Changes
Changes
by Gail Delaney aka KissHerJack
Summary: Feelings grow harder to hide, and life changes open unexpected doors of opportunity.
Category: Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Season: future Season
Pairing(s): Jack/Sam
Rating: 13+
Content: adult themes/mature scenes, sexual situations
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 11/15/04
Chapter One: Jell-0 and whipped Cream
Major Sam Carter was just digging into the bowl of blue jell-o on her tray when Colonel Jack O'Neill sat down in the chair across from her. She glanced up, and tried to ignore the flutter that shifted through her stomach.
"Afternoon, Carter." He picked up a spoon from the table and stole a cube of gelatin from her bowl, smiling just before slurping it off the utensil.
She did her best to look perturbed, but by his slow grin, she knew she was failing miserably. "Sir," she said, tapping his spoon out of the way before he could get another bit.
"Whatcha doin?"
"Trying to eat my lunch."
"I mean, after this. Something scientific and complicated in your lab?"
She managed to get a second bite of the dessert before giving up and pushing the bowl across the table to him. "Actually, I'm working on a three-level power converter for the Naquida generator so we have more accurate control of the power output. I've theorized that by using graduated crystals we can--"
Jack lifted his hand, and she stopped as he pressed one finger to his lips. "A `yes,sir' would have been sufficient."
Sam shook her head and leaned back in her chair. After seven years, she still couldn't resist the urge to explain to her scientifically-inept commanding officer every detail of her experiments, even though she knew he would eventually cut her off. Any opportunity to talk with him was one she didn't intend to waste.
"Yes, sir," she said with a sigh.
"Well, it's gonna have to wait. SG-7 just came back from P3-whatever-"
"P3X-453."
"Yeah. They found some abandoned ruins or something and Daniel is all revved-up to go investigate. Our good Dr. Weir gave the go ahead."
She had to suppress the grin Jack's tone instigated. His `admiration' for Dr. Weir, their new base commander, came through in his voice like a beacon in the dark. Take one long-term military man, who has seen the darkest side of many worlds, and make his commanding officer an - for all intents and purposes - anti-military scientist - things a bound to get interesting. Sam remembered well one of the first things Jack ever said to her - one of the first times his sexy grin and dark eyes warmed her blood.
*Oh, I don't have a problem with women. I *like* women. I just have a problem with scientists.*
Sam gathered her napkin and plates from the remainders of her lunch and stacked them on her tray. "When do we leave?"
"Fifteen-thirty."
They stood together, but before Sam could grab her tray, Jack had it and disposed of it on the way out. They walked side by side to the elevator, and Jack used his card to clear the security lock. Sam stole a glance at him as they waited for the doors to open. Not every man could look as good as Jack O'Neill did in basic fatigues. His hair was much grayer now than when they met, almost silver, and cut short against his scalp. But other than that, he wore his age - which no one quite knew for sure - somewhere between forty-five and dead - very well. He was handsome, and stirred her blood ever time they were near each other.
So close, yet so against regulations.
The doors opened and they stepped in. Inside the closed car, she could smell the scent of his aftershave and the woodsy, clean scent that seemed so natural to Jack. As if the very air at his cabin clung to him all the time, reminding her that there was sunlight and cool breezes twenty-some-odd stories up from their underground base.
"Um, Carter..."
Sam jumped, started from her musings by his baritone voice. "Yes, sir?"
"You've got some... a little..." He pointed at his own cheek, then motioned towards her face.
Heat rushed to her cheeks, and Sam ran her fingers over her skin, blindly searching for whatever it was he saw. "Where?"
He pointed again, his brow furrowing as he reached for her cheek, but stopped short, pulling his hand back. "Right...there... it's just..."
Sam tried again, but apparently failed once more to clean off whatever it was. "Am I getting it?"
"No."
"Sir, will you just wipe it off before the doors open and I walk through the halls of the SGC with schmutz on my face?"
He made a pained face, as if what he was about to do was somehow more revolting than a snakehead, and a queasy tumble moved through Sam's stomach. Was touching her so bad? When did *that* happen? She dropped her gaze and turned partially away from him.
"I'll get it."
"No, hang on, Carter. I've got it."
The rough pad of his thumb brushed her cheek, at the corner of her lips. Her heart skipped and her cheeks flared. She didn't dare look up into his face. His finger curled under her chin for just a moment, and his thumb pulled at her lower lip, parting them, before he withdrew his hand.
"Got it," he said, his voice deeper and rougher than moments before. "Whipped cream."
Sam glanced up just as Jack sucked the confection from his thumb and the elevator doors opened. A myriad of heated thoughts rushed her mind, and she closed her eyes against them for the brief second it took before Daniel's voice pulled her back.
"Oh, good. Jack I need to talk to you before we leave."
Jack exited the elevator and walked away, Daniel talking a mile a minute at him. Sam smiled as she watched the two men leave. Just like she knew Jack didn't care about her experiments, he only heard about 25% of anything Daniel said. It wasn't for true lack of interest, but Jack was... well... Jack.
And that was probably why she loved him so much.
Just before she turned away, Jack glanced back at her over his shoulder and smiled. One of his slow, small but melt-her-socks smiles. Sam smiled back and headed towards the women's locker room to change into mission-appropriate clothes.
Chapter Two: Storm Front
Thunder cracked outside, and lightening turned the night sky as bright as day. Jack squinted and turned away from the cave entrance to look to the small fire Teal'c had built an hour before. Daniel sat on a rock, the flames of the fire reflecting off the lenses of his glasses, and his lips moved as he worked to decipher the etchings. He had made the parchment rubbings at the ruins before...
Before the freakin' sky had opened up and dumped enough water on them to put Noah's flood to shame.
The sun had disappeared, as if someone had thrown a switch, as black menacing clouds rolled in. The air had become charged with electricity, screwing with their tracking systems and leaving them blind to get back to the gate. Luckily, they had found these caves in the hills above the ruins and planned on holding out there for the night.
Jack ran a hand over his still damp hair. He heard a shuddered sigh and looked to his left. Sam sat facing the fire, but several feet back, with her arms crossed over her chest and her body folded forward against her thighs. A visible tremble moved through her, and Jack stood to move closer.
"You okay, Carter?"
"Yes, sir," she said through quaking lips.
He didn't buy it, and gripped her elbow to make her stand. "Come on, get closer to the fire. You look like you're freezing."
"I got chilled, and can't seem to shake it."
"Scoot over, Daniel," Jack said as he made a spot clear for her to sit.
Daniel mumbled his agreement and moved away, his eyes never leaving the parchment in his hands. Jack kicked some smaller stones out of the way, his hand still on Sam's elbow. She was shaking so badly, the tremors ricocheted through her body. A heavy feeling sank into Jack's gut as he looked at her face. In the dim light of the fire, he saw the darkened circles under her eyes, and the glaring flush of her lips was a testament to the pallor of her cheeks.
"Come on, Carter. Sit down."
She didn't speak, but sank heavily to the ground with a half-decayed log behind her back for support. Jack sat on the log, his hands dangling between his spread knees, as he watched her lean towards the fire. Sam rocked back and forth, her jaw shaking.
"Is Major Carter ill?" Teal'c asked from the mouth of the cave where he stood watch.
"I'm f-f-fine," she tried to answer.
Daniel looked up from his translation, and Jack saw on his face the same concern that ate at his own gut. "Sam?"
She didn't speak again, just closed her eyes and shook her head - continuing to rock.
Jack reached for her, pressing his palm against his forehead. Her skin was clammy, and the heat nearly burned his skin. "For cryin' out loud, Carter. You're burning up. When did you start feeling sick?"
"Not until just a little while ago. After we settled in here," she said through chattering teeth.
Jack squinted his eyes and looked towards the cave entrance. Another lightening bolt lit up the sky, and he could see the rain falling in its flash. Sam needed to get back to the Gate, back to the SGC, but he worried the trip there would be just as bad as keeping her here until the storm passed. She coughed; a thick rumble that made his chest hurt just hearing it. Jack winced.
"I'm so cold," she said in a low, scratchy voice and curled into herself even more.
Jack couldn't just sit there and watch her freeze. He slipped off the log to sit on the ground beside her and circled her shoulders with his arm. "C'mere," he said and pulled her close.
She didn't hesitate, and curled into his side, resting her head on his chest beneath his chin. Jack glanced at Daniel, then Teal'c, to gauge whether either had a comment. Daniel raised his eyebrows and looked away, seeming to engross himself in the parchment again. Teal'c seemed completely unfazed and turned to walk back to the mouth of the cave. Jack rubbed Sam's arms and fought the urge to press his lips against her damp hair.
Most of the time, Samantha Carter was the strongest, most impressive woman Jack had ever met. He often remembered that first day, the way she stood her ground with him. And those first missions, when she didn't back down in a fight. How she managed to be a Major in the United States Air Force, a theoretical astro-whatever genius, and one damn beautiful woman at the same time was beyond him. But beautiful she was. Feminine. Sexy.
But right now, she felt frail in his arms. Small and soft, and it scared the crap out of him.
Her breathing steadied after several minutes, and the shaking slowed. The tension in her body relaxed, Jack glanced in Daniel's direction. When Daniel looked up, Jack dipped his chin towards Sam's blonde head. Daniel looked at her, and folded his hands against his cheek, indicating she had fallen asleep.
"Good," Jack said in a whisper. "Maybe she'll sleep until the storm breaks."
Hours passed and the storm continued. Jack dozed off once or twice, jerking awake with the roll of thunder. But Sam never moved except to drape her arm across his stomach and pull her bent legs partially into his lap. She slept soundly, and despite the ache that settled into the small of his back, Jack wasn't about to make her move.
Why mess up a nice thing?
Regardless of the reason, Jack had to admit to himself that having Samantha Carter's arm over him, and her head over his heart, was about as close as he had come to his fantasies in years.
Daniel had fallen asleep curled in a ball, his back to the fire and his head on his clumped up jacket. Teal'c came towards the fire, appearing from the shadows, and crouched down to pile more dry wood on the flames.
"Thanks, T," Jack said, shifting slightly.
"How is Major Carter?"
