CODE OF HONOR

A Stargate SG-1 Novel

Author: Jen Gafeller jen_gafeller@shipperfic.com

Category: Angst; Sam/Jack UST/Romance; Hurt/Comfort; Action/Adventure

Content Warnings: Sam/Jack UST/Romance; some language; Violence in the form of a short torture scene involving one of the main characters.  If that sort of thing makes you uncomfortable, you might want to give this story a miss.

Season/Sequel: Season 8 – pre Threads

Spoilers: Pretty much anything that comes before Threads is open game in this one.  For the purposes of this story, nothing that happened in Threads is a part of this reality.  No glowy Daniel and certainly no Jacob storyline.

Summary:  During a time when their lives are at last happy and fulfilled, SG-1 and General Jack O’Neill find themselves in the midst of a crisis of epic proportions that will leave them doubting their mission and one member of the team fighting to live. Throughout this harrowing adventure, the team must each face their deepest fears as they confront one of their most fearsome enemies, the Goa’uld Ba’al, who threatens to unleash a terrifying weapon on Earth.

Status: Complete

Rating: Over 13, please, for language and violence.

Disclaimer:  Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime / Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money changed hands.  No copyright infringement is intended.  The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. Not to be archived without permission. Feedback and constructive criticism welcome through e-mailing me at the above address.  I’m poor and don’t have much but my muse, so please don’t sue me.  =)

Copyright: © 2005 Jen Gafeller

Author’s Notes:  I got a flash one one scene in this story and this is what came of it.  This is by far my most ambitious undertaking to date. To my wonderful beta, Renate.  Couldn’t have done this without you, m’dear!  You’re the best!

Dedication:  To my daughter, who left this world long before she deserved.  You are my inspiration and my guardian angel, my Cora Beth.

Chapter 1

Standing tall and forbidding in its perfect symmetry, the Stargate rolled through the symbols, each a step along the pathway to another world. Some hostile and barren, some rich and fertile with raw materials for the taking. Raw materials to be used in the construction of ships and weapons; raw materials to be used as hosts for the Goa’uld. The Goa’uld who had moved across the galaxy like a fire, sweeping all others away with a flick of their power. The creatures who had the power to control much of the inhabited galaxy, and yet could not survive without the humans they took as hosts; the humans they controlled from within their own bodies. 

For many decades upon decades he had traveled through the Chappa’ai; used it to further his own twisted plans of conquest. Never had he doubted its power or his destiny in ruling over that power. He was among the Goa’uld System Lords who ruled the galaxy with iron fists; fighting amongst themselves as easily as amongst their non-Goa’uld enemies. The System Lords, through their guile and cunning, ruled over the galaxy for centuries, their technology stolen from those they conquered. Their advancements came at the price of those who fell to their armies of Jaffa foot soldiers. But now one System Lord was poised to rule over them all.

Ba’al. The System Lord who had dared to conquer the entire galaxy. The System Lord who dared to bring all other System Lords under his boot. Until now, his plans for conquest had gone unrealized. Until now, he had no means by which to subjugate the others; no means to bring them into line and pledge themselves to serve him and only him. But with his discovery all of that had changed. The best minds amongst his followers now worked to bring it to life. It was a weapon, of that he was sure, but what kind of weapon? Would it be as powerful as he had hoped?

They assured him they had unlocked its secrets, but they had to be certain. They needed to test this weapon before relying on it for their survival in battle. But time was short. The other System Lords had been fighting amongst themselves for so long, they had allowed their vigilance to falter. They allowed the Tok’ra to gain the upper hand once too often, and now that the Tok’ra had allied themselves with the Tau’ri people of Earth, they were even more formidable. Many had fallen before any among them had truly realized the threat: Ra, Hathor, Apophis, Sokar. System Lords who had been thought to be invincible, now as dead as those who had once worshipped them as gods.

