almost dozing but not quite.

“I love you,” he whispered against her blonde hair.

“Emm. I love you too,” she replied in a husky soft voice overflowing with love. It was cozy even if the floor was hard. The candle light flickered and reflected from the walls causing a glowing effect on Sam’s face. It was the most beautiful thing that Jack had ever seen. The golden light behind her made her appears angelic. Not that he didn’t think that already, but it seemed like a sign to Jack.

Jack raised his head, propped it on one hand and gently caressed the side of her face slipping the stray hair behind her ear. He looked deeply into her eyes, took her hand and laid it gently over his heart. “Feel that Sam? You’re here. You are the reason it beats. Without you I don’t know where I’d be.” Sam could feel his heart pounding wilding within his chest. Tears glistened in her eyes.

Then he spoke so softly she could barely hear words that her heart had longed to hear for seven years, “Sam, I just want you to know that whatever happens, whatever Hammond decides to do about us, that you’ll always be right here. I won’t give you up, no matter what.” He pressed her fingers tightly as her hand lay over his heart.

“I know, Jack,” she acknowledged with a soft sincere smile. “Don’t ever let me leave there.” She pressed her hand against his heart and then pulled away from his chest and placed both arms around his neck pulling him to her and kissed him passionately. Before Sam could get her breath she was pulled on top of Jack. Maybe they weren’t so sated after all. The room became warmer by the minute.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Teal’c signaled for Green to bring up the rear and they advanced as if they were cloaked, not a sound not even a creaking board. Green moved around toward the opposite side of Nick and the detectives. Neither of them had moved since being placed against the large crate.

Jim began to wake, quietly trying to move his body slightly so as not to catch their capturer’s attention. It only took a minute for Jim to discover that he was bound and gagged. He’d been in worse situations but it had been a long time. First thing he noticed was the three dangerous looking men each holding guns pointed at them. So much for stealth. Jim could see Teal’c from his vantage point but he knew that he was out of sight to the others. He felt somewhat better knowing that the two big soldiers were already in place to aid them.

Pete regained consciousness a few minutes after Jim. It seemed that this was what ‘Boss’ was waiting for. He allowed only a few seconds to pass before he kicked Pete’s foot to get his full attention.

“Detective Shanahan, you have some information my employer wants. You can either make this easy on yourself and your friends or you can make it hard. You choose,” Boss demanded holding a gun pointed to Nick’s head making his intentions plain.

Pete was still stunned from the skull crushing blow that had put him out for a full thirty minutes. He shook his head and opened his eyes wide trying to focus on the three men in front of him. He made no comment, but turned to his side to see both Jim and Nick bound hands and feet and gagged. He looked back at the thugs standing in front of him. He had seen Sgt. Green standing behind a large box only twenty to twenty five feet away. He reasoned that the big soldier called Teal’c was here too, he just didn’t see him.

The sniper unit sent in by the President had managed to make their way onto the roof of the dilapidated building and was moving stealthily into places they could get shots at the three gunmen holding the detectives at gun point. None of the snipers were in their vision line. Due to his exceptional hearing ability Teal’c was the only one aware of their presence. He waited until all of the sniper team was stationed above their heads with guns pointed at Keen’s men before he moved any closer.

“What were you looking for in the Air Force Officer’s file?” Boss demanded. But Pete still refused to answer.

“Well, Shanahan you gonna tell us or you gonna make my day?” Boss appeared to like his tough guy persona. He glared at Pete.

Pete glared back. “What? A Dirty Harry wanna be?” There was no doubt in Pete’s mind that the man was the same criminal element that would love to shoot him. No doubt at all. But he knew that Teal’c and Green were there and he guessed there was someone else in the rafters because he’d noticed Teal’c looking up.

“I got me a smart cop!” Boss said as he slapped Pete across the face.

Buy some time. Pete knew he needed to keep these thugs occupied until Teal’c and the others had time to get closer to them. But that didn’t make ‘Boss’ too happy. “Well?” He spoke in a loud and demanding voice, moving closer to Pete. But Pete didn’t answer only stared at him.

The short red-faced man moved as if he could read Boss’s mind and pointed his gun within two feet of Jim’s face. “What’s it gonna be?” Boss asked Pete as he pulled his hair back hitting him several times in the face causing blood to trickle down from his nose and lips.

Teal’c hoped that the snipers had enough time because he knew it was time to move. His booming voice rang out, “Cease! Drop your weapons.” Boss turned quickly on Teal’c and fired. Teal’c ducked and one of the snipers took a shot. The shot hit Boss and he went down. The red faced man screamed, “Get down.” He pushed himself behind Jim and pointed the gun at his head. “Back away or I shoot’m.”

Teal’c stood his ground pointing his gun directly at Red Face. “I do not think that would be a good idea. You will not leave this building alive.” Red Face caught a light reflection above Teal’c’s head. Looking up he could see the sniper in the rafter, then another and another. He realized he was caught. He turned to Jim and said, “I guess this is your lucky day.”

“Place the gun on the floor and get up,” Sgt. Green demanded as he moved closer to Red Face. Teal’c covered the other gunman. Green used the plastic hand ties he pulled from his vest pocket and bound both the gunman.

Teal’c moved in to cut the detective and Nick lose. “Shanahan, it seems you have been lucky. This could have ended very bad.”

“Yeah, thanks, Teal’c.” Pete was rubbing the feeling back into his arms and trying to stand. Teal’c cut Jim lose and then Nick. Nick ran from the building like a scolded dog. “Nick! Wait!” Pete screamed. But Nick never stopped.

Teal’c signaled for the snipers to let him go. He saw no need to hurt the informant and at this point the only way to stop him was to shoot him. Pete looked at Teal’c. “Was this a setup?”

“Indeed it was, but not by the SGC.” Teal’c answered. “You have been in grave danger PeteShanahan.”

“Who are they? Who sent them?” Pete asked.

“That I can not tell you.” Teal’c answered.

“Because you don’t know or because you won’t?” Pete asked but he already knew the answer. Teal’c made no comment.

“Well, what now? Is the Air Force going to follow us around forever?” Pete asked.

“Of that I am not aware. I have been following orders from General Hammond.” Teal’c replied.

“Well, I’m glad you were here. I don’t think this would have gone down so good.” Pete said looking at Teal’c. “But I really need to know what happens now….” There was real question in his voice and a bit of pleading too.

“Of that I am unsure. General Hammond will let you know as soon as I report to him.” Teal’c said as he signaled the snipers that all was well. He motioned for Sgt. Green to lead the gunman out to his SUV and called for an ambulance for Boss, but he knew it was too late for him.

“You can’t take them in custody. This is my jurisdiction.” Pete exclaimed as he realized that Teal’c was leading the other two gunmen to his van. “Wait!” But Teal’c never stopped or so much as looked back.

“General Hammond will be in touch soon.” With that he and Green loaded up the two gunmen and left the scene. Pete rubbed his head and watched as the snipers moved out of the building and into the allies. He wondered how they got there and if they arrived in vehicles. He had a gut feeling that this could have been bad. Real bad.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

“What you do to me, woman!” Jack exclaimed as he moved off Sam’s hot sexy body. He looked down at her and smiled. Electricity flared again and he lowered his lips to hers. He kissed her long and hard.

He moved his forehead to hers and drowned into her eyes. “I could stay right here in this closet for the rest of my life if you keep looking at me like that.” He groaned.

Sam giggled and gently pushed him over and leaned up on one arm looking at his handsome face. “Me too. But I think we’ll be missed if we don’t get back soon. We’ve been in here a long time.”

Jack looked at his watch. “Holy Hannah! Two hours! Wow. How time does fly when you’re having such fun!” Jack’s eyes twinkled. Sam kissed him once more then stood above him looking down at his gloriously naked body. It still mesmerized her to be able to stare at him in all his naked beauty. She had known just how gorgeous Jack was, but to be able to freely look and touch in all his secret places made him even more gorgeous. Desire filled her eyes as she stood so still.

“Sam, are we leaving or not?” Jack smirked at he watched her looking at him. She giggled but made no reply. “It’s up to you.” Jack continued. “As I said, I can stay here forever.” He smiled looking up her long legs his eyes locked on the apex of her thighs and his look changed from snugness to lust within two seconds. He moved to his knees and the look that traveled up her body was pure fire.

“Well?” He asked as he gently rubbed her feet and leg muscles sending another wave of desire up her body. He wrapped his arms around her legs as he kissed up her thighs toward…. Sam really didn’t understand how he could make her feel like this so easily. Her body had never betrayed her this way before. She had always been in control of her sex life, but with Jack she seemed to be someone else. His lips touching her caused the most wonderful lusty sound. It was such sweet music to Jack’s ears.

The next morning SG1 sat at the briefing table waiting for General Hammond. He was on the phone with the President. Jack kept watching Sam. They’d spent three hours yesterday in the storage closet on level 11 making each other very happy.