"I guess the fact that she's sleeping is good, but I'll feel better getting her back to Doc Frasier - ah - damn." The name was out of his mouth before he realized he had even said it.
"I, too, often forget that Doctor Frasier is no longer with us, O'Neill. It leaves my heart heavy."
Jack just nodded and ran a hand over his face. If this storm didn't break soon, he decided he was going to make it to the Gate anyway.
A sound from behind them, deep in the cave, immediately brought Jack's senses awake and he reached for his weapon. Teal'c stood to his feet in one quick, fluid motion and shifted his staff weapon to aim into the darkness. Before either could move again, the cacophonous sound of yelling echoed around them and a dozen humans dressed in animal skins charged from the depths of the cavern.
Chapter Three: Awakening
Sam's own coughing brought her out of her fitful sleep, and she curled into herself to try and ease the ache that seized her chest. As the spasms subsided, she blinked and looked around. Panic seized her, turning her blood even colder as she realized neither Jack, Daniel nor Teal'c were anywhere around.
She tried to sit up, but a vice grip pinched her temples and her vision swam. Laying back again on the dirt floor of the cave, she rested her arm across her eyes. Nausea twisted her gut.
As she tried to regain her equilibrium, Sam fought to remember what happened. She remembered the rain, and finding the cave. Cold. Being so cold it sank all the way to her bones. And Jack touching her face. Curling against him and relishing in the heat of his body.
She squeezed her eyes together as it felt like another nail was hammered into her temple.
Then a fleeting memory... loud noises and she was thrown to the floor. Arms and feet and the sound of Teal'c's staff weapon, and the Zats. Darkness had taken over then.
Sam rolled to her side, the sound of gravel and dirt crunching beneath her. Several feet away a fire burned, but she could tell by the layout of the cave, this wasn't the one they had been in. Where were Daniel and Teal'c? Jack? Oh, God...
Rough voices, speaking a guttural tongue, came from the darkness. Sam squinted her eye and tried to see them. She caught her breath as several figures moved into the light. She quickly counted eight women, dressed in animal skins that barely covered them, matted hair and dirty skin, as they slowly crept towards her.
Drawing on the last bit of energy she had, she gritted her teeth against the chill that made her bones ache, and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She held up her hands, hopefully in a non-threatening act.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she said.
The small gathering of women jumped simultaneously and exchanged fleeting glances. The rest pushed one forward, and she crouched down, approaching Sam on bent legs with one hand pressed into the dirt on her knuckles. She spoke, but Sam had no idea what language it was. It was rough... primitive... sounding more like grunts than actual spoken words.
"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head. Sam pressed her hand to her chest. "My name is Major Carter. Where are my friends?"
The woman shook her head and shouted something in her language, the stench of body odor reaching Sam. It only succeeded in making her stomach churn more. She swallowed against the greasy roll in her gut.
"My friends. Where are my friends?" She pulled her dog tags from the inside of her tee-shirt, showing it to them, hoping they would understand she needed to see the others who wore the same.
A deep, male voice came from the darkness and the women scattered. Sam looked up to see the figure approach. He was big, probably six feet tall, but thin and similar in appearance to the women. Scraggly. Dirty. Barely dressed. He grunted what probably was a command at Sam, but she could only stare and shake her head.
"I don't understand."
Her vision was swimming again, and the pressure behind her eyes grew with each moment. She was so cold. So incredibly cold, which she knew meant she was probably running a fever. Sam's body screamed out to just lie back and rest, but her mind wouldn't let her. She had to find the others - had to find Jack.
The man lunged at her, grabbing a fistful of hair on the back of her head and hauled her to her feet. Sam bit back the cry on her lips, and tried to fight against his hold. Instinctively, she reached for her weapons, realizing too late they were gone. He pulled her against his chest, and the fowl stench of his body and breath washed over her. He yanked at her again, moving towards the dark recesses of the cave, and Sam fought again. Her strength was nearly gone, her legs trembling from holding her weight. Before the light of the small fire disappeared, Sam was already in darkness.
~*~
"O'Neill."
Jack snapped open his eyes and looked into his Jaffa friend's face. Blinking, he glanced around. "Teal'c. What the hell happened?"
"We were overtaken during a surprise attack by what appears to be primitive inhabitants of this planet. I have just awoken, as has DanielJackson."
"Carter?" Jack asked, sitting him. The back of his head hurt like a son of a---
"Her whereabouts are unknown."
"Ah, hell," was all he allowed himself to say, but Jack's chest suddenly ached with deep and intense dread. "Where is Daniel?"
Teal'c inclined his head to Jack's left. It was then Jack realized they were in some sort of makeshift holding cell. Cramped inside a space in the cavern wall, their exit was blocked by large pieces of wood held in place by stones. Nothing he and Teal'c couldn't take down in five seconds flat.
"You okay, Danny?"
Daniel nodded, but seemed intent on listening to the small group of `humans' gathered outside the cell. Jack stood as upright as he could in the tight space and made his way to the bars. Twenty feet away was a fire, and around it were gathered several men. They spoke in short, choppy grunts.
"What are they saying?" Jack asked.
Daniel shook his head. "I can't get it all. Their language seems to be a very primitive form of Goa'uld, or at least, I think so. I've been listening for the last several minutes, and just a minute or two ago, I could have sworn I saw the eyes of the one in the gray pelt glow."
"You mean they're snakeheads?"
Daniel shrugged. "I think that, in some form, they may be. Perhaps the Goa'uld tried to inhabit this planet, but the humans living here are so primitive even the collective consciousness of the symbiote couldn't break the intellectual barrier. Or perhaps, the humans here have somehow regressed, despite the Goa'uld."
Jack waved his hand in the air. "Et et ... enough. They're snakeheads, that's all I need to know. Have you heard anything about Carter? Where're they keeping her?"
Daniel's expression tensed and he looked away.
"Daniel..."
"All I can catch is that their ... chief... for lack of a better translation, has chosen new woman."
"A new woman?"
"With yellow hair."
"Like hell," Jack growled and kicked at the bars that held them in. "Teal'c, let's get out of here."
Moving in unison, Jack and Teal'c stepped back and kicked at the bars together. Rocks and wood tumbled forward into the chamber. Their escape immediately sent the men in the cave into frenzy, and they called out in loud grunts and shouts to each other, grabbing sticks and rocks to attack them with. Without weapons, they moved into hand-to-hand combat, and as Jack laid out his second primitive, and flurry of action caught his eye. His heart caught in his throat.
The biggest male of all of them came into the light of the fire, a limp and pale Sam being dragged behind him.
Chapter Four: Called Out
"Teal'c!" Jack yelled as he plowed his way through the mass of primitives, calling the Jaffa to action.
Teal'c tossed two men aside, and Jack lunged at the man who held Sam by the hair. When he was nearly within reach, the primitive yelled out something and yanked Sam's head back, lifting a large rock with his other hand.
"Jack, stop! He'll kill her!" Daniel shouted.
Jack froze, his body still fighting the urge to grab Sam's captor by the throat. He clenched his hands into tight fists and clenched his jaw. The primitive shouted again, waving his rock-weapon over his head and looked down at Sam. She stirred, a small moan squeezing at Jack's chest.
"What the hell is he saying, Daniel?" Jack asked over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off Sam.
"I'm not getting it all, but I think he's challenging you to a fight."
"Why?" Jack asked, squinting his eyes.
"For Sam. He - um -"
"*What*, Daniel?"
"He thinks Sam is your woman, and he wants to fight you for her."
The primitive yelled again, brandishing his rock. He levied it towards Sam's head and Jack shot his hands out. "Okay! Okay!"
"He says that although the dark man is of far greater strength, he sees you are chief and..." Daniel paused, mumbling to himself.
"Daniel..."
"I'm trying to think! He sees you are chief and assumes you have killed many enemies to have a woman such as... well, Sam." Then Daniel said something back, trying to match the guttural language.
"What did you tell him?"
"That you are Chief, and that we wish to leave in peace."
The primitive shook the rock and shouted again.
"Not buying it, huh?"
"No," Daniel answered.
"This is not the first world, O'Neill, where women have been considered prizes to be bartered and possessed," Teal'c said. "Even on Chulak, before the oppression of the Goa'uld, it is told in stories that great battles were fought over the most beautiful of women among us."
Jack arched one eyebrow. No arguing Sam was one of the most beautiful women... he shook off the thought. He needed to focus.
The chief went into another series of yells and grunts. Jack glanced over his shoulder and watched Daniel's expression change as he tried to translate. "Daniel..."
"He says we came into his home, it is your duty to honor his demand. Either you fight him for Sam, or he'll kill her."
The primitive raised his rock.
"Ah! Okay!" Jack yelled. "Okay. Whatever he wants."
Chapter Five: Over the Edge
Dirt and dust filled her nostrils, the resulting cough bringing Sam out of her stupor. She moaned, every muscle and joint in her body aching with fever, and rolled onto her side.
"Sam?"
Her name drifted to her, and she blinked, trying to bring the world into focus.
"Sam, wake up."
"Jack?" she whispered, her throat as dry as P3X-779.
A hand touched her shoulder, and she blinked again, bringing Daniel's face into focus. "It's Daniel. How do you feel?"
"Like I've lived through half a dozen Zat shots."
He smiled, but there was tension behind his expression.
"Where's the Colonel?" Sam asked, trying to sit up. Daniel supported her back as she came upright, and the dizziness seemed to shift from the front to the back of her head. "Oh, boy..." She swallowed down the nausea.
She realized Daniel hadn't answered, and looked into his face, holding her palm against her own forehead. "Daniel, where is the Colonel?"
"He prepares for battle even as we speak," Teal'c said from her right, and she looked up to see the big man standing over her. He grasped her elbow, and together with Daniel, Sam gained her feet.
Her surroundings swirled, and she leaned heavily into Teal'c, grasping Daniel's hand. She realized that they were no longer deep in the caverns, but at the mouth of a cave. Outside, the sun shone bright again, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. At least the weather had broken. Then her thoughts snapped back to what Teal'c had said.
"Battle? With whom? Why?" She looked between Teal'c stoic expression and Daniel's pained one. "Tell me what's going on," she demanded.