Those deaths had left a void in the power base of the System Lords. A void that Ba’al vowed to fill. While the others bickered and fought, he had built an army of soldiers more powerful than the strongest Jaffa army. All his army needed now was one swift, powerful strike to pave the way into their strongholds. This weapon promised to give them that tool, a way to neutralize the Jaffa armies of the other System Lords and leave their worlds ripe for the taking. However, they would only be distracted by their infighting for so long before they realized their blunder and turned their attention to him.

The test of this new weapon was poised, awaiting his order. Within hours he would know if his patience would be rewarded; he would know if his conquest of the Goa’uld System Lords could finally begin.

 ******

Brigadier General Jonathan “Jack” O’Neill sat at his desk skimming through the small mountain of memos and reports that awaited his attention. He had known going into this job that the administration would be the bane of his existence, but he hadn’t truly comprehended the sheer magnitude of the task. General Hammond had once commented that if someone sneezed around the Stargate a report was generated, and in that he had not been exaggerating. Now all of that intelligence unerringly found its way to O’Neill’s desk.

He had begun to develop an appreciation for the reports with short and sweet bullet points that succinctly summarized things for him. He closed the cover on one such report, written by his former second in command Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, and rubbed his eyes wearily. He could always count on Carter to make his administrative life easier, and he certainly did appreciate it. Not that her reports weren’t thorough, she just knew him well enough to summarize the “techno babble” down to a few short phrases that actually made sense.

Taking a deep breath and deciding to change gears from mission reports to memos, Jack reached for the stack recently delivered from the Pentagon and opened the top folder. In his fatigue, he barely registered what he was reading until one name reached out from the page to grab his attention. Jack straightened up in his chair, turning his full attention back to the beginning of the memo.

TO:   Brig. General Jonathan O’Neill

Commanding Officer, Stargate Command

      FROM: Lt. General Roger Brady

            USAF Chief of Personnel

RE:   Re Assignment, Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter

            24 September 2004

This is to request the formal reassignment of Lt. Col. S. Carter to the research facility at Area 51. The USAF Chief of Personnel has tentatively approved this request, made by the Commanding Officer of Research and Development at Area 51, Brig. General R. Greene.

Lt. Colonel Carter is to be given command of all research and development activities associated with retrieval of artifacts and alien technologies acquired through Stargate Command.

If approved reassignment would be effective ASAP. Please review the attached proposal and respond no later than 6 October 2004.

The memo was signed by the Chief of Personnel and counter signed by General Greene from Area 51. Jack knew that Area 51 had been after Carter and her expertise for years, but this was the first time he had been in a position to either approve or deny a request to have her reassigned to that facility permanently. Jack pushed his chair back from his desk and ran his hands through his short hair, sighing deeply. This was a big step up for Carter, and one that she’d be foolish not to accept. What the hell would he do if she actually said yes?

On the other hand, did she even want to go? Honestly, Jack could see Carter being very happy getting to play with doohickeys and computers in the labs at Area 51. Since they were technically “off the books”, and had been around a lot longer than the SGC, Area 51 was at the front lines for all cutting edge technology at the Air Force’s disposal. Something he knew would appeal to the scientist in Carter. But since taking over as SG-1’s CO, he had seen a new side to Sam Carter emerging; a side of her he had rarely seen outside her lab. 

Carter had become more self assured in the field and among her purely military colleagues and SG-1 had barely missed a step since his promotion and departure from the team. Jack had been both relieved and a bit unnerved that she had replaced him on the team so easily. Not that he had wanted her to fail, by any stretch of the imagination, but still it was good to be needed and SG-1 didn’t seem to need him at all.

And that would add to his already growing number of headaches; if Carter did decide to take up the offer and leave for Area 51, who in the hell would he get to command SG-1? There was no way he was going to dodge a decision about the flagship team if they were left with only 2 team members. The thought gave him pause, and for a fleeting instant he allowed himself to consider life at the SGC without Sam Carter before roughly pushing that thought, and its associated emotions and feelings, aside.

Get a grip, O’Neill. Carter’ll never leave the SGC. She loves it here just as much, or more, than anyone else in this command. But as much as he tried to reassure himself, down deep he couldn’t truly be certain of anything. It’s not like he had ever really discussed her future with her, so for all he knew this was the dream job Carter had been waiting for the last 7 years. 