For her part Sam was trying not to look at Jack. She knew by the warmth of her cheeks and the heat pooling in her stomach that the looks passing between them would tell all. But she couldn’t help herself from stealing peaks but just as quickly she lowered her eyes. What she saw in Jack’s eyes was exactly what she was feeling.

Neither Daniel nor Teal’c missed the secret looks between their teammates. It came as no surprise to either of them. They both had known for a long time what Jack and Sam felt for each other. They also knew both Jack and Sam well enough that this new thing between them spoke silent volumes to all of SG1. Daniel was grinning and trying not to comment. Teal’c would occasionally look at Daniel with a raised eyebrow.

They all had been in the briefing room for over thirty minutes and Sam and Jack had reached their limits. Daniel was about to burst trying to stop his chuckles. He loved that they were finally together, but it was just too funny to watch them act like two hormone charged teenagers. “You guys need to get a room,” he whispered to Jack, his eyes twinkling.

“What?” Jack looked at him surprised by his statement. “What does that mean, Daniel?”

“Oh I think it was quite clear, Jack,” Daniel answered. Teal’c bowed his head as a very soft spoken, “Indeed,” accompanied his gracious head movement.

Sam was blushing to her hair roots, “Guys, please. Not here.”

“Sorry, Sam. It’s just that you two are just too cute.” Daniel smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

General Hammond entered the briefing room as Daniel finished that statement. He didn’t want to know the whole of that conversation so he chose to ignore it. Sam and Jack both stood as he entered. “At ease,” he said as he took his seat.

“As you all know we’ve had quite a mess with Shanahan’s snooping. I just learned from the President that these two we have here in holding are on the payroll of Ben Keen, a less than honorable PI. The President suspects he was hired by Kinsey. The finger prints identify these two. But we’ve not been able to get either of them to talk. So far no one has been able to locate Keen or tie him to Kinsey for certain.” Hammond paused and looked at his first line team.

He suspected that there was going to be changes coming down to break up SG1, and he hated even thinking about it because he had no idea what would happen if SG1 was separated. He’d stated his case to the President and the Joint Chiefs; but with the change in the Oval Office coming so soon, he had no idea what the President would do at this point. Hammond just prayed that the decision made now would be good for the SGC and SG1 and maybe by the time the new president was in place all this would be behind them.

“How about Shanahan and his partner?” Jack asked. He knew that they had been knocked around considerably but had not heard if they were seriously injured. Teal’c had filled him in on the details of the incident, but Teal’c had not known how badly they were hurt. He didn’t think it was anything serious.

“They’re both okay. Bruised. Their informant was beat up pretty badly. He’s in the hospital but he’ll be okay. He stated that he was jumped as soon as he entered the warehouse and when he woke up he was tied and gagged. He thought it was more than an hour before the detectives found him. He heard some of the talk between Keen’s men while he was playing sleep. He’s willing to testify to what he heard.” Hammond explained.

“That’s good. You think it’s enough?” Jack asked.

“We’ll have to wait and see. So far there’s nothing that Nick heard that could indicate Kinsey, but they did mention Keen. But I intend to have the two we’re holding questioned again before I turn them over to the Denver Police Department. Colonel, I think you and Teal’c can handle that. If the two of you can’t scare them enough to get anything from them this morning we’ll have to turn them over.”

“Kinsey’s too good at covering his tracks; he wouldn’t have talked to them. He probably only talked to Keen.” Daniel added. “I’m willing to bet Keen won’t say a word about Kinsey either.”

Hammond looked at Jack then at Sam. “Now as for the two of you.” He paused long enough to make them all nervous.

“Sir?” Jack looked square into his eyes waiting to see what would come next.

“I’ve had several conversations with the President and the Joint Chiefs. We’re all in agreement that we won’t lose either of you. Since you came to me as soon as you decided to be together, there won’t be anything put in your files nor will there be any kind of reprimand. The only thing we’re still discussing is if we can afford to let you stay on the same team. To be honest, Jack, Sam, I’m torn. I trust the two of you and I know you’ve done a lot of things to prove you can and do put your team and your country first. It’s just that this thing with Kinsey……, and now a new President will be on board soon.” He looked at Jack first then at Sam.

“I don’t want you to lose hope, but it may not be possible. Even if we decide to let SG1 stay together now, that could change after the new president takes over in January.” Hammond sat still with his hands folded and his bright blue eyes staring out into the room.

“I just hope there aren’t too many changes after January.” He finished with an absent minded tone.

“Well, with Kinsey as Vice President I guess we all know there will be changes. Let’s just hope this Hayes knows the real Kinsey.” Jack added.

“You know what Kinsey as Vice President will mean for all of us as well as the Stargate Program, Jack. It’s not a pretty thought.” Hammond answered.

“Won’t his connection to Keen and all this shadiness be brought out? Have some effect on him?” Sam queried.

“No, Major. I don’t think so. We don’t have any proof that he’s in bed with Keen. Even if the two down in holding talk, it’s more than probable that they won’t know a thing about Kinsey. They’re at the bottom of the food chain as far as Kinsey is concerned. Keen has already denied that they have worked for him in the last year.” Hammond answered Sam.

“General Hammond, are you saying that Kinsey will not be held accountable for his part in this matter?” Teal’c asked.

“He won’t, Teal’c. We just don’t have any proof that he’s involved. But rest assured that sooner or later he’ll get what’s coming to him. But until then, we have to be on our toes and stay alert. He’s a dangerous man and he’s been out to gain control of the SGC from the first time he was told about it.” Hammond answered.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

“Keen, you mean to tell me you hired idiots!” Kinsey screamed into the phone. He was using a cell phone that had minutes purchased and could not be traced. He planned to throw the phone away as soon as he finished with Keen. “No, YOU LISTEN. I don’t give a rat’s ass what they know or don’t know. I want them eliminated. Tonight…before eight o’clock. You hear me. I want this finished! Call me by nine on this phone. I don’t want even a slight possibility that they can be traced back to me. You got that.” Kinsey’s face was blood red. He was mad enough to have a heart attack, but there was no such luck that would happen.

He snapped the phone shut. Cursed out loud several times, then opened the phone and keyed in his next number. As soon as he heard the voice on the other end he said, “Ben Keen. You can find him at 111392 Oak Court Drive, Washington, DC. Tonight after midnight.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. He knew the person on the other end well enough to know tomorrow’s paper would headline the obituary of a prominent Washington private investigator. He also knew Keen well enough to know that the two gunmen would be eliminated as soon as they were released from the SGC. He smiled the self satisfied smile of the damned. Only he had no idea he was one of the damned or that he would end his life as a Goa’uld in less than a year. Right now he was on top of the world.

0o0o0o0o0o

“Hi, Sir.” Sam smiled at Jack as he stood in the door of her lab. “You and Teal’c finished with the interrogation?” She asked shutting off her lap top and closing the top. She moved off her stool and walked toward the end of the work table meeting him there. Sam could tell by the glint in Jack’s eyes that he wanted to touch her or kiss her. She swallowed hard and moved back a little. “Sir, the camera is on,” she voiced in a husky tone.

“I know, Carter. And yeah, we’ve finished with those two thugs. We didn’t get a thing out of them either. Even Teal’c evil eye and my short fuse couldn’t get them to talk. Seems Kinsey’s PI knew who to use.” Jack was having a hard time not pulling her into his arms. He pushed his balled fists deep into his pockets and danced back and forth on his heels.

“Lunch, Carter?” He asked smiling at her, desire evident on his face.

“I am hungry, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.” She answered.

“Why not?” He looked confused and dejected then she changed her mind. She wanted to get him alone just as badly as he did her. She wondered just how long she could keep him to herself. They had spent three hours together yesterday afternoon, and now she felt like it was weeks since he last kissed her. Her body was beginning to tingle.

“Let’s go get lunch. Then maybe we can take that box to the storage room on eleven.” She smirked at him.

“On second thought can we get a couple of sandwiches and take them with us?” He chuckled as he led her out of her lab and into the corridor.

0o0o0o0o0o

Jack and Sam were in the serving line when Walter stopped in front of them. “Colonel O’Neill, General Hammond asked that you report to his office as soon as possible.”

“Right now?” Jack was definitely disappointed. He had plans for Sam and a little glass dish filled with blue jello cubes.

“Well, he did say as soon as I could find you, Sir.” Walter replied not knowing exactly how to respond to Jack’s obvious complaint.

“Crap.” Jack looked at Sam and then handed her his tray. “Take care of this Carter. I’ll meet you in your lab as soon as I can.”

“Sir, do I need to come with?” She asked. Jack looked at Walter.

“He only asked for you, Sir.” Walter replied.

“Okay, Colonel. I’ll be in my lab.” Sam watched with a sad longing as Jack followed Walter out of the mess hall. As Jack and Walter made their way through the corridors in silence, Jack was thinking about the problems that would be facing Sam and him.