"I don't know what you remember, but we were jumped by a tribe of primitive Goa'ulds..."
"Goa'uld?" Sam spat the words.
Daniel nodded. "The chief of the clan believes that Jack is our... chief..." He threw a glance at Teal'c, seeming to silently ask for help, for which Teal'c raised one eyebrow. Daniel sighed, closed his eyes and waved his hand. "He says Jack is our chief, and challenged him to a fight."
"Why doesn't the Colonel just say no?"
"O'Neill believes his has no option but to battle. The cost is too great."
Sam looked at Teal'c. "Guys, I know my brain is fuzzy right now, but I swear you two are talking in riddles. What is it you're not telling me?"
She stared at Daniel, then Teal'c, who then looked at each other and back at her.
"They're fighting for you."
Sam stared at Daniel. He squinted his eyes and pressed his lips together before explaining further. "When the clan attacked us, you were... uh... sleeping with Jack. On Jack... beside..." Daniel fumbled around the words, and Sam felt her cheeks flush hotter. "The Chief thinks you are Jack's... woman... and he challenged Jack to a fight. For you. Winner takes all."
Before Sam could fully digest the information, and close her gaping jaw, a flurry of activity drew her attention outside the cave. Jack and the man she remembered as the one who dragged her from one of the caverns stood facing each other, both hunched in fighting stances. They moved around each other in slow circles, like two prizefighters. But what scared her the most, what caused her heart to catch in her throat, was how dangerously close they were to the cliff edge. From here, she judged the fall was at least three hundred feet down.
Sam bolted forward, only to stumble to her knees. "Sir! No!"
Jack looked to her, and the expression in his eyes squeezed her heart. It was the same type of look he had given her on the Goa'uld ship when the Tok'ra armbands had stopped working and he couldn't free her.
*I can't lose you now.*
His opponent took the opportunity to lunge at Jack, and they were immediately clenched in hand-to-hand combat. Around her, the other primitives shouted and cried out, raising their fists in the air. Daniel knelt beside her, his arm circling her shoulders.
"We have to stop this..." Sam said, her voice tight to her own ears.
There were no rules to the fight. Last man standing won. Sam held her breath as Jack and the chief exchanged blow after blow. The chief's eyes glowed a sinister white. Sam knew that, even though he appeared weaker than Jack, there would be hidden strength in him because of the Goa'uld that inhabited his body. She watched through burning eyes as the man she loved fought for her.
The chief picked up a large piece of wood, as long as Teal'c staff weapon, but twice as thick, and swung it at Jack's head. Jack dodged, but as he recovered, he was hit in the back of his knee and a loud cracking sound made Sam wince. His knee hit the rocks with a sickening thud and he cried out.
"Colonel!" Sam called out. "Daniel, Teal'c, please! We have to help him!"
"It is not allowed, Major Carter. The fight must be between them, and only them. To interfere would be punishable by death," Teal'c explained, but Sam heard the tightness in the Jaffa's voice. He didn't like it any more than she did.
No, Sam was pretty sure she hated this more than Daniel and Teal'c combined.
The chief gained the upper hand, and crouched over Jack, attacking his head and shoulders again and again with fists fortified by rocks in his grasp. Sam cried, unable to hold back the anguish that ripped her apart.
She gasped, holding her breath as Jack seemed to find a second wind. He grabbed the chief's shoulders and the tumbled together across the rocky crag. The voices of the tribe rose higher, now in protest. The chief tried to swing a rock at Jack's head one last time, but Jack twisted, planted his feet against his opponent's stomach, and powered his body backwards.
Unable to content with Jack's leverage, the chief flipped through the air, and with one long yell, went over the side of the cliff.
Sam stared for several moments, unable to move. Her lungs burned from lack of air and she sucked in a deep breath before scurrying across the rock to Jack's side.
He lay on his bad, arms spread out, with dirt and blood mixing on his face to mar his features. Sam knelt beside him, touching his cheek gingerly. Large drops of her own tears feel from her chin to leave wet circles in the dust coating his skin.
"Colonel?" she said urgently, trying to maintain some level of decorum. "Colonel, please." She wasn't sure what she was asking for, but only hoped someone had the answer.
His eyes opened and he looked up into her face. "Did I win?" he asked, his voice cracked.
Sam smiled and laughed, despite the panic that still pinched her chest. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him as best she could. He lifted on arm to wrap around her waist and held her.
Chapter Six: Fog
The only sound in the SGC infirmary at 0200 was the steady beep of the monitor hooked up to Colonel Jack O'Neill, and the occasional sniffling cough from his watcher and constant companion.
Sam shifted in the only moderately comfortable chair the infirmary night staff was able to find, and wiped her sore nose with a tissue. She hadn't left the room, except for quick trips to the head, for almost thirty-five hours. The first few hours she had slept in a bed across the room, hooked to a rehydrating IV full of a great cocktail of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication. But once her fever broke, and she was only left with a lingering cough and the occasional sneeze, she took up residence beside him.
She thought about all the times she had been the one in the bed. Never once could she recall opening her eyes for the first time, no matter what ailment or injury had put her in the infirmary, that Jack wasn't there. Watching. Waiting. Making sure she was okay.
Offering promises of cake.
Sam smiled.
"You really should get some rest, Major Carter."
Sam looked up at the night duty nurse, a young brunette woman who had been transferred to the SG-C after Janet's death. A tightening moved through Sam's chest at the thought of her absent friend. She looked to Jack, his features softened peacefully in sleep. It had hurt, more than she ever imagined when she lost Janet... and for those few fleeting moments... thought she had lost Jack, too. If she had lost them both... if she lost him now...
She swallowed back the emotion. "I will. If I get too tired, I'll just lie down. I promise."
The nurse nodded and left her alone again.
Sam stood and moved to the side of Jack's bed. The primitive chief on P3X-453 had done a lot of damage, more than could be seen. The cuts and abrasions on his face and neck minor implications of the sever concussion the multiple rock blows to his skull had caused. A blood vessel in his right eye had been broken, though the doctor told Sam the redness of the pooled blood had begun to diminish. He had three cracked ribs, and severely torn cartilage in his left knee.
All for her.
She glanced around the infirmary, just to make sure she was truly alone. As alone as a person could be at the SGC, with security cameras in the corner of every room. But right now, she didn't care what they did or didn't see. Gently, to not wake him if his body still needed the sleep, she stroked his forehead. The lines of age were relaxed, nearly gone, when he slept.
Sam pressed her fingertips to her lips, and then pressed the kiss to his forehead. It was the best she could do.
Wiping the seemingly ever-present moisture from her cheeks, she turned back to her chair. The surprising touch of his fingers curling around her hand stopped her, and she looked back.
Sleepy eyes looked at her, a soft smile on his lips.
"Hey," he said, his voice rough and low.
"Hey." Sam couldn't control the smile that she felt spread her lips. "Welcome back."
One corner of his mouth turned up in a cocky grin. "Couldn't stay in Oz forever."
Sam sighed a chuckle. She stroked his forehead and hair, forgetting that the cameras were on her and some airman somewhere was probably watching her with rapt attention.
"How long..."
"We came through the gate about thirty-six hours ago."
Jack nodded, and she could see his eyelids were heavy. He turned his face into her palm, the unshaved whiskers of his cheeks rubbing her skin. Then his eyes popped open again.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine. You should rest."
"You sure you're okay?"
"Which one of us is in the bed, huh, sir?"
Jack smiled, and some of her tension eased away. He drew in a deep breath, and hissed out a moan. "Ow. That hurts."
"Broken ribs."
"That guy fought haaaard," he said, dragging out the last word. "Guess he had something worth fighting for."
Warmth rushed over her body, sending shivers up her spine. A different kind of fever from the one that had plagued her on the planet. Sam pressed her thumb against his lips. "Shhhh, sir. You should go back to sleep."
His eyes drifted closed again, but before his breathing fell back into the steady rhythm of sleep, his lips pursed against her thumb. Sam's heart pounded fiercely in her chest, and she stepped back. She was in the hall, heading towards her on-base quarters before indulging in the desire to press her thumb against her own lips.
Chapter 7: Glances
"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" Jack shouted to what he thought was an empty debriefing room. His side pinched as he tried to maneuver his single crutch, and in annoyance, he tossed it across the floor.
"May I be of assistance, O'Neill?"
Jack hobbled the last three feet to the debriefing room table, clutching the edge to regain his balance. The damned contraption that held his leg straight was bound to make him fall on his face sooner or later. He looked to Teal'c, who stood several feet away near the observation window that looked down over the Gate room.
"Nope. Good now. Thanks," he said sarcastically, but immediately regretted it. Teal'c didn't deserve his foul mood. He just hated... well... pain.
"Indeed."
Jack yanked one of the chairs away from the table and fell into it, not caring all that much about grace or finesse. He stuck out his leg, with the ugly blue brace that wrapped him from ankle to hip, and tossed his mission folder on the tabletop.
"This. Sucks."
The door opened and Doctor Weir blew into the room, followed behind by Daniel and Doctor Malcolm. Great. His two favorite people. A pacifist scientist who suddenly thinks she knows how to run a military facility created to protect an entire planet, and a sado--masochistic lover of needles - big needles - that would have put Janet Frasier to shame with his poking and prodding. Jack raised his hand in a half-hearted hello, but a pain shot through his knee at the same time, and he winced.
*Damn it!*
"It's good to see back with us, Colonel O'Neill," Dr. Weir said as she took her seat at the head of the table.
"Thanks."
Everyone sat down, and Jack watched Doctor Malcolm sit across the table from him. Malcolm averted his eyes, not looking Jack in the face, and it made Jack curious as hell. Why would the doctor be at a mission briefing? And why did he look scared crapless?
His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened again. Jack did his damndest to suppress the smile that tugged at his lips when he saw Sam. It was dangerous to think of her as Sam. She should still be `Major' or `Carter', even in his head. One of these days, he'd slip up.
But really, how bad would it be if he called her Sam? Sammy? No, only her father called her Sammy...
Her gaze met his, and all other thoughts went right out of his head. Sam smiled, briefly, then glanced around at the other team members in the room. Taking the only remaining seat available, she sat down next to Jack.