O’Neill glanced at the last paragraph again then to the calendar on his desk. 30 September 2004 was displayed prominently right on top. Crap! The Chief needed his answer by next week, and that left Carter with little time to make her decision. One of these days he was really going to have to get better at time management.

Shaking his head, Jack rose from his chair, the memos and reports now forgotten as he made his way out into the corridor his feet taking him automatically toward the elevators and Carter’s lab. It was well after 1700, but lately he had noticed Sam working in her lab later and later into the evenings. He had been meaning to ask her about it, but simply hadn’t found the time for idle chat with any of SG-1. He slowed to a stop, just outside her lab doorway, allowing himself a moment of guilty pleasure just watching her work.

Carter was in a word, beautiful. He had thought so nearly from the first moment he met her, and certainly from the moment she challenged him to arm wrestle. Jack smiled slightly to himself at the memory of young Captain Samantha Carter, her eyes blazing in fiery determination. 

So much had changed about her in the ensuing years, and yet even now if he looked deep enough he could still see that young Captain who had the guts enough to go head to head with him across a briefing table but who could also stand wide eyed at the base of the Stargate and marvel at its existence. He watched for a moment as she bent forward toward her laptop, her brow furrowing in concentration at whatever was scrolling across her screen.

As he watched, Carter’s expression cleared to one of discovery and she suddenly began typing furiously, her fingers flying faster than he could follow. A small smile spread slowly across her face, and Jack found himself smiling in response, her obvious joy at figuring out whatever she was working on infecting him as well. He indulged for only a moment longer before he stepped the rest of the way into the doorframe and cleared this throat slightly, catching the Colonel’s attention.

Her head bobbed up, her attention forceably pulled away from her work, “Sir, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Not a problem Colonel, you were apparently busy,” O’Neill replied, waving his hand in the general direction of her desk and laptop.

“Yes, sir. I was actually working on the anti-grav generator SG-6 discovered on P5Y-326 during their last mission. You see, initially I presumed it worked using a subspace field, not unlike our hyperdrive engines, but that wasn’t working, so I started experimenting with the ratio of…”

“Carter!”

“Yes, sir, sorry,” she replied somewhat sheepishly, her excitement at figuring out this particular puzzle still shining brightly in her eyes. O’Neill would’ve been blind to miss it.

“So, you figured it out, yes?”

“Yes, sir! If I’m right and these simulations pan out, we could be looking at a technology that could revolutionize our X-302 and X-303 projects.”

“Great, Carter. Keep me apprised.”

“I will, sir,” she replied and began to turn back to her laptop, but not before she got a quick look at the General’s face and was surprised to see an expression that she had come to equate with O’Neill feeling uncomfortable about something, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners; his lips pursed into a hard, thin line; his eyes wandering restlessly over her lab, not settling in any one place for long.

“Was there something else you wanted to see me about, sir?”

Now that look had blossomed into all out panic and Sam found she was suddenly sorry she asked. Whatever it was, the General wasn’t happy about it.

“Ah, actually Carter, I got a memo today.”

She waited expectantly for several seconds, but when O’Neill seemed unwilling to elaborate she pushed ahead, “Yes, sir. I would imagine you get quite a few memos everyday.”

“Yeah. More than I ever thought possible. I don’t know how old George ever put up with all of it, to be honest with you.”

Carter smiled at the sentiment, “No, sir.”

The silence stretched again, and Sam was beginning to feel a bit nervous.

“Sir?”

“Huh?”

“The memo?”

“Oh, yeah. That,” Jack sighed and shoved his hands deep into his pockets before continuing, “It was from the Pentagon. Chief of Personnel to be exact. They want me to sign off on a reassignment.”

Sam could tell from O’Neill’s demeanor the last thing he wanted to do was approved the request, but she still wasn’t sure why he was bringing it to her, “Ah, I see. So, what’re you going to do?”