Walter was thinking about the two men waiting to be released. They frightened him almost as much as some of the aliens that had been on base. And they looked much more dangerous than Shanahan. He hoped Teal’c or Sgt. Green would be there when he took the general’s orders to let they go.

Jack knocked on Hammond’s door, “Sir, you wanted to see me?” He asked as he entered the open door.

“Come in colonel and close that door, will you.” Hammond commanded. Jack stood in front of the general’s desk. “Have a seat.” Hammond was finishing up a file. He signed the front sheet and then put it in his out basket.

“Jack, I just talked with Barkley, the President's assistant to inform him of our lack of progress with Keen’s men. I can’t say he was surprised. He said he felt Keen had warned them what would happen if they were caught and what to do. The President wants them turned over to the Denver PD. I’ve warned them to stay away from my people and Shanahan. Don’t really know how much good it did though. They seemed to be afraid of the consequences if they talked. We didn’t scare them either. I don’t like it. They’re more afraid of what Keen will do than what someone as scary as Teal’c could do? That just don’t sit right with me.” Hammond said shaking his head. He leaned his portly body back in his chair and had one arm propped on the arm of the chair. His hand waved and pointed as he spoke to Jack. Jack could read his agitation from his posture alone.

“If Keen is working for Kinsey he has to be someone to be afraid of. Sir, they know that he’s dangerous. They don’t know Teal’c is. He may look scary, but they don’t know him.” Jack reasoned. Both men were silent lost in their own thoughts for a few seconds.

“Sir, have you made any decisions about SG1, uh.. Sam and me? I want to marry her if she says yes.” Jack couldn’t think of much of anything else. He trusted Hammond to take care of the thugs. His mind and heart were so filled with Sam he really didn’t want to think of Kinsey. It put too much of a damper on his happiness.

Hammond smiled at Jack. “Son, I know it’s difficult to wait. I’ll have an answer soon, should be no later that the end of the week. Jack, you need to be prepared. We may have to break up SG1. What are your suggestions? I know Sam is more than ready for her own team, but does she want that? I would love to have her in charge of the Science Department full time. I’ve always thought she was too valuable to risk losing through gate travel. But I also know how much all of your team means to this planet. I’m not sure if any one of you moved off SG1 it would be good for us, for the planet.”

“She is too valuable, Sir. But she’s too valuable on our team too. I don’t have an answer to that. I would hate to break up SG1, but if it’s the only way I can marry Sam, then I don’t have a choice. I’ll retire or move to another team if you want that. I’ll do whatever you say, General, as long as you understand Sam and I are getting married.” Jack’s look stated his seriousness. “And I don’t want her hurt or for her to have this affect her career. Sir, Sam is destined for great things.”

Hammond chuckled but shook his head at Jack’s last comment about Sam. He certainly agreed. “Most would say she’s already achieved great things. Okay, I need to talk with Sam. Then I’ll talk to you both. I’ll have my decision for you as soon after that as I can. Oh, and Jack. Don’t leave the base tonight. I don’t trust Kinsey to leave this alone just yet. He won’t give up on getting to the both of you unless he thinks he has no choice.”

“Yes Sir.” Jack answered and stood waiting for Hammond’s word of dismissal.

“I’m sending Walter to pick up my lunch then I’d like to talk to Sam, say in one hour ask her to report. Dismissed.”

0o0o0o0o0o

Jack walked through the corridors deep in thought. What if he’d spoken out of turn? What if she didn’t want to marry him? She never answered either way. Jack’s hands were sweating and his heart was beating fast as he walked into Sam’s lab.

“Sir,” she greeted smiling her brightest smile at him. “Everything okay?” She could see the anxiety on his face.

“Just peachy, Carter. Hammond wants to talk to you at one hundred hours. He’s going to eat first.” Jack wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Sir, what’s wrong? Something’s off.” Sam was worried and he didn’t know what to say.

“I… I may have said something to Hammond I shouldn’t have.”

“What? What did you say?” Sam asked watching his face, wishing they were somewhere other than her lab.

“I don’t want to discuss this here. We have one hour can we take that box to 11?” Jack’s eyes finally met hers and what she saw scared her.

Teal’c and Sgt. Green made their way to escort Keen’s men to the surface to meet the Police Officers waiting to transport the two men to Denver. General Hammond decided to let them go early. It was obvious from the two previous interrogations that Teal’c wouldn’t get anything out of either of them without violence and Hammond wasn’t ready to go there. As of now no one was really hurt and he hoped this would put a stop to Kinsey’s interference for the short term anyway. Time only would tell.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Daniel stopped in front of Sam’s lab. He was reading one of his research books looking for help in deciphering the tablet he was working on. He wanted some input from Sam; or rather he wanted to bounce off his thoughts with her. She always helped him get to the root of something stumping him even though she rarely understood how. But as he looked up from his book, he saw her and Jack walking at the end of the corridor toward the elevator. Just as they reached the elevator door Daniel yelled, “Sam! Hold up. I need your help.”

Jack felt his stomach drop. Damn Spacemonkey! “Carter don’t you dare answer him,” Jack said as he gently guided her into the elevator. He reached for the button for level eleven just as Daniel yelled again.

“Sam, hold the elevator for me,” he called out as he ran toward it. Sam looked at Jack sadly as she pushed the hold button.

“I’m sorry, Sir. It could be important.” Sam’s eyes were pleading for him to understand. Sam knew there would be many more times that they would have to put their job before their own wants and needs.

“Yeah, whatever. I guess you’re right. But it sure doesn’t make me happy, Carter.” Jack remembered the conversation he’d just had with Hammond. He realized this was really going to be a lot more difficult than it was before they actually decided to be together.

Sam moved close to his ear and whispered in a purring sexy tone, “I promise I’ll make it up to you, Sir.” She winked at him just before Daniel made it to the elevator.

“Sam….” Daniel noticed the box Jack was holding. “What’s that Jack?”

“Nothing Daniel, just something I was taking to storage.” Jack looked a little angry to Daniel.

“You okay, Jack?” His tone and voice held so much concern that Jack quickly lost his angry glare and his face softened. Jack loved Daniel next to Sam. He couldn’t stay mad at him, even if he did have the most inopportune timing where he and Sam were concerned.

“Sure, I’m fine. Just had a visit with Hammond and I needed to talk to Sam about it.” He added looking at her. Her eyes widened and she wished she had not stopped the elevator for Daniel.

“Oh, I’m sorry. This can wait. I didn’t realize…” Daniel started but Jack interrupted him.

“It’s okay, Daniel. Ask away.” He said as he waved his open hand toward Sam. “It won’t take long will it?” A pretty shade of pink suddenly colored Sam’s face and Daniel watched as they exchanged a silent conversation.

“You know what, Sam, this can wait. I know there’s a lot on both your minds.” Daniel reached for the elevator button and pushed the number for the next floor. The elevator stopped and Daniel hurried out. He turned before the doors closed behind him and smiled. “You both deserve this and I hope things will work out.”

Jack smiled at Sam. “He’s really a nice guy. You gotta love’em!”

“Are you saying that because he left us alone or because you mean it?” Sam teased.

“Carter, you know I love each member of my team, especially the hot blonde with legs that go on for miles.” His teasing never failed to make her giggle.

“Carter, unless you want what I have for you here, you better cut the giggles.” He said closing his eyes and letting his head hit the back of the elevator wall. She only giggled louder.

“Yes Sir, level 11? Or should we wait?” She knew the answer before she asked.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

The Denver patrol car transporting Ben Keen’s men back to Denver was stopped at the red light a couple of miles from their station in Denver. The officers were talking among themselves, personal conversations about family and what was up for the weekend. A car pulled to the right, and a gun was aimed at the officer in the driver’s side of the car. At the same time another car pulled in behind them and a man jumped and ran from the car quickly pointing a gun in the face of the officer in the passenger’s side. Both men were wearing stocking masks.

“Hand me your hand guns,” the gunman on the right demanded. Once both patrolmen had handed over their side arms, he demanded, “Get out on this side of the car. Get down flat on the street. Don’t move a muscle or I’ll blow your heads off.” Both officers complied and as quick as lightning two masked gunman jumped into the front seat of the car and shots rang out in the late afternoon on Board Street in Denver as both of Keen’s men slumped over in the backseat of the car. Blood ran from too many wounds in their heads and upper bodies.

The first gunman and one of the shooters jumped into the car that stopped at the side of the patrol car and then the car quickly sped off leaving smoking rubber in its wake. The other shooter ran back to the car behind the patrol car. As soon as he was in the car the tires squealed and smoked as it left on the tail end of the first car.

Both officers lay in shock on the street, sweating and thankful that they were still alive.