Ain't life grand?
"How is your knee, sir?" she asked.
"Hurts like hell."
"All right," Doctor Weir said, drawing everyone's attention. "Since everyone is here, let's get started. Before we get into the details of the conflict with the inhabitants of P3X-453, Doctor Jackson, why don't you begin on the archaeological aspect of the mission."
"Certainly, Doctor. The ruins we found were similar to some we've found here on Earth in upper Mesopotamia..."
Jack didn't hear much after that. Daniel could've been talking like the teacher in the Peanut's Cartoon... Mwa ma mwa mwa mwaaaa... and Jack couldn't have cared any less. Course, Doctor Weir would eat it all up. It was like she and Daniel were poured from the same mold. Well, not the *same* mold...
He glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eye, watching her as she pretended to listen intently to Daniel's report. He knew better. She was bored out of her mind. Her right leg tapped out a steady rhythm beneath the table.
He tried to judge how she really was. They had come back from P3X-whatever three days before. Jack remembered her being in the infirmary when he woke up, remembered the dark circles under her eyes and the paleness of her skin. Just like on the planet. But she seemed stronger. Color back in her cheeks.
"Colonel."
Jack cleared his throat and looked to the head of the table. "Yes."
"Could you please give me your report?"
"Yeah-sure-youbetcha."
Fifteen minutes later, when every detail had been rehashed and regurgitated, Doctor Weir dismissed them. Jack was thankful. A throbbing ache had settled into his knee, and he just wanted to get somewhere so he could elevate it.
"Colonel O'Neill, could you stay for a few minutes?" Doctor Weir asked as Jack moved to push himself free of his chair.
"Sure."
"I'll save you some jell-o in the mess," Sam said, standing.
The scent of her shampoo... or something... wafted past him as she moved by. Jack cleared his throat and shifted in the chair as everyone filed out.
Everyone except Weir and Malcolm.
"What's up, Doc? ... Docs?"
Doctor Weir sighed heavily and folded her hands on the tabletop. "Colonel O'Neill, I had a long discussion with Dr. Malcolm before our debriefing today. I'm afraid we have some bad news."
Chapter 8: Changes
Sam picked at the remnants of her lunch, barely hearing the conversation between Daniel and Teal'c. Her gaze drifted to the slice of cake still sitting on the edge of her tray. They had been out of Jell-O, so she had grabbed Jack's next favorite food.
But Jack hadn't come to the Mess yet.
Something was wrong. She felt it in her gut. A nervous twitch moved over the surface of her skin, and she drew in a long breath, glancing again at the door.
"What do you think, Sam?"
She poked a stray kernel of corn with one prong of her fork, swirling it around in her plate.
"Major Carter."
Sam looked up. "What? Oh, I'm sorry, Teal'c. What did you say?"
Daniel laid his hand on her arm, giving a gentle squeeze. "You okay, Sam?"
She waved him off, pushing away her tray of food. "Fine. Just still a little out of it, I guess."
"Are you still feeling ill, Major Carter?"
Sam looked at Teal'c. There was a slightly deeper downturn in his lips, the crease in his brow around his gold emblem just a bit more prominent. He was worried. In the years she had known him, she had learned to occasionally recognize the subtle changes in his expression to indicate the feelings beneath the surface. Most wouldn't know it by looking at Teal'c, but he was a man who felt things deeply and intensely. He just did a hell of a lot better job hiding them than most.
Like her. Right now.
"Not really, Teal'c. Just not one hundred percent yet."
Both men stared at her, expectantly. Sam had to smile. Very few people really knew her, and no one knew her like the three men on her team. Dating didn't work for her; she had learned that painful lesson again and again. You can only lie to a person so much before they don't want to hear it anymore. Pete, most recently. He had tried to accept that she couldn't tell him everything, even after he had seen the Stargate. And part of her had wanted it to work, and if she were truthful, it was a very small part. With her father gone to be Tok'ra, her brother distant - both geographically and emotionally - she had very few people in her life that she felt close to. Daniel and Teal'c were two.
Jack was three. Or one, depending on how much she wanted to admit to herself.
"So, what were you talking about?" she asked, plastering a smile on her face.
"The inhabitants of P3X-453. DanielJackson is most intrigued by them."
"They were Goa'uld, yet they were primitive. They lived like cavemen, yet had established language, a hierarchy, cultural norms," Daniel started.
"Well, if you recall, I didn't see as much as you two." Sam looked down at her plate again.
"Once Jack is cleared to go, I think we should go back."
"What?" Sam shot Daniel a look.
"Well, Sam. Think about it. Jack won the battle. Technically, he is now considered their chief. They only allowed us to leave, because I told them he would be back to claim what was his."
"The rest of the women..." she trailed off.
"But don't you see? They're not going to threaten us again. We could study them. Maybe even learn something of the Goa'uld we didn't know."
"Why do you think Doctor Malcolm and Doctor Weir wanted to see the Colonel alone?" Sam spit out the question, cutting Daniel off, before she could decide it was best to keep the concerns to herself.
"I have wondered the same thing, Major Carter. It is most curious."
Sam nodded, looking to Teal'c. "Yeah. It just doesn't sit right with me. I think something is wrong."
The crackle of the base intercom interrupted their conversation.
"Major Carter, Doctor Jackson, and Teal'c please report to Doctor Weir's office."
In unison, the three stood and collected their trays.
"I wonder why they didn't just call SG-1," Daniel mused.
"Because the Colonel is either already there, or he won't *be* there," Sam said, a deadweight settling in her gut.
They walked together to Doctor Weir's office - formerly General Hammond's - and as they grew closer, the tension and apprehension in Sam's chest grew tighter and heavier. She had no idea what was going to happen, but somehow she sensed that things were going to be different. Good. Bad... she didn't know. Just ... different.
Daniel knocked on the office door and she and Teal'c followed him in. Doctor Weir stood, sticking a pencil in her brunette hair above her ear, and motioned for Sam to shut the door and for them to sit. Sam and Daniel took the chairs, while Teal'c stood behind her, his hands clasped behind his back. Sam watched Doctor Weir's face. She didn't look up right away, toying with the corner of a file folder on her desk. Sam didn't know this woman very well - barely knew her at all - but could figure out enough to know that whatever it was she was going to say, she didn't want to say it.
"I called the three of you here so we wouldn't have any interruptions."
Sam clenched her hands into tight fists, tucking them beside her thighs in the chair. It was like waiting for a bomb to explode, the other shoe to drop.
"The Colonel wants to explain most of this to you, but I said I'd do the worst of it. Effective immediately, the remaining team members of SG-1 are on leave for the next two weeks. Upon your return to active duty, you will have a new team member, to be announced at that time. How that member will fit in has not yet been determined."
"New team member?" Daniel asked, voicing the questions raging in Sam's mind. "Who... Jack? Why?"
Sam couldn't say anything. She just stared at Doctor Weir. Was this another attempt by those in the government who were opposed to the Stargate to break them down and end the program? Take out Jack - the cornerstone of everything they were - and weaken the entire structure? Kinsey was gone, but his constituents still held some positions of power. Doctor Weir glanced at her, and held her gaze. Her heart stopped beating for a split second, sitting in her chest like a rock.
"Colonel O'Neill asked to explain. He's waiting for you in the debriefing room."
Doctor Weir stood, as did Daniel. But Sam just stared. Her body suddenly revolting against the machinations that would get her free of the room. Then Teal'c large hand gripped her arm, and with the gentle urging, she made it to her feet.
"The Colonel will answer your questions when you see him."
"Come, Major Carter. We will go speak with O'Neill."
She nodded, and followed Daniel from the room, Teal'c behind her.
Chapter 9: Revelations
Jack stood at the observation window, staring down at the empty Gate room. Things were quiet. No teams were scheduled to leave until 1600 hours, and SG-13 was off world until tomorrow.
He stared at the Ring. How many times had he stepped through it? Each time was still a rush, just like that first trip to Abydos. Back then, he didn't want to feel the rush... the exhilaration. He hadn't wanted to feel anything at all.
Even though he never admitted it to anyone, being called back to active duty eight years before had been ... great. As soon as he stepped into the Gate room ... and could almost feel the electrical charge in the air the mighty machine emanated... he wanted out there again. Daniel's speech to him, when he barely knew who Daniel was... that even if he had nothing to live for, everyone else did... had been a wake up call. He still hurt for Charlie... for the empty hole left in his heart by the death of his son... but after that mission he at least decided to give life a chance.
So much had happened in eight years. If Charlie were still alive, he'd be a man now. A young man, but a man. Sara was gone... remarried. But he wasn't empty anymore. He loved what he did... really loved it. He found purpose, and people to care about again.
It felt good to care again, and know, on whatever level... people cared about him. Granted, at first he had no use for Daniel, but the allergic spacemonkey had become a good friend. Teal'c... he still hadn't quite figured T out completely, but he'd trust Teal'c to the end of the Earth. Course, seeing that they had been across the galaxy more than once, the end of the Earth didn't seem quite far enough.
And Sam. There were too many words... thoughts... for Sam.
The thought of never stepping through the Gate again left him cold. To the bone.
The door opened and he looked over his shoulder, steadying himself with a hand on the wall to keep his balance on his good leg. Daniel came in first, followed by Sam who looked as though she wouldn't be there at all if Teal'c weren't right behind her. She looked at him with wide blue eyes. Searching.
Jack smiled. "Come on in, campers. Have a seat."
He watched Sam. She moved to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat... but her eyes never left him. Her gaze was anxious and ... frightened? It hadn't been very often Jack had seen true fear in Samantha Carter's eyes... but he saw it now. Jack reached for his crutch. Teal'c moved to help, but Jack waved him off. Doing his best to hide the pain in his leg, and the pounding headache behind his eyes, he made it to a chair and sat down beside Sam.
Where to begin. He drummed his fingertips on the tabletop.
Silence.
"I guess the Good Doctor Weir told you that you've got the next two weeks off."
None of them said anything, just stared at him. Jack cleared his throat.
"Yeah. Okay. She also told you I'm off SG-1."