“See that’s just it, I don’t know,” he said exasperatedly, waving his hand in the air for emphasis, “I mean, it’s a good career move and all, but…”

“Sir, who are we talking about, anyway?”

“Oh, right. Um…you actually.”

“Me, sir? The Chief of Personnel sent a memo about me?”

“Yeah, actually. Wants you reassigned to Area 51. Commanding Officer of Research and Development.”

 “Not again,” Carter sighed.

O’Neill didn’t seem to notice her reply and barreled ahead, “It would be a big step up for you, Carter. Pretty much guarantee you’d make full bird in the minimum time allowed….wait, again? What’d you mean “again”?”

“Sir, General Greene has been after me to take that command for two years now. Maybe longer.”

“He has?” Two years? Why the hell didn’t she take it?

“Yes, sir. And before you ask, I didn’t take it because I’m very happy right where I am.”

How does she do that? “Ah, I see. Well, I’m not so sure General Greene will be willing to take no for an answer this time. When the Chief of Personnel endorses an assignment, it generally happens, Carter.”

Carter’s nonchalance at the situation suddenly faded as she faced the very real possibility that she might be unwillingly pulled away from the SGC. The thought of actually having to pack up and move away from her friends and job to the deserts of Nevada seemed less than appealing.

“Oh. Can you get me out of it, sir?”

O’Neill felt a wave of relief crash over him as he realized that Carter hardly wanted to take this assignment, and in fact had been turning it down for two years. So that eliminated one worry but left another larger one. The Chief of Air Force Personnel had signed off on this new assignment, and that would be much more difficult to circumvent. But he had to be one hundred percent sure staying at the SGC was something she wanted because if he went head to head with the Chief of Personnel over this, that bridge would likely be irrevocably destroyed and Carter would have zero chance of ever taking the position.

“Are you sure? Ya know you might not get another chance like this. Command of a whole legion of eggheads and more doodads to play with than you’d have time for? Isn’t that at least a bit tempting?”

Carter threw him a wry smile, “Yes, sir, it is tempting. You know how much I love hanging out with the other eggheads. But really sir, I’m right where I want to be.”

“Alright, if you’re sure, I’ll see what I can do about this whole thing. I’ll make a few phone calls tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Chapter 2

O’Neill slammed the phone receiver down with a resounding crash. He had met one brick wall after another in his quest to keep Carter at the SGC; this last call was to General Hammond asking for his advice. Unfortunately, the General had reiterated what he had been hearing all morning. Once the Chief of Personnel signs off on an assignment, that’s it. Game Over. It was hardly what O’Neill had wanted to hear.

He realized he needed a break from his phone marathon and decided to take a break and head down to the commissary for a fresh cup of coffee. If he was lucky, maybe even a nice freshly baked piece of cake.

He pushed through the double doors and made a beeline for the coffee urn. He filled his cup, selected a piece of double chocolate cake then turned and looked for a good place to sit and think through what he was going to do next. He allowed his eyes to sweep the room but found his gaze pulled inexorably toward one table toward the back wall and discovered his feet moving in that direction of their own accord.

Carter looked up as O’Neill approached, her eyebrows rising. The General silently pulled up a chair across from her and sat down, unwrapping his cake and digging in with his fork. With the bite half way to his mouth he paused and looked over at Carter’s face. Noting the expectant look in her eyes, he lowered the fork back down to his plate.

“No joy yet. But I’m not through. Got a couple more calls I can make.”

Her face fell at the news. After spending a near sleepless night, she had convinced herself that O’Neill would be able to pull some strings for her so that she could stay at the SGC, “Nothing? What about General Hammond? Can he help?”

“Just got off the phone with him. He pretty much gave me the same song and dance I’ve been listening to all morning. Once the Chief signs off on a change of station, it’s usually a done deal.”

Carter’s shoulders slumped, General Hammond had always been her ace in the hole, able to put off General Greene at Area 51 the last couple of times this issue had arisen. Now it seemed her run of luck had been exhausted and only one option was left to her. Take the position and leave SG-1 and the SGC behind, however reluctantly. The needs of the Air Force, Colonel. It’s all about the needs of the Air Force.