0o0o0o0o0o

Jack held Sam tightly in his arms. They had just spent the last thirty minutes making love as if their lives depended on it. Jack had captured her lips as soon as the door to the closet on level 11 was closed behind them. They were just now calm enough to get a few words out. He stroked her naked skin along her ribs as he pressed his body to hers. He loved the feel of her silky skin, but he loved her silky skin press to his naked body even more.

“Sam, I have to tell you what I told Hammond.” Jack said in a quiet voice. Even though they had both said the “L” word several times within the last several minutes, Jack was really nervous about discussing the conversation he’d had with the general.

”Jack, are you worried that he won’t let us be together?” Sam asked. She could tell he was holding something back and she didn’t understand why. The look he’d given her earlier still made her anxious. “Jack?” She asked when he didn’t answer.

He sat up bringing her with him. “About that. I told him that I’d do anything necessary so that we can get married. I know you haven’t said you would mar…..”

“Yes.” Sam said smiling at him, interrupting his sentence mid stream.

“…ry me…..but if you do decide to say yes…….…….what?” He stared at her with a confused expression.

“………..What did you say?” Jack asked as if he hadn’t heard her.

“Yes.” Smiling as she answered again, her bright blue eyes never losing contact with his dark passion filled brown eyes.

“You mean, yes as in…,” he tried to ask again but couldn’t get the last words out.

“Yes.” She kept smiling, looking from his lips to his eyes.

“Yes….you’ll marry me?” Jack asked, still not sure if that’s what she meant.

“Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you.” She pulled his head down to reach his lips with hers. “I don’t want to live without you in my life. I want this. Us. I want us.” Joyful tears sparkled in her eyes.

“Oh God, Sam. I love you so much. Thanks!” He shouted hugging her to him.

“Shhh… Someone could hear us.” She whispered happily against his lips. “But now I have to go talk to General Hammond. What did you tell him by the way?” She smiled at him as she got up and searched for her clothes. Finding her panties and bra she bent over to reach them. He watched as she put them on.

“What?” Jack was still looking at her gorgeous body as she put her pants back on. “Oh…, that I’d retire, or take any position he wanted if he feels he needs me here. I just have to have you first…….. …..and that I was going to marry you.” She smiled her brightest smile.

“Is that why you were worried?” Sam watched as his eyes moved back to her face.

“Kind of,” he paused then added, “You hadn’t said yes. I didn’t know for sure if you would want to marry me.”

“Well, now you do.” She smiled the smile that turned Jack’s world to sunshine.

“Did he offer any idea of his intentions for us?” Sam asked worry edging into her voice.

“No, not really. He did say you were much too important to lose and that he had always worried about sending you off world. If you want the Science Department it’s yours. Or you want your own team? You can have that too.” Jack watched her face trying to discern her feelings and thoughts.

“What do you want Jack?” She asked him seriously.

“I’m happy with whatever you chose, Sam,” he said as he zipped his pants and pulled her to his body. “Just as long as I’m in the equation.” He still didn’t have on his shirt and Sam had on only her bra, panties and pants.

He kissed her once more deeply, passionately. “I don’t intend to give you up. I don’t care how we manage it, but I won’t do that.” His voice was husky. Goose bumps moved over her skin as it contacted his.

“Me either,” she responded with one last hug and a quick kiss to his lips. She pulled out of his arms not able to stand the temptation any longer and finished dressing. “Okay. Let’s go see what he’s willing to do.”

“He just wants to talk to you, Sam. I’ve already told him what I’m willing to do.”

“Would you come with me, I want you there if you don’t mind?” She asked watching his face light up.

“Really?”

“Really. Jack, whatever decisions made about our future we’ll make together. Okay?”

“Oh, Sam. How can I be so lucky? You know I don’t deserve you, don’t you? You are so out of my league. But don’t tell anyone!” He grinned at her.

“Whether or not you deserve me, Jack O’Neill, is for me to decide and I don’t want to hear anything like that again.” She glared.

“Okay. Okay.” He said and pulled her close for one last deep kiss.

0o0o0o0o0o

First thing the next morning Walter was waiting for General Hammond in front of his office door with a coffee and the news paper. Following him into his office, Walter said, “Sir, I thought you’d need to see this right away.”

Hammond almost choked on his first sip of coffee as he read the article that Walter had pointed out. It was a report on the shootings in Denver. Walter waited for the general to read the article and then informed, “Sir, on page 12 there’s another article you need to see.” He took the paper back and turned quickly to the article on page 12. “This.” Walther pointed to the picture of Ben Keen.

After reading the reporter’s version of why Ben Keen had been murdered in his own bed, Hammond looked up at Walter. “Thanks, Walter.”

“Yes Sir.” Walter said as he left Hammond’s office. Immediately General Hammond picked up the red phone and dialed. Within a few minutes he was deep in conversation with Barkley, the President’s assistant. Hammond quickly learned the President’s view on the murders through Barkley.

“I understand. Do they know who killed them?” Hammond was hopeful, as he listened to Barkley’s reply.

“Any idea if either incident can be tied to Kinsey?” Hammond asked.

“I see.” Hammond responded.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I have discussed SG1 with the President. He agreed with my assessment. But really it’s up to them. I won’t force them either way. I think this country needs SG1 together a while longer, but it is ultimately their decision.” Hammond replied.

“No, I haven’t told them, I was waiting to hear from you. I never expected it to be over so fast.” Hammond answered.

“Thanks. I’m sure they’ll appreciate hearing your praise. Sometimes it seems they only hear negative comments from anyone above this command.” Hammond stated.

“Tell the President I’m really happy he approves.” Hammond’s conversation with Barkley was finishing. “I know he trusts us. He’s a good man. I just hope we’re half as lucky with the next president.” Hammond sighed as he placed the red phone back on its cradle and tapped his fingers against it lost in his thoughts. It seemed that Kinsey had covered his tracks well. He’d taken out anyone who could possibly tie him to the Shanahan mess.

He agreed with the President and Barkley that Kinsey would most probably stop harassing SG1 and him for the time being since his current plan to get them out had failed. But as far as the future….It was anyone’s guess.

Hammond was really getting antsy about the next President. With Kinsey as the next Vice President……… Well, just the thought made his stomach turn.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

“You wanted to see us, sir.” Jack asked as he stopped at the door of General Hammond’s office.

“Come in. Colonel, Major. Please sit down.” Hammond indicated the chairs and both Jack and Sam nervously sat.

“Either of you had a chance to see the morning paper?” Hammond asked as he handed the paper to Jack. Jack took the paper and read the article that the general had indicated. He looked at Sam then read out loud. After he’d finished the article, they sat in silence for a few seconds before Sam looked up from her hands.

“He could have been killed. I never realized how bad this really was,” Sam stated still disbelieving the full extent of Pete’s bumbling. “We could have been killed.” She looked at Jack waving her arm toward the ceiling, “All we go through out there and to think something as asinine as a nosy boyfriend could cause such a tragedy.” Anger ran through her words.

“Carter, it’s not your fault. You had no way of knowing this would go down like it did. Hell, you had no way of knowing he would have you investigated.” Jack said as he held her gaze. “Really, Carter. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s Kinsey’s.”

“If I hadn’t given up on us….” Sam whispered under her breath, but Jack heard and this time the silent communication didn’t seemed to be enough for him.

“Not your fault, Sam. I let you down. We’ll talk about his later.” Looking back at General Hammond, “I don’t guess there’s anything to tie it to Kinsey?” Jack asked.

“No, I’m afraid not. But that’s not all. Look on page 12,” General Hammond said. Jack turned the newspaper to page 12 and the first thing he saw was the article about Keen’s murder.

“Damn! I didn’t think even Kinsey would be that brave.” Jack stated in shock at what he read.

“He’s a powerful man, Jack. You know that. Especially now, that he’ll be the next Vice President. He’s sure that nothing or no one can touch him.” General Hammond felt old and his voice betrayed him. He wondered for the hundredth time this week how much longer he could take this worry about his people. He wasn’t a young man.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

“Hammond says we can leave the base tonight, but he wants us to be careful and make sure we watch our sixes. He still thinks Kinsey will be waiting for any of us to make a mistake. You happy with what he’s laid out for us, Carter? It might be better if I just retired.” Jack said as they walked out of her lab toward the elevator.

“No Sir. We’ve already decided. You can’t retire. Anyway, the Joint Chiefs and the President refuse to let you. We still need you here at the SGC. No one knows more than you how important this fight is against the Goa’uld.” Sam said.

“I know what they said Carter. But what if the new President refuses to let us stay on SG1 together? Sam, they could use this against you, against your career. I don’t like it.” Jack said.

“Sir, we have the okay to be together and both stay on SG1 from Hammond. He’s assured us that it’s okay with the President and the Joint Chiefs. Do you really think something could go wrong? Or that they will change their minds?” Sam worried.

“No, not as long as Hammond and the Joint Chiefs have it okayed and signed off by the President in our personnel files, but who knows what can happen with a new President? But then we don’t know how a new President will affect the SGC either.” Jack answered.