"Not in so many words, Jack. But yeah," Daniel said, leaning forward.
"What has occurred to bring forth this change?"
"Good question, T," Jack said with an emphatic point at the big man. He leaned back and tapped his immobilized leg. With an aggravated jerk, he ripped open one of the Velcro straps, the sound echoing in the stone silent room. "I've been removed from active duty. Permanently."
He heard her small intake of breath, but didn't dare look at her. Afraid of what he'd see.
"There's nothing they can do?" Daniel asked.
"Nope. Fried the ole' knee but good."
"Will Major Carter be taking your place?" Teal'c asked.
He felt, more than saw, her body tense beside him. She was like a bowstring... tightened any further and she'd snap.
"That's the recommendation I've made to Doctor Weir, along with a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. Carter is ready. They just need to decide who to bring on for the fourth member."
"So, what... are you retiring? Taking a desk job?"
Jack looked to Daniel, who sat on the other side of Sam. "Don't know. That's up to me. I've been given some options."
"Like what?" Daniel prodded.
"Well, retire... again. Or, I can stay with the SG-C, and take a desk job. And we all know what a thrill that would be for me." He paused, waiting for a chuckle or grin that never came. "Or, I've been offered a position acting as liaison between the White House and the SGC. I'd travel between here and DC."
He finally built the nerve to look at her, locking gazes with her.
"Either way, I'm no longer your commanding officer."
If possible, her eyes widened further. She just stared. Not blinking.
"I've got time to decide." He found it hard to force the words from his throat.
He watched her swallow, her throat shifting with the action. She finally blinked and lowered her chin, looking down at her clenched hands. Jack turned away, looking again to Teal'c and Daniel.
"Not the way I planned on going out... but what can you do, right?"
"It is most regrettable, O'Neill. I shall feel the absence of your presence most profoundly."
Jack leaned forward enough to clap his hand down on the big Jaffa's shoulder. "Yeah, Teal'c. Me, too."
After several more minutes of uncomfortable silence mingled with words of encouragement and regret, Teal'c and Daniel stood to leave. Sam shifted her chair back, but before she could stand, Jack slipped his hand under the table and set it on her knee. Not looking at her, he squeezed gently. Her fingers brushed across the back of his, and she moved the chair back against the table.
Daniel left, and as Teal'c reached the door, he looked back to Jack and Sam. With a slow bow of his head, and what Jack thought might have been the slightest hint of a grin, he closed the door behind him as he left.
In silence again, they sat. Jack still held his hand on her knee beneath the table, unseen by the security cameras. Her fingers still caressed his. Jack swallowed the dry lump in his throat, and shifted his gaze to look at her.
So wary... so damn...what? She looked like she was about to hop right out of her own skin.
"Hey," he said softly.
She looked up at him, through thick lashes.
"How you doing?"
Sam chuckled, a wry and humorless laugh. "How am *I* doing? I should be asking you."
"But I'm the one asking."
Chapter Ten: Jack, Just Jack
"But I'm the one asking."
Sam stared at him - trying to absorb everything. Why was it she could calculate celestial drift in her head and recalibrate a tri-phase naquida regulator under heavy Jaffa fire, but when it came to accepting the fact that Jack was no longer in SG-1... she went blank.
He raised his eyebrows, tipping his head in a classic Jack expression. "Carter?"
Sam raised her hands and shook her head. She tried to talk, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was babble-like sounds. Jack's lips turned up in a small, warm-her-blood grin.
"Carter is speechless. This is new."
Sam laughed, despite the chaos in her heart. "There's a first time for everything, sir."
"Jack."
She stared at him. "What?"
"I'm not your CO anymore. Call me Jack, Sam."
His voice was like honey over gravel, sweet yet as rough as he was. "Y-you're still a Colonel in the United States Air Force."
"Then I'll make it an order."
Sam smiled and dipped her chin. Warmth filled her cheeks, but from pleasure. Of talking with him, being near him. As if the last few days hadn't happened. Was it just a handful of days ago that he had wiped whipped cream from her cheek in the elevator, then licked it off his own thumb?
Jack leaned his elbow on the tabletop, and rested his fist against his jaw. "So, whatcha thinkin'?"
She looked into his eyes for several moments, and a gentle feeling of peace edged away the tension. His expression was... soft? No, soft wasn't the right word for Jack. There was nothing soft about him. Kind? Warm? She didn't know... couldn't put a name to it, but it was calming, and nice.
Many times in eight years, she had been scared out of her mind. But she had spent years learning how to hide fear, anger... whatever emotion could be used against her in a fight. He might not have known she was afraid, but all it would take was one look from Jack, maybe even just a brush of his shoulder against hers, and it was always enough to calm her. Ease her fears. Make her believe everything would end up just fine.
"I'm thinking... that... this is a big change," she said, finally finding her voice. She cleared her throat softly and found his hand again beneath the table. "But, I'm thinking that it's nothing you can't handle, and everything will work out in the end, like it always does."
He just watched hers, those dark eyes of his seeing right through her. Jack O'Neill might play dumb when it came to theoretical astrophysics, the mechanical probability of wormhole stability, or the native cultures of ancient civilizations across the galaxy, but he didn't fool her. He was a man with understanding that went deeper than most.
She looked down at the neoprene and Velcro brace that wrapped his leg. Sam winced when she remembered the sickening crack the joint made when the chief on P3X-453 hit him. Jack's face, twisted in pain, flashed in her mind.
"Hey," he said, and she realized she had closed her eyes. She opened them and looked at him. "What else?"
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I can't help believing this is my fault."
"Nope." He gave an extra `pop' to the `p'.
Sam tilted her head. "Nope? That's your answer?"
"Yep." Same pop.
"Well, I think you're wrong. If I hadn't--"
"If you hadn't what?" he said cutting her off.
"If I could have--"
"If you could have what?"
Sam huffed. "If you'd let me finish, sir."
"Jack."
"Fine. Jack." He waved his hand for her to continue, and rested his cheek against his knuckles again. Sam realized he was goading her, taking away the edge of tension from the moment. She smiled, letting herself give in to the easy pleasure of talking to Jack O'Neill.
"If I hadn't been sick, then you wouldn't have had to fight for me."
"Could do anything about being sick. And even if you hadn't been, I would have done it anyway."
"Why?" Sam asked, shaking her head once. "Jack, I can take care of myself. I've trained for years to do just that. And I've proven to you more than once I can do it."
Jack nodded. "Yes, you have. Like those Obladee Obladi people..."
"Shavadai."
"Yeah, them. You kicked butt."
"So..."
Jack leaned towards her, closing the space between them. Sam held her breath, her skin tingling. "So, it wouldn't have worked. He challenged me." If possible, his eyes seemed to darken. His lips tipped up in a lopsided grin. "For my woman."
Sam couldn't catch her breath. She felt the flush in her cheeks, and the pounding of her heart. Jack's other hand, that had managed to stay on her knee through the whole conversation, squeezed gently.
*Good God!*
She drew air slowly into her burning lungs and looked into his brown eyes. "What are you going to do?"
"You're the smarty pants scientist. You tell me."
Chapter 11: Unspoken
"Molson, right Jack?"
Jack nodded at Daniel, who headed for the bar to get their drinks. He leaned into his crutch as Teal'c and Sam slid into the booth, Teal'c on one side - Sam the other.
The moment of truth. Did he sit beside Teal'c? That way he could see her face. Or did he sit beside Sam? Just to... well, just to be beside her. In the end, Sam won. Besides that, he could always use the excuse that sitting on her side let him extend his braced leg from beneath the table.
She glanced sideways at him, and in the dim light of the bar, he saw the slight blush stain her cheeks. Jack would be willing to bet her skin was warm to the touch. Her eyes were still wide whenever she looked at him, and he saw the turmoil behind them.
He wondered if he had been way off on his assumptions. In the eight years they'd been CO and 2IC, there had been some pretty heavy flirting. A few shared moments... granted, some had been as a result of distorted reality one way or another. Time Loops. Lost Memory. Regression. But if there wasn't something there, would any of those kisses happened. Hot kisses. Great kisses. Like that time in the locker room when he had her against the wall...
"Here you go," Daniel said, returning with everyone's beverage of choice.
Jack took one of the two Molson bottles, and slid the other towards Sam. Her fingers brushed his when she took it, but he didn't look up, tried not to react.
For cryin' out loud... he felt like a damn teenager. Maybe he should go to the head and make sure he hadn't been switched with his Mini Me again.
Teal'c took his Shirley Temple, removing the fancy umbrella the barmaid always made sure he got, and pulled off the extra cherries from the stem. Jack smiled, remembering the collection of stupid little paper umbrellas the big Jaffa had back in his quarters. To Teal'c they were a gift, to be kept. Course, it didn't hurt that the pretty young woman gave Teal'c her special smile whenever they came in.
"So..." Daniel said, settling into his seat.
"So..." Jack mimicked.
Sam shifted, letting her hip brush his. Her blue eyes darted in his direction, but she quickly looked away.
"Have you reached a decision in regards to which path you may take, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, breaking the silence.
Jack arched his brows and tipped his head. "Nope. I don't need to until the end of my two weeks. I figure, by then I'll either be enjoying my free time so much I'll take retirement ... or I'll be going insane and will have to get back to work." He waved his hand. "In whatever capacity."
"Are you really considering taking the job in DC?" Daniel asked. "To be honest, I'm surprised the President made such an offer... Even with Kinsey gone..."
"Perhaps your President has seen the wisdom of the Stargate program, and desires O'Neill to lead him down a more logical path."
Jack smiled. "I was thinking of taking it, just to piss people off."
Sam remained silent, swirling the bottom of her beer bottle in the ring of condensation left on the tabletop. Jack saw Daniel's eyes shift between him and Sam, then he focused on Jack. His eyes squinted slightly as he seemed to think of what to say.
"Do you really want to be away from Colorado that much?"
Jack paused, taking a long drink from his beer. It was cold and wet, and felt good going down. He wondered how many it would take to kill the pain in his knee, and clear up the confusion in his head. Course, when you're drunk the things that seem clear as day are usually worse by the time you sober up.