Carter toyed with her coffee mug, rolling it between her hands, “So that’s it. I start packing?”

“Not quite. General Hammond did have one suggestion.”

“And that would be?”

“That I call General Greene directly. Try to work out some sort of compromise with him.” O’Neill twirled his fork in his restless fingers.

Carter couldn’t help but allow some hopefulness to creep into her voice, “Do you think he’ll go for that, sir?”

“Not sure. But it’s worth a shot.”

She nodded. 

O’Neill dug back into his nearly forgotten cake, “Let’s just hope General Greene is a reasonable man. I’d hate to have to threaten to send Teal’c down there to use some of his more persuasive Jaffa interrogation techniques on him.”

Carter smirked, having seen for herself the effects that even one steely eyed look from the Jaffa could have on someone.

“Well sir, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a mission briefing to finish up before tomorrow morning,” she pushed back her chair and stood, “And sir?”

O’Neill looked up from his coffee, “Yeah?”

“Thank you. I really do appreciate everything you’re trying to do for me.”

“Yes well, I have purely selfish reasons for it.”

“You do?” Carter asked, her surprise driving her eyebrows nearly up to her hairline.

“Yeah. Last thing I need is to have to replace another SG team leader. Most especially the CO of SG-1.”

“Of course sir,” Carter replied, her smile reaching all the way to her eyes as she stood and turned toward the doors.

“Carter?”

“Sir?”

“I’ll call you when I get this worked out. And I will get it worked out. Count on it.”

Sam nodded once, then turned and headed back toward her lab. She didn’t doubt O’Neill’s willingness to “work this out”, but she wasn’t so sure that General Greene would give up on her, especially after going to such lengths to secure her transfer to Area 51.

 ******

Carter sat at her laptop, her attention wandering yet again. Not generally given to distractions, she found she was becoming somewhat annoyed with herself. Shaking her head, she bent again to her task, determined to finish her briefing and have it ready for the General’s review within the hour. Just as she was putting the finishing touches on her work, a soft knock pulled at her attention and she looked up expectantly.

“Daniel, hey,” Sam said, slightly disappointed.

“Hey, Sam. Had lunch yet?”

“I grabbed a bite a little while ago, but thanks anyway.”

“No problem. Just thought you’d like to take a break for a while. We could get a cup of coffee or something if you’d rather.”

“Nah. Last thing I need right now is caffeine.”

“Okay, well. If you’re sure…” Daniel said, trailing off somewhat as if there were more he wanted than just a friendly cup of coffee. Standing just to the side of her desk, Daniel stood shifting his feet, looking more than a bit nervous.

“So, we heard you’re leaving to take command of R&D at Area 51,” Daniel blurted.

Sam was surprised enough that word had spread so quickly, that for a moment she didn’t reply. Blinking, she took a breath to reply, but was cut off by Daniel.

“God, it’s true isn’t it? They’re really going to send you to Nevada? I told Teal’c there was no way, I never thought the rumor mill was right. How the hell can they do that?” Daniel ranted on, becoming more agitated by the moment.

“Daniel, calm down. Nothing’s set in stone just yet. General O’Neill is working on it for me.”

“Of course, of course. Jack’ll never let them take you away from us that easily.”

Sam was a bit uncomfortable with the sentiment, but didn’t contradict him either.

“Well, hopefully I’ll hear something soon.”

Daniel took in the nervous flutter of her hands, the way Sam’s eyes wandered repeatedly over his shoulder to glance out into the hall and then back to him again, and knew her outward calm was a façade, and one that she was working hard to keep in place. Reaching out to still her restless hands, Daniel sought to reassure her.

“Don’t worry, Sam. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Sam mustered up a small smile for him, “Yeah, it will be.”

Daniel smiled in return then grasped her hands and pulled Sam to her feet, “Come on, let’s get out of here. Waiting in here by yourself would make anyone a bit nuts.”