“Well then can we just enjoy the time we have together? I’m ready to leave this base and just get away and be alone with you.” She smiled up at him, her eyes shining bright enough to light up a room.

“Oh, I love that idea.” Jack said. “You want to go to dinner tonight? Somewhere nice? Candles and white table cloth?”

Sam smiled at him, “What? A romantic Jack O’Neill?”

“Little romance never hurts, Carter.” He said as he leaned closer to her wishing he could kiss her right then.

They moved silently through the base walking together. Both caught in their own thoughts. As they reached the final sign out on the ground level Jack waited for Sam at the front door as she signed out.

“We’ll take my truck or your car. Which one you want? Doesn’t matter to me.” Jack asked.

“Why not just follow me home?” Sam asked; she really didn’t understand his point. “Aren’t we safe enough now?”

“Yeah, I’m sure we are, but I just don’t want you out of my sight for the next few days. We go to my house and let me get my clothes and then to yours and get dressed there for our date.” Jack smiled at her. He really didn’t want to come across as over protective. He knew how much Carter hated that. But he really wasn’t ready to let her go without him.

She studied his face. She hated being treated like a helpless female. Hated it! She knew that Jack knew that. Was he going to try to keep her under his arm from now on? Jack spoke up as he watched the reflection of her thoughts fleet across her face. He did know her too well.

“It’s not that at all Sam. I just can’t think of letting you out of my sight yet. It’s all so new and I just want you close enough to touch for a little while longer. I know,” he spoke emphasizing the word know so that she would understand his meaning, “that you can take care of yourself, and kick my ass too!” He grinned at her. “I just want you close enough to do it for a while. Okay?”

Smiling up at him, she gave in. “Okay, as long as you don’t make a habit of this. You know even if we are together, we can’t spend every minute in each other’s sight? Right? And you’re right; I can kick your ass!” She giggled.

0o0o0o0o0o

While they were driving home Jack made reservations at the most expensive restaurant in Colorado Springs. He had to take a late time, but he didn’t care. He had plans for this night and he wanted it special. He asked for one of the tables in the back. The back section was secluded with candle light, soft music and the tables were enclosed in booths that were tall and private. There was a small dance floor and petition that separated the back part of the restaurant from the main dining room.

“You’ll need to dress for this place, Sam. It’s coat and tie.” He told her as he closed his phone.

“Believe it or not, I can handle that.” She smiled across the truck at him.

“I seem to remember that black dress, but I thought I tore it. Guess I owe you a new one.” He glanced side ways at her watching her face.

“You did and you do. But I have others.”

“Really? Why haven’t I ever seen you in anything like that before?” He was a little jealous thinking that other men had looked at Sam the way he had looked at her in that black dress. She reached over and took his hand squeezing slightly.

“You never asked me to go anywhere to ware anything but Dress Blues or jeans.”

“Well, that’s about to change.” He said gently pulling on her hand and leaning over to kiss her softly as she met his kiss.

“Promises.” She sighed softly.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Jack paced in the hall between Sam’s den and her bedroom. It seemed like she had been in there for hours. He knew he had been dressed and ready to go for at least an hour and a half. He looked at his watch again, “Sam, we’re gonna be late. Are you ready?” He called. He had asked twice already.

Sam smiled at herself in the mirror. She was as ready as she was going to be. She had spent even more time getting ready for this date with Jack than she had to go out with Pete the night Jack kidnapped her. But she wanted to look perfect; no she wanted to knock Jack’s socks off.

It was so unlike her to care about such things as make up, fancy dresses and girly hair styles. She was a dry, fluff and go girl. Nothing fancy. She knew Jack loved her. He’d seen her at her worst and still was attracted to her. Why was she worried about her appearance so much tonight? She wasn’t sure, but her intuition told her tonight was special. She wanted to reflect that in her appearance. Hey, even the geeky-smart scientist-soldier Sam wanted to feel like a woman sometimes. Tonight was definitely one of those times.

“Sam?!” There was anxiety in his voice, “Baby, we need to leave now if we’re to make our reservation time.” This was why Jack hated reservations to dine out. It always seemed to make the evening start out badly. He hated being late – for anything, but their reservations wouldn’t be held long at this place even at this late hour. It was the most romantic and most expensive place in Colorado Springs.

Jack watched at Sam walked from her bedroom down the hall. She stopped in front of him waiting for his eyes to reach her face. “You like?” She asked in a choked voice. He made her feel things that she’d never felt before.

“You could say that.” Jack answered as he kissed her softly. “The dress is gorgeous, but you make it even more so.” Sam wore a shape-fitted blue dress. The color was just darker than her eyes and the dress hugged her shapely body like a glove. The length of the dress hit just above her knees and the bodice had four small spaghetti straps that ran over each shoulder.

Two straps crisscrossed to the front sides of the dress starting just under her bust line holding the front of the dress tight across her midriff and two that crisscrossed to the waistline in the back of the dress. The front bodice was also tightly fitted to her bust line coming to a slight v-point that emphasized her cleavage pushing it up and together. She wore a simple diamond pendant that dropped at her throat and dangling two-stone diamond earrings.

She had fluffed her hair and it seemed to have wispy wings around her face and neckline. Its blonde color had sheen to it that Jack had never seen. It was perfect. He wondered what she did to make it shine so. Jack couldn’t seem to breathe as his eyes traveled her body from head to toe. Toes….Carter had painted toe nails and those three inch black strappy sandals. God! That was even sexier than the dress!

“You like great.” Sam purred as she watched Jack look her over. He was wearing a black expensive suit with a white shirt and a shiny jewel toned red tie. Sam had never seen Jack in civilian dress clothes. In all the years they worked together the few occasions that required that they dress up, he always wore his dress blues. He was so tall and the black suit fit his lean muscular body perfectly making him look like something out of a fashion magazine. He was so handsome. He literally took her breath away.

Jack took the wrap that matched the dress from the chair where she had dropped it and wrapped it and his arms around her shoulders. “Is this warm enough, it’s quite cold out.” He said speaking almost into her ear. Chills ran down her neck and back. She glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled.

“I have a long coat in the hall closet. It was my moms.” She said as Jack moved to let her open the closet. He took the long fur coat and helped her into it. He held his breath. Samantha Carter could have been a model. She was a picture of beauty. How could he ever deserve such a woman? But right now he didn’t care if he deserved her or not, she was his and he intended to keep her.

0o0o0o0o0o

After their waiter had taken their orders and left them alone, Jack held up his glass and smiled at Sam. As she tapped her glass to his their eyes locked and neither could say a word; but both ‘heard’ every unspoken word that fleeted across the darkest brown eyes and the deepest blue ones.

After a few long moments they each took a sip of the wine but their eyes never left each other’s. Jack cleared his throat, “So.”

“Yeah.” She answered after a few seconds and realizing he wasn’t going to say anything else. There was so much to talk about, but neither could find words. It was so like them. They’d had less than a week to really know how the other had felt and most of that time had been spent in actions which they both could make happen. Words—they still weren’t so good at.

“You okay with this?” Jack asked waving his hand between them.

“Us?” Sam asked. “Of course I’m okay.” She suddenly panicked her eyes becoming as wide and blue as the stargate’s open wormhole. “You’re not?”

“What!?... No…. Yes.... Of course…Yes. I don’t mean us. I mean the ….job.” Jack’s frightened voice and the fear in his eyes reassured her.

She giggled, “We’re a pair! You think we’ll ever get the hang of this talking thing?”

“I won’t promise you that. But I will promise to love you through every silent conversation we have.” He chuckled and grinned back at her taking her hand and squeezing it. “But I really meant us staying on the team together. You think it will work?”

“I think it’s best for the time being. The general gives us his full support and there’s just something in me that says we need to do this together for a while longer. I know it won’t last much after the new President, Hays, takes office, but…. I have this feeling that we still have something important to do. And my instinct says we have to do it as a team.”

“You think it has something to do with Daniel’s lost city?” Jack asked.

“I’m not sure what I think; it’s more an instinct than anything really scientific.” She tucked her head sideways and gave Jack that ‘I’m not sure look.’ Her eyes were bright and reflected the candle light from the table.

“What? Carter going with her gut and not science?” Jack smirked as he brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them softly glancing over them to look at her beautiful face.

“Yeah, maybe we should be afraid of that alone.” She giggled. “I’m not used to letting my heart nor my intuition make my decisions. You know how I have to analyze everything over and over.” Sam Carter always had to have time to think things through. She never made life changing decisions without thinking out various scenarios with a multitude of outcomes.

“Well let’s just agree to leave things with the team as they are until after this Hays takes office. We may need to changes things then. That is if Daniel and Teal’c both agree. But right now I think you may be right. It does seem to feel like there’s just something out there waiting with my name on it.” Jack had a sadly forlorn look.

“Jack?”