"Well, without my trips Off World, what's there to keep me busy?" he said, weighing his words carefully.
Daniel's eyes darted to Sam. Jack didn't turn. Wouldn't put that kind of pressure. He had put it out there... not in so many words... but the next move was Sam's. He waited for Daniel to look back at him, waited until their eyes held for a second, then shook his head. A slight movement that would hopefully only be seen by Daniel, maybe Teal'c. Daniel lifted his chin, then looked down at the table... an equally subtle response. Teal'c only raised an eyebrow.
They drank a few more rounds. Enough to loosen the mood, without getting stupid. And around 2300 hours, Jack tossed a handful of bills on the table and moved to stand.
"Who gets to drive me home?"
He held his breath, hoping Sam might offer. Give them some time to talk, without cameras and well-intending friends around. When the silence lasted a heartbeat too long, Daniel cleared his throat.
"Um, I'm driving Teal'c so I don't mind taking you, too."
"Thanks."
They left O'Malley's and Jack hobbled to the parking lot, thankful Daniel had parked near the door. Daniel unlocked the doors and he and Teal'c climbed in, leaving Jack standing near the back passenger door. Sam was parked right beside Daniel, and as she reached to open her door, Jack touched her arm.
"Hey," he said softly.
She looked up at him, the light of the moon making her eyes sparkle.
"If I made you uncomfortable..."
"No," she said, cutting him off. "No, you didn't. It's just... a change."
"Changes can be good."
The slightest hint of a smile bowed her lips. She dropped her gaze, looking to where his hand still lingered on her jacket sleeve. "Sometimes, they can be great. But they're always scary as hell."
Then she opened her door, and Jack took it as his hint. He climbed in Daniel's car, and within minutes was inside his house, another beer in his hand. He sank onto the couch with a sigh. It felt like weeks had passed since he'd been here. The last time was the morning before the mission to P3X-453. It still amazed him how quickly things could change.
He tried to shift, but his immobilized leg whacked against the leg of his coffee table. He cursed, barely catching his beer before it fell over on the rug. A rush of anger hit him, the first since earlier that day when Malcolm told him the verdict. The first he had let himself feel. Using every swear he could think of, he cursed at the empty house as he yanked each Velcro strap free and chucked the leg brace across the room. It landed, silently, on the floor at the base of his fireplace.
"Damn it!" he shouted one last time; annoyed he couldn't even get the satisfaction of a crash.
He slouched down on the couch and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. Sometimes he felt so damn old.
"You're a fool, Jack," he said to himself. A fool to think that, if finally given the opportunity, Sam would want anything to do with him.
He remembered back to when the `other' Sam had come through the mirror, and he found out that in her reality, she and he had been married. He'd asked her then how she ended up with someone like him, but she never really answered.
She was young. Smart. Damn Smart. Beautiful. What would she want with an old warhorse like him? But if she wanted the same thing he did, wouldn't she have said it? Wouldn't she have come to him? Wouldn't she have told him what she wanted him to do?
Jack draped his arm across his face, his elbow lying across the bridge of his nose.
"Damn fool," he said again.
Chapter Twelve: Midnight
Sam didn't remember making the conscious decision to go back to Cheyenne Mountain, or to get out of her car and go inside. She barely noticed the glances the airman at the entrance gave her, didn't really care.
She stood at the base of the ramp, staring up at the Gate. Sam remembered the awe and amazement she had felt the first time she heard the Chevrons lock, felt the power of the loud `kawoosh' of the event horizon opening. Before she ever stepped through, ever walked into the briefing room eight years before, she had known who Colonel Jonathan O'Neill was. He was ... a hero. An honest to goodness hero.
Now, standing in almost the same place she had eight years before, she thought about him again. He was still a hero, even though most of the world - hell, the galaxy - didn't know it. Still an amazing man. But so much more.
She turned and looked to the wall beside the control room observation window. The hole had been patched and painted over, but she still knew it was there. The spot where an alien device had imbedded itself into the concrete, taking Jack with it. It was the first time she realized she could lose him, and how terrifying a thought it had been.
More than once, she had almost lost him.
Now, she could have him. All of him. Forever.
So, why was she here? And not with him?
Maybe she was overanalyzing things. Maybe the conversation today in the debriefing room had just been that... a conversation. Laced with their usual flirting. That was all.
No. Today was more than flirting. He had touched her. Held his hand on her. Looked at her with those incredible eyes.
She walked up the ramp, stood beneath the arc of the Gate. With a smile, she thought about their first trip through together, when they went to Abydos to retrieve Daniel. She had stood at the threshold of the event horizon, mesmerized by the rippling surface. Excited at the possibilities, yet almost too overwhelmed to step through.
And what did Jack do?
He shoved her through.
Sam wrapped her arms around her body and smiled.
"I get it, Jack," she said to the empty room.
All the fear and anxiety that had haunted her washed away, left with a sweet rush. Like stepping through the Gate. Again and again.
She turned on her heels and ran down the ramp.
Chapter Thirteen: Slow Enough
Jack's house was in darkness when Sam pulled up front, except for a small light in the living room. Her heart pounded in her chest so hard and fast she thought it would break right through her ribs. But the adrenaline that electrified her blood wasn't from fear. Not anymore.
Never again. Not when it came to Jack.
She got out of her car and went to the front door, peeking through the window to the left, trying to see inside. Before she lifted her hand to knock, she saw his legs protruding out away from his couch. The leg brace was gone, and Sam smiled to herself. She was willing to bet it was on the other side of the room... removed in frustration.
Not wanting to make him get up, Sam dug out her key ring and found the house key he had given to her years before. Just in case, he had said.
This was definitely a just in case situation.
She slipped the key into the lock, and with gentle care, released the tumblers and opened the door. Sam held her breath as she closed the door behind her, watching what she could see of his body to make sure he didn't wake up. Not yet.
Shrugging off her jacket, she left it with her purse on the foyer landing. Reaching the corner, she snuck her head around to peek at him.
Jack was slouched down on the couch, his arm draped across his face. The soft light from the end table left him in a tantalizing glow, accentuating the angles and muscles of his body and arms beneath the black tee shirt. Sam's skin warmed and her heart beat faster.
She slipped down the steps and eased her knees into the cushion of the couch so she knelt facing him. Feeling just a little mischievous, Sam watched his face - or what she could see of it - and rested her hand over his heart. It beat steady and strong against her palm. Sam closed her eyes, recalling more than once when he had held her close and she either heard or felt his heart beating. So soothing. So comforting. So arousing.
With a smile so wide on her lips, it made her cheeks ache, Sam leaned forward and carefully eased Jack's arm away from his face. He sighed, heavily, and turned his face towards her. Sam set his arm across his stomach and turned her focus again on him.
His features were relaxed, his sculpted lips parted as he breathed heavy in sleep. Sam ran her fingertips along his brow, brushing his short, silver hair. It was soft, amazingly soft, and it surprised her. Somehow, she expected his short hair to feel coarse, not silky. She moved down the bridge of his nose, touched his lips, felt his breath on her fingers. He drew in a long, deep breath, his chest rising.
Sam leaned closer, brushing her cheek along his until her lips rested near his ear. Her own breath was short, and she closed her eyes for a moment to try and regain some control of the chaos that twirled sweetly through her stomach. She rested her hands on his abdomen, still tight and hard from years of discipline, and ran her palms up over his chest.
"Jack," she said softly, pursing her lips against his jaw. "Wake up."
She felt the shift in his body, heard the change in his breathing, and knew he was awake. A giggle threatened to escape, but she bit her lip and instead focused on breathing gently against his ear. She touched her lips to his skin again, holding them there for a long kiss.
His arms came around her, pressing against her back, pulling her closer. In an easy, fluid motion Sam shifted and brought her legs over his thighs so she straddled his lap, facing him. He moaned softly, but she could tell it wasn't from pain. Sam held his face in her hands and leaned back to look into his yes.
Fully away now, he looked up at her. His gaze moved over her face, and she felt it as surely as a caress. Sam ran her thumb over his lips and they curled up into a slow, sexy grin.
"Carter..."
"Sam," she said, closing the space between them to cover his mouth with her own.
Of all the kisses they had shared, for whatever reason they had happened, this was the most earth shattering of all. Its power moved through her like a Zat shot, sucking the air from her lungs and heating her skin until her clothes felt restrictive and smothering. One of them moaned, she didn't know who, didn't care.
Jack's hands moved over her back, gripping her hips to pull her closer. His touch invigorated and energized her. She fought to control the need that raged inside her as his hands slipped beneath her shirt to touch her skin.
"Sam," he said against her mouth. "Don't you want to take this slow?"
She shook her head, and pulled back only far enough that she could match his gaze. "I think eight years is slow enough, don't you?"
He smiled, his eyelids heavy and his eyes dark as he looked at her. Slowly, he nodded his head, his stare dropping to her lips. "Oh, yeah. Plenty slow enough."
Jack held her head in his hands and pulled her down again for another kiss.
"I'd sweep you off your feet and carry you to the bedroom, but..."
Sam started to laugh.
"No giggling."
"No giggling," she repeated and slipped off his lap to stand.
She held out her hands to him, and holding her gaze, he took them and stood. He wrapped one arm around her, raising the other to touch her face. The touch was so tender, so gentle, it brought tears to her eyes.
"I love you." His voice was heavy, and rough, and hit whispered over her like a black velvet blanket. "I haven't said that to anyone in a long time."
"I know. I love you, too."
Chapter Fourteen: Just when you thought...
Jack rested his head on the high back of his patio lounge, relishing in the mid-afternoon heat as it sank into his bones. It was a beautiful day. Bright sun. No clouds. The trees were green. The birds were singing...
Doctor-Major Samantha Carter's hand was sliding under his tee shirt...
He drew in a long breath, enjoying the moment. Knowing that this time he wasn't going to wake up with the painful evidence that it was just a dream. Dreams didn't come close to the last two days with Sam.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Am I smiling? I didn't realize I was smiling."
Sam shifted, moving closer so she could lean her elbow against the back of the lounge and look down at him. Her fingertips brushed his lips and he reached up to push some blonde hair behind her ear. She was wearing it longer again, almost like when he first met her. He liked it. Not too long... just long enough.