Shaking her head but not resisting either, Sam followed Daniel down the corridor toward the commissary. Daniel was right about one thing, waiting with friends was always better than waiting alone.

 *****

It was nearly three hours and two phone calls later that Jack found himself once again standing outside Carter’s lab with what he hoped would be a compromise they all could accept. It had taken some strong arming on Jack’s part, but in the end General Greene had been more accommodating than he had expected and the final solution had actually been Greene’s suggestion.

Carter was once again bent low over her laptop, but her typing seemed half hearted at best compared with her enthusiasm from the day before. O’Neill knocked on the door jam, pulling Carter’s attention away from her project.

“Sir. Come in.”

He strode in, his hands jammed deep into his pockets. Stopping just short of Carter’s workbench, he met her gaze squarely.

“You’ve worked it out,” she said matter of factly.

O’Neill squinted his eyes slightly, “Sort of. General Greene has agreed to a sort of compromise. You’ll officially be under his command and will work one week a month out of Area 51. You’ll be expected to review all alien technology brought back during SGC missions and make out reports to the folks back at Area 51 prioritizing the stuff you think deserves the most attention.”

“But the rest of the time, I’m here, right? I get to keep SG-1?”

“Yep. We’ll work out the details of the mission schedule to be sure you get that week in Nevada every month, but otherwise you’re still here.”

Sam’s surprise couldn’t have been more complete. He really had worked it out. After seeing the General’s dejection in the commissary earlier that day, she hadn’t held out much hope.

“Thank you, sir,” The sincerity in her heart communicated in her voice.

“Yeah, well. Don’t mention it. Remember, selfish motives. It’s gonna mean a lot of extra work for you. But it was the only way I could get Greene to agree.”

Carter smiled, “Don’t worry, sir. I can handle it if it means I can keep SG-1.” The fear that her team could be stripped from her just when she was getting comfortable with command had been enough to strike fear into her heart. When she had first taken command, it had all seemed a bit overwhelming, but now her life in command of her team seemed as natural to her as her former role as 2IC had been.

As O’Neill turned to head back to his office and the ever growing pile of paperwork on his desk, Carter’s voice caught his attention.

“Sir? The guys and I were going to get together tonight, have dinner and maybe watch a cheesy sci-fi movie. Interested?”

“Cheesy sci-fi? Will it have Mary Steenburgen in it?”

“Not sure she’s ever done sci-fi, sir, but I’ll see what I can find. 1900, my place?”

“Well now that’s the best offer I’ve had in a while. I’ll be there,” O’Neill replied, a genuine smile creasing his face for the first time in far too long. The relief he felt at coming to an agreement with Area 51 was enough by itself to put a smile on his face. The reasons for his profound relief he chose not to think about. Much.

Chapter 3

The evening passed in pleasant companionship as the once and current members of SG-1 spent their night eating and drinking together; something they had not had time to indulge in as a group since the General’s promotion. O’Neill found himself more relaxed than he had been in weeks, and was reluctant for it to end. The meal and company were more than welcome and he appreciated the opportunity to no longer be “The General” and just be “Jack”, even if only for a short time.

Nursing a cold beer, sitting with his feet stretched out in front of him, Jack only half listened to the debate between Daniel and Teal’c, not really interested in the topic but more content to simply allow their voices to wash over him, a sense of familiarity leaving him feeling pleasantly warm. He could hear Carter puttering around in the kitchen, then silence as she finished up the cleaning. 

Jack expected her to join them in the living room and was somewhat surprised to hear the sliding door open as Sam slipped through to the back deck. Jack turned slightly to glance over his shoulder and out the back door, catching sight of Carter, her back to him, her face upturned toward the night sky. Her pensive stance struck him as odd and a bit disconcerting.

Jack pushed himself to his feet and headed out the door Sam had used, closing it quietly behind him. He stood at the railing at Sam’s side and followed her gaze up, familiar constellations passing before him like old friends. They stood in companionable silence, neither immediately inclined to speak. Finally Jack drew in a deep breath, gave Carter a sidelong look and decided to break the silence.