“Nothing. Anyway, let’s leave that for tomorrow. Tonight there’s something else……” Jack pulled away enough to reach into his pocket and handed her a small box. It was wrapped in bright gold paper with a tiny red bow on it. Sam looked up at him, as he held it out for her to take.

“A Present? It’s not Christmas yet? Is this a…a Christmas present?”

“You could say that. It’s only fair, since you’ve given me the best present ever in my life!” He exclaimed in a slightly teasing tone. But she could tell he was just as serious as he had been earlier.

“That….Us…. is just as good of a present to me, Jack.” She gave him her sexiest sweetest smile.

“Open it, please Sam?” He asked. He really wanted her to see it. He bought it off world several years ago, even before the silly zanex test-thing. He and Daniel had found it at one of the few markets they came across on their missions and had managed to barter it from the merchant.

Jack had tried to trade his best personal knife, his personal revolver, his gold pocket watch and the ring he’d worn all his adult life. It had three large diamonds in a 22K gold setting. It had been his father’s wedding band. His mother had given it to Jack at his death and his dad’s gold pocket watch to his older brother. Jack’s brother had been killed in Vietnam. He had been a pilot. The watch was returned and given to Jack.

The merchant had been especially pleased with the gun; he’d never seen one like it. The watch just looked like jewelry to him, something that was pleasing to the eye but he didn’t want it. It had no value as a time piece. But he recognized the quality of the ring on Jack’s hand and insisted that he trade it too. Jack wasn’t sure of the value of the ring he’d bartered for; he knew the stones were valuable as was the metal on many worlds. What he knew was that it would truly be one of a kind on Earth and that’s what he’d wanted for Carter. It was right for her. She was one of a kind.

Sam was afraid to open the box. She had a suspicion about its contents. Was she really ready for this? She had given him her answer, and she meant it. She knew how she felt about Jack, and she believed him when he said he loved her, but…. This was big, too big…..to move so quickly. She had every intention of marrying Jack O’Neill…..one day. The box and its supposed contents seemed to make it more of a current future reality rather than a future reality. And she wanted to know exactly what Jack would have to sacrifice to marry her now. If, indeed, that was what this was.

Jack was beginning to get really nervous. He’d jumped the gun he knew by asking her to marry him so soon. But he’d been so scared that she’d end up with someone else like that cop that he’d been willing to do anything, and he really meant anything to keep her.

“Uh.. Maybe.. I should’ve waited,” he said trying to take the box back, but she grabbed it before he could get a grip on it. She’d sensed that she’d waited too long, and that he was regretful of his present.

“Sam, we can wait for Christmas and just exchange gifts like we usually do, it’s only a couple of weeks away.” He was offering her a way out, and she knew it. She knew too, that whatever was in this box now, wouldn’t be in it on Christmas day.

“No, I’m sorry. I want it now. It just shocked me a little, that’s all.” She held the box tight in her fingers, she’d known by instinct this was the same as she’d felt when she’d called him Jack in the infirmary after her ‘lost in space’ trip. She knew well how fast her mind had shifted from wanting to go after Jack with all her being into thinking he didn’t want her from just his tone and the way he’d corrected her use of his name.

She didn’t want him to feel like that. It had hurt her deeply. So much so, that she’d let go of her dreams of having him in her life. She wouldn’t let that happen again. Not now after knowing just how much he meant to her and she to him. Not after what had happened between them. Not after already agreeing to marry him. She just needed time to work it all out, that’s all. If he needed for her to wear his ring while they worked it out, then she would give him that.

She opened the paper slowly, letting her fingers undo the tape from the box piece by piece. She was shaking, but no more than Jack.

She sled the paper off slowly. By the time she had the box in her hand free of its shiny paper she was sincerely hoping it was a ring inside. Maybe it was something else… ..and she’d just been wishfully scared.

It was. That is it was a ring. But the ring was unlike any ring she’d ever seen. She knew immediately it was made of an expensive rare metal and it wasn’t from Earth. It was a slightly darker metal than white gold or platinum, but it had such a shine to it. It looked much harder too. The scientist in her wanted to run tests on the metal to know exactly what it was.

The stones in the ring looked like diamonds, but not quite. They had a quality that seemed to draw you in, and had a slightly blue tone. They were the most beautiful stones Sam had ever seen.

The stones were set in a circle with a large lighter one in the middle. It could have been the most expensive diamond there was, but she knew it wasn’t like any diamond found on Earth. It was gorgeous, but she wasn’t sure it was supposed to be an engagement ring.

Now it was her turn to be hesitant. Had she second guessed him for no reason? She felt foolish, embarrassed.

“Do you like it?” Jack had watched her expression. It was not one he could read easily. He could tell she liked the ring, but something was off.

“Jack? Where did you get it? It really is just beautiful. The most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”

“Off world. Oh, don’t worry. Hammond approved it.” Well that answered her question, didn’t it? It couldn’t be an engagement ring if he’d shown it to Hammond. Could it?

“You showed it to the general?”

“Yeah, of course. You know he has to approve anything we bring back from off world.”

“He didn’t object?”

“No.”

“Did you tell him it was for me?”

“Not exactly.”

“Not exactly?”

“Not exactly.”

“What did you tell him?” Her curiosity was really going now.

“That it was for my favorite girl.”

“Oh.”

“Sam, what’s wrong?”

“I.. I.. Just don’t know what to say. I love the ring. But is it an engagement ring? Or a great Christmas present?”

“What do you what it to be?” Jack asked swallowing hard.

“I asked you first,” she answered, but Jack hesitated too long.

“Please, Jack. I need to hear the words if it’s for real.” Boy had she changed her way of thinking within five minutes. She had gone from not wanting to ear it was an engagement ring to almost begging him to ask her to marry him again. Was she really that confused?

“God, Sam how could you doubt it’s real. Of course it’s real. I love you. I want you. I need you. I want to marry you with all my heart and always have….. I want you to wear my ring…,” he paused for a few long moments. “I’ve had that ring for years. I’ve just been waiting for the right time to bring it out.” Their eyes locked. Sam’s were quickly filling with tears.

“So… Marriage?” She quietly asked. Jack could see the fear in her eyes.

“No, not unless it’s what you want. You… hell.. Sam. I’ll be satisfied if you just keep wanting me. You don’t have to make any commitments. I should have known it was too early for that.”

“Jack, it’s not even that. It just surprised me. I do want to marry you. I’ve already told you that. I’ve loved you for a long time too. It’s just that I can’t let you retire or give up what you love to be with me. Not yet any way. I guess I thought we’d keep this to ourselves until we could….”

“Hammond has already agreed that we can both stay at the SGC and on SG1.”

She looked at him. What she saw melted her to the seat. How could she doubt him or herself? Sam Carter suddenly knew that what she wanted most in the world was sitting as close to her as possible. He was real, flesh and blood and he loved her back.

She held out her left hand and handed him the ring. “Yes, I want to marry you as soon as possible.” She waited for him to catch up with her suddenness.

“You mean you’ll marry me after we work things out with the team and Hammond?”

“No. I mean yes. I mean I’ll marry you. I don’t give a damn what we have to do. I’ll marry you…tonight if that’s what you want. I want you too Jack. Always.”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her only this time his kiss was gentle and loving. The kind of kiss that you give to the most cherished of partners. She pulled back and looked at his eyes, drinking in what was Jack O’Neill. Her Jack. All hers.

She quickly thought back to the afternoon when she was dressing for her evening out with Pete. She’d planned to seduce him because she wanted sex, hot sex and lots of it.

She planned every detail of her look, from the hairdo, the seductive heels and braless little black dress, the black lacy thong, the sweet sexy smelling perfume to the sparkling strawberry favored powder across her shoulders and body. She’d planned to bring him to her home with him so hot and bothered that he would stay all night, make love to her all night.

Maybe begin a new relationship that would last. All the time she had seen Jack O’Neill’s response of lust and desire in her mind, no matter how many times she’d tried to replace it with Pete’s face.

Never in a million light years would she have thought it would all end with Jack staying that night, with Jack waiting for an answer to the one question that she never thought he’d ask, with Jack giving her this ring.

Yet he had asked her, he was here with her and she was happier than she’d ever been. His wonderful sexy lovemaking had been enough to make her happy and content, but for the chance to actually spend the rest of her life as his wife. Well, maybe it was worth giving up something else, something important to her, her analytical brain reasoned.

Yes, it definitely was worth it to feel this wonderful man’s love any time she wanted. To be able to touch him, hold him, kiss him and have him return the affection any time he wanted.

Sam knew the minute he read her thoughts and saw in his eyes that he accepted her decision. However it turned out, if they made it legal or just emotional and spiritual between them and their friends.

Sam knew from this night on, she and Jack O’Neill would be together. They would function as one, one unit, one couple, and one ‘them.’ They would no longer be just Sam or just Jack, but ‘Sam and Jack.’