"You are definitely smiling."
Jack pushed his fingers into her hair and pulled her down for a kiss. In the two days since she had come to him, they had shared many kisses. Everything from scorching and needy to slow and easy - but each one was enough to turn his insides out. An old warhorse like him... giddy in love. Imagine that.
Sam settled against him again, her fingers tracing circles and curls on his tee shirt. "So, what do you want to do with your second day of freedom?" she asked.
Jack looked up at the sky through his sunglasses. "It's what, almost 1430 hours? We could go scrounge up something to eat. I could eat."
Sam laughed. "You could always eat."
"This is true."
"But I don't think there is much left in your kitchen. Except for beer and left over Chinese. And since that Moo Goo Gai Pan has been here longer than I have, I'm not so sure I'd trust it."
Jack smoothed his hand over her hair and kissed her forehead. "We've got all day. No rush. So, why don't we go out for lunch then swing by the grocery store on the way home."
*Home*. Now, that was an interesting thought.
Sam nodded against his chest. "Okay. I just want to swing by my place and get some things." She looked up at him, and he thought he saw the briefest flash of uncertainty behind her blue eyes. "That is... if you want me to stay. I don't want to assume-"
He cut her off with a kiss. Her smile when he pulled back told him she understood. Words weren't necessary.
"I'm just going to go freshen up," she said, standing off the lounge.
"Sure thing. I'll meet you in the house." He tapped his leg. "Takes me a minute."
She leaned over and kissed him one more time before he heard the sliding door open and close. With a wince and a stifled groan, he stood and leaned into the knobby pine cane he had switched to the day before. He'd given up on the whole brace thingy. It was annoying... and with a smirk, admitted to himself it wasn't all that sexy. Too cumbersome to get off... well... when things needed to get off.
Jack entered the house through the kitchen, setting his coffee cup beside Sam's on the countertop. It had been almost ten years since he shared his home with a woman. Laira didn't count. Wasn't his home, his planet. His heart wasn't into it. But to be in his own kitchen, and to hear the sound of another human being in the other room ... living... being... it felt good. Damn good.
Just as he contemplated the thought of going to the bedroom and convincing Sam lunch could wait another hour, the knock as his door destroyed his plans. If it was the paper boy again, he'd ring the kids scrawny little neck...
"I told you I'd pay you on Friday...." He stopped short when he saw the four people standing on his porch.
"Daniel. Teal'c. Dr. Weir. Well, hello, General Hammond. Good to see you."
"How's your knee, Jack?" George Hammond asked.
Jack leaned his hand into his cane, shifting his weight. "Been better."
"Can we come in, Colonel?" Doctor Weir asked, brushing past Daniel to move inside.
Jack watched her as she stepped into his house and headed for the living room. "Sure... why not. To what do I owe this ... mass invasion?"
"Things have changed, Jack." Daniel said as he followed General Hammond into the house, Teal'c behind him.
"Changed? In two days?"
General Hammond let Daniel and Teal'c pass him to step down into the living room, waiting for Jack at the top of the steps. "Yes. I've spoken with the President about the current situation and made some recommendations. I don't know what decision you've come to, but you need to hear this before you decide."
"Oookay."
"Why don't you come sit down," Doctor Weir said from the chair where she had taken up residence. Jack tried to read her expression, but not knowing her well enough, he couldn't.
"Actually, I was just about to--"
"This is big, Jack." Daniel cut him off. "Oh, and by the way. Have you talked to Sam? We called her and tried her at home. I didn't know if you'd talked to her and she said anything about...." Daniel trailed off, staring past Jack.
He had felt her presence as soon as she stepped out of the bedroom, the awareness of her growing as she walked towards him. Sam stepped beside him, and he felt her briefly touch his back, where no one could see.
"General Hammond. It's good to see you, Sir."
"It appears that you were correct, DanielJackson, when you wished to wager O'Neill knew of Major Carter's whereabouts," Teal'c said, the faintest hint of a smile tipping his lips.
Jack looked at her, fair cheeks stained bright with heat. She glanced at him, and he shrugged, silently telling her he knew no more than she did.
"I'm glad you're here, Major Carter," General Hammond said, bringing Jack's attention back. "Jack, I've been sent by the President. The offer for retirement has been removed from the table. I am authorized to offer you something more."
Chapter Fifteen: Twists
"I don't know, George. Retirement was starting to sound pretty damn good."
"Just hear me out, son," General Hammond said. "Come sit."
Jack squinted his eyes and looked to the faces of each of the people in the room. Friends, a scientist he didn't trust as far as he could throw... well... Teal'c, and his lover. He looked to Sam, and she watched him with guarded blue eyes. She was guarding her emotions, her reactions, like he had seen a hundred times before. Jack couldn't blame her. Being descended on by a horde of people hadn't exactly been their plan for the afternoon. He shrugged one shoulder and arched his eyebrows. Sam smiled, a small smile but enough to let him know she was okay. He held out his arm and Sam came against his side, helping him down the steps into the living room. Not completely necessary, but what the hell.
As he took the first step, his gaze caught Daniel's. The archaeologist's lips were pulled together in a feeble attempt at hiding a smile. His shoulders shook with a suppressed laugh. Jack glanced at Teal'c, who arched high one eyebrow and let show the slightest signs of a smirk. Doctor Weir looked as though she wanted to be anywhere but here, and wouldn't look at Jack, her gaze darting away uneasily.
General Hammond took his stand opposite Teal'c by the fireplace as Jack sank down on the couch. Sam sat beside him, but he noticed she made sure there was some space between them. Some habits were hard to break, so he didn't take it personally. He set the end of his cane on the floor and tossed it back and forth between his hands.
"Okay. I'm listening."
"Jack, you are too valuable an asset to the SGC to lose you over something as pointless as an injury," General Hammond began. "I know that. The President knows that..."
"And I know it," interjected Doctor Weir.
"We all know it, Jack."
"I concur with DanielJackson and General Hammond, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
"Can't you just feel the love?" Jack put his hand over his heart and grinned.
"I've been talking with the President, Jack."
"Thought you retired yourself, General. Time with the grandkids and all, now that the Earth isn't in any danger of invasion." Delay tactics.
"The President still counsels me in on certain discussions. Your leaving the SGC being one of great importance."
"Me? Little ole me?"
General Hammond huffed. "Will you just shut up?"
Jack smiled at George Hammond's uncharacteristic show of frustration. He'd been trying for eight years to get an honest-to-goodness rise out of the man. Retirement must have softened his resolve.
"Fire away."
"The President wants to promote you, Jack. From Colonel to General. And to offer you the position of military commander of SGC, to jointly oversee the ongoing exploration of the Stargate Network and the protection of Earth. The President believes both a scientific and military approach to the program would be the most beneficial, and wants you to take the reins."
"Joint command?" Jack asked.
Doctor Weir drew in a long breath and looked down at her hands before meeting his gaze. "Ultimately, the SGC is a military facitlity."
Jack shook his head. "What does that mean? Exactly?"
"It means that top authority within the base would be yours, but the President and I are confident the two of you can develop a beneficial command relationship," General Hammond said pointedly.
Jack tried to hide any reaction his face might reveal, digesting the new twist. He looked from Hammond to Weir to Daniel to Teal'c. Finally, he looked across his shoulder to Sam. She sat beside him, silent, with her legs curled beneath her and her hands clenched in her lap.
"What about SG-1?" Jack asked, still looking at her.
Her eyes widened and her lips parted. He could tell she'd tell him to shut up if it wouldn't draw more attention than her silence.
"Major Carter, I'm pleased to inform you that you are to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and made head of SG-1. Captain Brady of SG-6 will be reassigned to SG-1 as your second in command."
Sam's gaze darted from Jack to General Hammond, then back to Jack. Jack smiled and wagged his eyebrows at her.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you," she said, her voice barely a whisper. Then she turned towards General Hammond, clearing her throat to speak firmly. "Thank you, Sir."
"You were well on your way to your own command, Major Carter. This situation has just served as a catalyst to move things forward." General Hammond chuckled. "Your father is going to be thrilled, I'm sure."
"Yes, sir. No doubt about that."
Sam's cheeks glowed with an excited flush, and her eyes practically sparkled. Not too many women in the Air Force could lay claim to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, especially not in a combat-ready unit. This was big. Really big. Huge. He was proud of her. Proud to love her. Proud to be the one she loved.
Course, being made General and taking over a command like the Stargate Program wasn't exactly chicken feed.
Jack leaned forward and set his elbows on his knees, holding the cane so he could tap it against his chin. Two days ago, this would be quite the opportunity. Two days ago, he would have taken the promotion with a grin and a beer. But that was two days ago.
Two amazing days ago.
Two days that might never have happened if he had been promoted immediately.
She tipped her head, mouthing the question "what?".
"Does my accepting the position have any effect on Carter's promotion?" he asked, still watching her.
"Well, no. Either way, SG-1 needs a new CO and Major Carter is the best choice." He just listened as the General spoke, hearing in Hammond's voice the confusion. Probably wondering why he hadn't jumped at the announcement.
Jack looked away from Sam's face, only to have his gaze fall on the framed portraits on the shelf behind her. Charlie. His chest squeezed, an all-to-familiar rush of emotion hitting him. One he usually did his damdest to ignore. Suppress. For a brief moment he let himself remember what it felt like to have a family. Not the pain at losing it... but belonging to people and knowing they belonged to you.
"Jack?"
Daniel's voice pulled him from his thoughts. Sam stared at him, bright blue eyes so wide he could see white all around each blue iris. He smiled again.
"Thanks for asking, General Hammond, but I'm going to have to turn you down."
Chapter 16: Long Time Coming
Sam stared at Jack, a thousand thoughts swirling in her head yet not a single word would form on her lips. He warmed her blood with the slow, easy expression that just slightly curled his mouth and wrinkled the skin at the corner of his eyes.
"Would you mind telling me why, Colonel?" General Hammond asked.
Jack raised his eyebrows, watching her as if he expected her to answer. In one dizzying rush, she realized he was giving it up for her. For them. And with one heartbeat, she loved him with an intensity that nearly blinded her. The next heartbeat came with a surge of guilt that he would give up the greatest opportunity of his career for her.
"I got a better offer."
She couldn't breathe, her body hot and pounding, a cold sweat rushing over her. A tingle of anticipation colliding with amazement and confusion. Sam blinked and looked away from him, otherwise she would never be able to think.
"Colonel, do I need to remind you of the classified status of---"
"Would you excuse me for a minute, General?" Jack said over his shoulder, cutting the General off. He arched his eyebrows and looked at her, motioning to the other room with his thumb. "Can I talk to you?"
Sam nodded, just a quick jerk of her chin was all she could manage.
Jack stood with a groan, leaning heavily on the cane to move along the front of the couch to the steps. Sam followed, fighting the urge to put her hands on him. Heat burned in her cheeks as she felt the eyes of four curious people on her and Jack as they left the room. Sam dared a glance over her shoulder and met Daniel's gaze. A smile bowed his lips so wide his cheeks shifted his glasses on his nose. Daniel nodded slowly and winked.
Slowly, Jack made his way up the two steps to the front hall, and once on level ground again moved at a quicker pace towards his bedroom door. Sam followed, trying to control the chaos that danced in her stomach like a swarm of butterflies. She was unable to control her glance at the bed as they entered the bedroom. The quilt was pulled up to the pillows in a half-hearted attempt after making love that morning. Just the memory warmed her.
Jack sat down on the edge of the bed, patting the mattress beside him.
"Do you think this is a good idea, Jack?" she asked as she sat.
"Why? Because they might think something is going on?"
"Well... yes."
"Something is *so* going on."
"I know there is, but -"
Her words were lost when he cupped the back of her head and covered her mouth with his own. The kiss stole her breath, and she clung to him - lost in the power of his touch. Jack moaned softly as he pulled back, bringing his hand forward to stroke her lower lip with his thumb.
"Do you remember when I asked you if you wanted to take this slow?"
His voice was husky, wrapping around her like a warm velvet blanket. Sam felt her eyes flutter at his touch, but forced herself to look into his face.
"I remember."
"You said eight years was slow enough."
Sam nodded. He touched her face, his fingertips tracing the line of her cheek, her forehead, brushed her hair from her temple. It was distracting in the best possible sense.
"I love you, Sam."
A shudder moved through her and she gave in to the need to close her eyes and just feel him. "You're not playing fair," she whispered, and heard his warm chuckle.
"I know. Sam, look at me."
She forced her eyes open, his own dark eyes looking down on her.
"Do you want me to take the promotion?" he asked.
"I want you to do what you want."
"I want you."
Sam curled her fingers into the front of his shirt, trying to find solid ground... solid *anything* to hold on to. "Jack, this could be the biggest opportunity of your life. You'd be crazy to walk away from it."
"You're right. That's why I'm going for it."
Despite her resolution to accept his decision if Jack decided to take the promotion, she was nearly suffocated by his words. Her eyes burned with the tears she did her best to suppress, and turned away from him before he saw one fall.
"You deserve this, Jack."
"No, I don't. Still can't figure out why you're here."
Sam jerked her head up, trying to make sense of his words. He was smiling, the kind of smile that had set her blood on fire more times than she could count. And she realized, they were talking about two different things.
"Don't know if you've ever noticed, but I'm not one for a lot of words. You know... sharing and stuff. Warm and fuzzies."
Sam smiled and let out a sigh. "No, I hadn't noticed."
"Marry me."
She could only stare.
"Don't make me wait too long. I already feel like a fool for asking."
Sam wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her. In an easy motion, he laid her back on the mattress and drove her insane with the heated caress of his tongue against hers as he kissed her until her breath was short and her heart pounded an impossibly fast rhythm. When he finally broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers. Their breath mingled as they both fought for air.
Jack moved away from her, standing to his feet. One hand braced against the cane, the other he held out to her. Sam smiled and took it, the skin of their palms sliding together in a touch taken for granted by lovers around the world. After eight years of having to consciously keep herself from touching him... from allowing him to touch her... even in the most innocent of ways... it was a touch Sam relished in. When she came to her feet he leaned in and kissed her again.
"I guess I should go tell Ole George I'm not going to go work for some covert organization and spill all the Stargate secrets, huh?"
Sam nodded. "Let him off the hook. The others, too."
"Nah. I don't think this is going to be a surprise to Daniel or Teal'c."
She silently admitted he was probably right. Especially with the wink and smile Daniel had given her. Then Sam tensed, a new thought rushing through her already jumbled brain. Jack pulled back, looking down at her with a concerned expression.
"Sam?"
"Jack, we haven't talked about so many things -"
"What things?"
Pressure pushed on her chest. She couldn't look at him, focusing instead on the hollow at the base of his throat just before it disappeared behind the ribbed collar of his tee shirt. His arm came around her waist, pulling her closer.
"Sam, what things?"
She forced herself to look him in the eye. "Children."
His expression didn't change. It stayed a cross between concerned and gentle. "Children?"
"Jack, I don't know if you want children. Maybe you don't want children. I don't know if I can have children... I mean, until forty-eight hours ago I didn't even think there was ever a possibility that we would even be together, let alone--"
Once again, he silenced her with a kiss. "We'll work it out. Later," he said against her lips.
She nodded, believing him that they would. He slid his hand down her arm until their hands touched and their fingers linked. Jack winked and moved towards the door. This time, when they stepped into the hall and four pairs of eyes turned on them, Sam felt nothing but pride.
Chapter 17: Dorothy's Trip to Oz
Jack picked up one of the many little doohickeys from Sam's desk and held it up to the light. He turned it, looked down the angle of his nose at it... even sniffed it. Then he shrugged and put it down again. Sam and her thingamabobs... he'd never get it.
"Hey, I heard you were here, Jack," Daniel said as he came through the door.
The two men clasped hands and embraced, loudly patting each other's backs. "Good to see you, Daniel."
"What brings you in? Bored of retirement?"
Jack smiled and shook his head. "Nope. Lovin' it more every day. I'm here to... you know..." He made a circle in the air with an extended finger, then kinda waved at the ceiling.
"Oh, that's right! That's today. I've been so caught up with this amazing sandstone monument the Tok'ra brought to us last week, I forgot what day it was. This thing is amazing, Jack. I'm pretty sure the writing is a form of cuneiform, yet it has a definite Latin influence."
"Keepin' you up nights, is it?"
Daniel smiled, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Well, not all of us can enjoy a life of leisure like you, Jack. We've got to find ways to keep busy."
Jack chuckled. "Danny boy, I've got more to keep me busy than you can even imagine."
"Speaking of which, where is she?"
Jack motioned to the door. "She just took off with Teal'c. Wanted to see General Hammond. You know how she is."
Movement at the door caught Jack's eye and he turned to see his wife of three years come in. Her smile lit up the room, and his heart, as she crossed to him and he leaned down to kiss her cheek.
"I wasn't expecting you for another hour," she said, slipping her arm around his waist beneath his leather jacket. "Did you bring everything?"
Jack saluted with his free hand. "Yes, ma'am."
Sam playfully tapped his stomach and asked, "Where is she?"
Jack did his best to look put out. "You know, that's all I ever here these days when I come to the SGC."
"Do you blame us, Jack?" Daniel asked, looking at Jack and Sam over the rim of his glasses.
"Well, no. Can't say as I do."
A loud squeal echoed outside in the hall, and both Jack and Sam O'Neill turned towards the door... the same instinct drawing both their attentions. The squeal was followed by a giggle akin to silver bells at Christmas. General Hammond appeared in the doorway first, followed by Teal'c. And in Teal'c's gentle hold was the object of everyone's affection.
Nine-month-old Dorothy O'Neill sat high on her Uncle Teal'c's arm, giggling and clapping her hands together as he entertained her with a carved gift he had brought with him from his last trip to Chulak. When he twirled the toy between his fingers, it clacked and jangled, completely enthralling Dorothy. The usually stoic face of the big Jaffa was spread wide by a smile not often seen.
"She is most amused by the cap'tche. I knew she would, for Ryak spent many an hour at this age filling our home with laughter as his mother and I held it for him."
Dorothy twisted in Teal'c's hold until her bright blue eyes found who she wanted. "Da! Da!" she cried, holding her arms out, fingers flexing frantically.
In nine-months, since the moment the doctor put his Gift in his arms, the swelling feeling in his chest hadn't lessened. Only growing so large at times he felt like his shirt would bust open with it.
"C'mere, you," he said, taking Dorothy from Teal'c. He bounced her in his arms, blowing kisses on her Baby Magic-scented neck until she giggled and squirmed, curling her fingers into his hair.
Sam rested her hand against his back, leaning into him to watch their daughter's face light up. "Who's got you? Daddy got you?" she asked, and Dorothy laughed again.
"Well, since you're here, Jack, the three of you can leave whenever you like," General Hammond said, forcing Jack to look away from his daughter's dark eyes and light brown hair.
"Thanks, George."
"We appreciate this, General," Sam said as she took Dorothy from Jack. "It will be nice to get away."
"And P3X-998 is about as `away' as you can get on a vacation," Daniel said with a smile, stroking Dorothy's hair as Sam held her.
En masse, they left Sam's lab and headed for the Gate room. As they entered, the final Chevron locked and the event horizon `kawooshed' into the room. Dorothy's constant chatter stopped and she stared in awe.
Jack laughed. "Now she's got something to tell the kids at the park over mud pies."
With Sam carrying their daughter, Jack picked up the two large duffels and an almost equally as large diaper bag at the base of the Gate ramp. He slung them over his shoulder, and pressed a hand against his wife's back.
"We'll see you in two weeks, Jack. Sam."
"Thanks, George."
A familiar rush coursed over Jack's skin as he approached the Gate. Familiar, yet one he hadn't felt in over three years. At one time, he thought walking through the Gate into a wormhole that would carry him to planets and solar systems thousands of light-years way was the greatest rush he could ever know. But now, standing with his wife and daughter on their first vacation as a family, he knew he was wrong.
Life was the best rush around.
"Dorothy, welcome to OZ."
THE END
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