What a wonderful present. That was the best Christmas present ever for Sam, not forgetting the beautiful ring that he’d so thoughtfully picked out so many years ago.

She wrapped her body as tightly to him as possible and kissed his lips as passionately as she’d ever kissed anyone, even him, in her life.

When they could breathe and she could see through her tears, she whispered to him. “Take me home, Jack. I’ll need to get ready to give you your present. It’ll be the best present you’ve ever had. I can promise that.”

She winked at him with her most sultry smile. “I think I just caught the wind and I intend to hold on to it, I think it might just be the best ride of my life.”

“It’ll be the longest ride of your life. I’ll promise you that, my sweet Sammie, cause I’ll never let you go.” He looked at her as only Jack could. She knew he was absolutely correct, she’d never let him go.

Sam stood at the door watching all her ‘selves’ for the lack of a better word to describe this room filled with Samantha Carters of all ranks and branches of the military. Some weren’t even in the military. Last count she’d heard was that twenty four teams with a Samantha Carter made it through the gate into this reality that wasn’t their own. And not one of them had a Jack O’Neill of any rank or civilian designation. That made her wonder if Jack had made General on all the parallel universes represented here or if he’d actually achieved suicide in too many of them.

Sam was overjoyed to talk to Janet and Martouf’s team. She really missed them both and seeing them brought back such fond memories of both of them. Both had died in her reality. They would both always have a place in her heart, Martouf if for no other reason than Jolinar. It had been so long since……. It still hurt to think of her best friends dieing.

It still somehow seemed odd that they were alive, so she took a lot of time to talk to the Dr. Janet Frasier that had come through the gate. She was the only Janet through and from her chats with several other Sams it seemed that in all but four of the realities Janet had perished in the same way she had in hers. The other three were back home delivering Sam’s babies. Twins in all three realities. What would she do with twins and why wasn’t she one of the Sams having them now? What was different in her reality? In each of the realities Jack was the babies’ father.

So far Sam had only found one Sam that had actually married Pete Shanahan. It was the Sam that arrived with the first team through to this universe. The Jack of that reality had married a CIA agent that came to work at the SCG after Jack made General and Commander of the SGC. She would definitely check out Kerry Johnson when she returned to her SGC. That was if she ever made it back to her reality and to her husband. Right now she was afraid she might not see Jack again and she missed him terribly.

Her next targeted Sam was the one from this reality. She had watched her almost kiss Martouf. She wondered if there had been something between them here. She knew that Martouf and the Sam from his reality had been in a relationship, a rather long one from what he’d said.

Sam remembered well the feelings she’d had for him when the Jolinar thing first happened. It had been so hard to distinguish her own feelings from the sudden bombardment of another being’s emotions and thoughts. But even back then she’d begun to have strong feeling for her Jack. So it hadn’t taken her long to discern that the feelings of love for Martouf weren’t hers but another’s.

She wondered if this reality’s Sam was in a relationship of some sort with the Jack here. She wondered where Jack was in this reality. He was the commander of the SGC in hers. She would make it her business to find out. Daniel. She would start with Daniel it was most probable that he was Jack’s best friend here as well.

She found Daniel in his lab. “Hey, can I come in?” She hesitantly asked.

“Sure.” Daniel answered suddenly looking up at her voice. It took him a moment to realize that this was not his Sam. He watched her expressions. It was just too unreal. So many of each of the members of SG1 was running around this base that it had begun to wear on Daniel’s nerves. So he had retreated to his lab to work.

She slowly walked into the room looking all around. “It’s really strange being here,” she said, “your lab is exactly the same.” He watched her. She seemed anxious.

“I’m sure that all of the brains involved here will solve this and get you all back to your own universe.” Daniel offered. He knew his Sam would have been upset even though she’d never have shown it to be stranded away from her friends and family. He thought that was what he was seeing in this Sam’s eyes.

“Where’s Jack?” She suddenly burst out.

Maybe not. Maybe this Sam was upset to be away from ‘Jack?’

“Jack?” Daniel questioned. He wanted her to explain the use of the general’s first name. That was something his Sam wouldn’t do. Daniel wondered again what had happened to them in his reality. He had been sure they would be together by now, but they weren’t and Daniel hadn’t been able to find out why from either of them.

“You don’t have General Jack O’Neill in this reality?” Sam asked suddenly understanding why this Sam could have been so attracted to Martouf.

“Oh yeah, he’s here. But I’ve never heard you, uh…Sam use his name. She always addresses him by his title or uses his honorific.” Daniel raised his eyebrows slightly as if apologizing for the truth of this reality.

“She’s not with him here?” Sam asked.

“Uh..no…but I think you should discuss this with her.” Daniel replied.

“Is she with Pete or someone else?” Sam asked ignoring Daniel’s request.

“No.” Daniel watched her. “You’re trying to find out what made your reality different, aren’t you?” Daniel smiled at her. Just like Sam. Only his Sam was too busy trying to fix this problem to ask too many personal questions.

Sam tucked her head slightly sideways and watched Daniel’s expression. “Yes, I am. It just… well I just wondered how she could stand not being with him if it’s possible.”

“I take it you two are together in your universe?” Daniel inquired.

“Oh yes. We’re married. Have been for almost two years.” She smiled. “Jack is head of the SGC in my reality.” Her face changed and tears pierced her bright blue eyes. “He’s probably having fits right now with us not reporting back on time. I worry about all the stress he has in this job. So much is on his shoulders.” Sam dropped into one of the chairs in front of Daniel’s desk and brushed her tears across her cheeks. Daniel moved around the desk and pulled her shoulders into a slight hug leaning against his chest. He couldn’t stand to see Sam upset, not even one from another reality.

“And you’re not there to fix the problem, so he’s doubly worried.” Daniel said as tears slowly dripped from her eyes.

“No and he needs me, Daniel. He’s not the same without me.” Daniel smiled at her. He knew that for a fact, he just wished his Jack could admit that to his Sam.

“Hey, don’t cry. You know with all the Sams here working on this, you’ll get back. Right?” He thumbed away her tears.

“Do you think I could talk to your…is he a general here?” She asked.

“You want to talk to Jack?” He watched her pretty face wondering if she just wanted to hear his voice. “He is a general, but he’s the head of Home World Security here. He took that position after General Hammond retired.”

“He’s in DC?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“Why would he go there? Did they ever try to be together here, Daniel?”

“Sam, please. I don’t know what’s between them. I just know I thought that they would work out their feelings after Sam broke her engagement with Pete and Jack broke up with Kerry. It just never happened. I didn’t ask either of them why and neither of them volunteered to talk to me.”

“She was engaged to Pete Shanahan?” Sam asked doubtfully as if she couldn’t believe it. “He must not have had her investigated here then.”

“Oh he did. Not only that but he stalked her to a stake out while we were trying to catch Osiris.

Almost got himself killed and nearly cost us the mission. Jack was fit to be tied.”

“And still she was engaged to him?” She couldn’t really believe that. “She didn’t see him for what he was?”

“I take it you knew him too?” Daniel asked turning the question back to her. Sam blushed and Daniel smiled. It always amazed him that she could turn such a pretty shade of hot pink.

“Yes, I had a couple of dates with him, but Jack put a stop to that before it went very far. Showed up at my house one night when I was supposed to go out with Pete. Then when Pete had us both investigated it almost resulted in Pete getting killed. I never talked to him again after that. That’s when Jack and I received permission from General Hammond to get married.” She smiled at Daniel and he pulled away from her.

“That’s probably the incident that caused the fork. Jack didn’t stop Sam from dating him here. Hell, he didn’t even try to stop her from marrying him.” Daniel looked sad. “Guess you have your answer.”

“I’d still like to talk to your General O’Neill. You think it would be possible?” Sam asked.

“You want to try and play match maker?” Daniel’s eyes twinkled at her. “Go ahead; it couldn’t make things any worse for them.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in his speed dial number for Jack then handed her the phone.

“O’Neill.”

“Jack?” Her voice was broken. Sam swallowed hard. It felt so good to hear his voice. Tears formed in her eyes again as she tried to find the words to talk to someone she loved so much yet realized it wasn’t him.

“Carter? What’s up?” Jack couldn’t believe she had called him by his name. It was not like her.

“Jack, I miss you so much.” Her voice broke and the words just slipped out. She was so glad to hear Jack’s voice that for a minute she forgot it wasn’t her Jack. His voice was identical. She covered Daniel’s small phone until she could catch her breath. Hearing his voice had reinforced her fear that she might never see him again. “I’m sorry. I know you’re not really him. It’s just that… well…your voice is exactly the same as my husband’s.”

“Oh. ….Uh…you’re obviously not the Carter from this reality are you?” He asked, shaken to his core at hearing her words and her voice so filled with love for him….not him….

“No. I guess you know all about the mess here. There are too many of us to count. Jack?” She hesitated for a split second, “Don’t give up on her. She loves you more than you’ll ever know. Daniel mentioned a little about her and Pete. She couldn’t have loved him, Jack. She was already in love with you.”

“Maybe in your world. But not here. Carter made her choice and it wasn’t me.” He still felt a heavy sadness each time he remembered.

“Jack, I know you. Don’t be foolish and throw away the best thing that could ever happen.” She begged him.

“Well, maybe if you don’t get back we’ll talk. But as for her…. She never loved me. I have to go now Carter. I’m late for a meeting.” He broke the connection before she could say anything else.

“He’s the most stubborn person alive! I know. I live with him.” She exclaimed to Daniel. “No wonder she’s not with him. He’s never learned how to break down the walls here. I bet she loves him.”

“Sam, please. I can’t answer that. Ask her. Maybe you’ve done enough to make Jack start thinking anyway.” Daniel commented.

“Well, it helped just to hear his voice. Thanks Daniel.” She stood up and then looked back at Daniel, “If for some reason we are stuck here, you…. No… of course that would never work.”

“You would go after him wouldn’t you?” He asked her.

“No! ….I don’t…. …Yes…. Oh, Daniel. I need Jack. I need him in my life.” Her voice continually lowered an octave with each word she spoke. Tears streamed down her face. Daniel pulled her to his chest and hugged her tight.

“You’ll get back. I know my Sam. She won’t give up. And with so many of her… uh… doubles …here there’s just no way you won’t get back home.” He spoke softly against her hair, hoping against all hope that he was right. Not just for her sake but for all of their doubles that were stranded here.

00o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sam stood at the door watching all the different women that looked like her, lost in her thoughts about Jack. She had watched the two Sams that interacted the most, the Sam of this universe and the Sam that was first to be stranded here. They were both more like her than any of the others. She had found out that they had all three lived the same life until they meet Pete Shanahan. That seemed to be the catalyst that caused their fork in the road and made their lives different from that point.

Jack had stopped her from dating Pete after only a couple of dates. She and Jack had started seeing each other at that point. The Sam from this universe had been engaged to Pete, but broke up with him because she was secretly in love with her Jack but she was yet to tell him. The third Sam had married Pete Shanahan. The fork in the road for the three of them had turned out to be how they each related to Pete Shanahan.

Thank God that her Jack had let her know how he felt. Maybe he loved her more than the other Jacks? She had no answer for that, but she counted herself among the luckiest women here, those that were in a relationship with their Jack O’Neill. Most had developed relationships much earlier than hers, but she didn’t think they could possibly be more in love than she and her husband. She watched and smiled.

0o0o0o0o0o

The problem had been discovered and solved; and this SGC was ready to start sending them all home. She still could not believe that –she-- in any reality could attempt to steal a ZPM from an alternate universe. Maybe she had been wrong about her and that Sam being the most alike. Or maybe that incident was the results of that Sam leaving Jack O’Neill behind in her personal life. All she knew was that she felt like one of the luckiest women alive! Again.

She really hoped that she had put a spark in both this reality’s Sam and Jack. She knew they both cared for the other. That much she had determined from her inquiries. Now she could only hope that they find each other. For some unknown reason it made her happy to think that she and Jack were together in most realities. It somehow validated her belief that she and Jack were meant to be together even though she hated the term ‘soul mates.’

0o0o0o0o0o

“It’s SG1’s code, sir.” Walter announced.

“Open the iris!” Brigadier General Jack O’Neill yelled and ran down the stairs to meet his long overdue team. Jack stood at the bottom of the ramp waiting for SG1 to come through the gate. They were days overdue and he was a nervous wreck. All he had thought of since their appointed return was what if they…she… didn’t come back. How would he live without his Samantha, his wife?

He had been commander of the SGC for over two years. He had turned down an appointment to Home World after George retired because he didn’t want to be away from Sam. He wasn’t sorry either. He loved every minute they spent together and he knew he didn’t want a long distance relationship with her. He wanted her home at night in his bed. And she was except for one or two nights every other week or so that she was off world with her team.

Sam was promoted to SG1 team leader and the rank of Lt. Colonel when Jack was promoted to the base commander of the SGC. Major Cameron Mitchell was also promoted to Lt. Colonel and assigned to SG1 as a matter of thanks from Hammond after his year long recovery from injuries received during the fight over Antarctica. Mitchell led a team of dog fighter pilots from the Prometheus.

Jack stood lost in his thoughts and waiting at the ramp. He didn’t know what he’d do if she didn’t come through that gate…. …now. Jack never took his eyes from the blue vortex. It seemed like days since it had formed and the ripples waved silently across the gate.

This Ori threat was way worse than the Goa’uld, Jack thought. The Goa’uld he could predict and fight. The Ori were different. Just the simple fact that they couldn’t be seen made them far more dangerous. And to innocent and naive natives they did seem to make magic. They fooled a lot of people on a lot of worlds. That made the SGC’s job much harder and gave Jack much more to worry about.

Teal’c walked through the gate followed by Mitchell then Daniel. Jack held his breath until he saw her. At once all the breath in his body seemed to expel through his mouth causing his lips to sputter and then snap shut. He didn’t realize he had held his mouth open, not breathing just waiting to see her. His chest ached with fear that she had been left behind.

Sam locked eyes with him as soon as she walked through the vortex never stopping as she walked off the ramp into his waiting arms. Usually she wouldn’t allow him to hug her at the base but this time she dropped her back pack and handed off her weapon and pulled him into a scorching kiss.

“I guess it was a tough mission?” Jack asked as soon as he could get his breath looking into her loving eyes.

“You could say that.” Daniel answered smirking at his friends.

“Indeed.” Teal’c commented. It had been too weird, too many of one’s self was…well.. weird.

“I don’t know I found it sorta fun.” Mitchell commented. “I kinda liked talking to… well…me.” He said with a snug grin on his face.

Sam, Daniel and Teal’c all turned at once looking at him as if he were a two headed alien. Jack just felt relief.

“What?! You didn’t find it just a little bit fun?” Mitchell asked smirking at the three of them.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Major General Jack O’Neill watched the phone as if he knew it would ring. He had stared at the phone for over twenty minutes straight. He wanted to pick it up and just call Carter. The comments from the other Sam had haunted him for days. What if she did feel that way about him? What if he could be with her?

Somewhere in the back of his heart he had let hope be renewed. But what exactly had he hoped for? That the Carter that spoke to him with such love would be stranded here with him? Or that he could work up the courage to try to work things out with his Carter? His Carter. That was such a joke. She had never been his, and Jack didn’t think she ever would.

But he wondered just what had caused the difference in this time line, reality or whatever the hell it was. Why had that other Carter loved him.. …not him, but... that Jack? Why had she wanted to call just to hear his voice even if it didn’t belong to her own Jack?

The phone seemed to be teasing him. ‘You’re a chicken, O’Neill.’ He really wanted to call her. But what if she didn’t want to talk to him? It had been well over six months since he’d talked to her.

They’d had a lot of fun--the four of them at his cabin. He remembered every second, every single look that past between Sam and him. He’d gathered his team and they had spent almost two weeks just having fun and hanging loose after the defeat of the Goa’uld and the Replicators and the death of Sam’s father. He’d really wanted to try to get together with Sam, but he just didn’t feel like that was the right time. She had just broken things off with her fiancé and Jack knew she had to be hurting from the loss of her father and Pete.

She didn’t need him and his baggage just then. He really had hoped that they could try and work things out for them. But Cassie had needed Sam then Landry had requested her return to the SGC and then the Ori… It just never seemed to be the right time for them and Jack had given up. After all, if Sam had wanted to be with him or even be friends she would have come to see him at least once with Teal’c and Daniel. They both had made trips to DC to visit with him on some of their down time.

That seemed to be proof to Jack that Sam no longer had romantic feelings toward him. She was too young for him, that hadn’t changed. But now it seemed to bother him even more. He was fifty three and Sam was barely forty. Sam was still young enough to have a family. He would be old enough to be gram-pa! That thought had stopped him dead in his tracks many times. No she didn’t need him in her life and now that there was time and space between them, why drag all those old feelings back up?

But then he could hear the other Carter’s voice. It had played havoc with his heart. He had distinctly heard the love and need for him in that woman’s voice. Those little words ‘Jack, I miss you so much,’ had repeated in his mind until he thought he’d go crazy. Jack had wanted to hear Sam say something like that since they had parted ways. He had actually let himself think what he’d have done if that Carter had been stranded here. He had thought about it so much that he felt ashamed. Selfish jerk that he could be! He was good at chastising himself. But it was easier to fit himself into that Carter’s feelings than to go through the pain of establishing a real relationship with his Carter.

The phone stood still and silently taunting. Why couldn’t he pick it up? What was the difference in his reality and theirs? Did he love her as much as that Jack loved the other Carter? Could he really buck up enough nerve to call her? He placed his hand on the receiver.

END or NOT?

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