“So. Whatcha doin’ out here by yourself?”

Sam half turned toward him, leaning one elbow on the railing, “Just needed some air, sir.”

O’Neill nodded at the sentiment, his own need for solitude well known among his former team, “I can relate to that. Sure don’t get much of that anymore, do we?”

She smiled slightly, “No, sir, we don’t. Burdens of command.”

“Yeah. So how’s that goin’ anyway? We haven’t really had much time to talk since you took command of SG-1.”

Carter half turned to face him, “Fine, sir. Better than I had imagined, actually. I expected some period of feeling awkward around the guys, but things have been going very smoothly.”

O’Neill nodded, “Well, just be sure you let me know if there’s anything that comes up.”

“I’m sure things will go just fine, but thank you for the offer sir. I’ll keep that in mind.”

O’Neill paused, carefully framing the question still niggling at the back of his mind. He knew there was something bothering Carter, and had honestly thought it was the newness of command. But now that she had reassured him things were fine on SG-1, he was at a loss to explain her recent tenseness. Not that anyone who didn’t know Sam Carter well would have picked up on it, but after serving with the Colonel for just over eight years, O’Neill could read the subtle signs in her posture and manner. Not to mention the fact that for several weeks, Carter had been going home more or less on time. 

But that had abruptly changed a bit over two weeks ago and now she could be counted on to be found in her lab until well into the night. Not that Jack had been keeping tabs on her, exactly. Oh hell, who was he kidding? Of course he was checking up on her; on all of them, truth be told. He suspected he already knew her reasons for shortening her usual 70 hour work week to something more respectable, but it wasn’t something he really wanted to dwell on.

“So, how’s everything else?”

The question quite frankly shocked Sam into speechlessness. Jack O’Neill was hardly someone who generally indulged in small talk unless he had a good reason. And it wasn’t as though in the past they hadn’t talked, as friends if nothing else. But for him to come right out and inquire about her life in general was certainly new territory for both of them. Sam pursed her lips for a moment, gazing back up toward the heavens that had so fascinated her as a child. How to answer such a loaded question? 

O’Neill knew he had surprised her and was willing to patiently wait for Carter to reply. When she turned to look back up into the night sky, he briefly worried he had perhaps pushed a bit too far, into territory they had both implicitly agreed was off limits. After several quiet moments, she turned to face him again.

“Things have been sort of okay. Maybe. Or not.”

O’Neill raised his eyebrows at her ambiguous response, “Just what does that mean?” He asked softly, genuinely wanting to know.

Sam bit her lip, her eyes flitting everywhere but to his. Her nervousness was almost palpable between them and Jack immediately regretted asking her about any of this.

“I’m sorry, it’s none of my business. Forget I asked,” he said, giving Sam a way out of a situation that was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

“Don’t be sorry, sir. It’s just that I haven’t actually told the guys yet.”

O’Neill looked at Carter quizzically, his mind whirling with the possibilities that sprang unbidden to mind. They actually set a date? Pre-wedding jitters? Avoiding the soon to be in-laws? O’Neill froze. She’s pregnant!? But before he could speculate further, Carter had drawn in a deep breath and plunged ahead.

“Pete and I broke up.”

His mouth popped open. That had been the furthest thing from his mind. He had thought they were happy together, engagement rings and marriage plans and all.

“What? When?” The questions popped out of his mouth before he could pull them back and Jack winced at his tact, or lack thereof.

Sam, however, smiled sadly, turning her attention back to the stars above, “I’m not sure I was all that surprised, really, after that whole thing with Osiris. I just couldn’t get him to trust me. Trust that when I said it was classified it truly was classified, no matter what small amount of clearance he had been given to know about the program,” Sam sighed wistfully, “I really did think he could handle it, sir. Looks like I was wrong.”

O’Neill nodded in sympathy, his own experiences with having to keep classified missions to himself something that had followed him through much of his adult life, “I really am sorry, Carter.”

“It’s alright, sir. Not the first time this sort of thing has happened to members of our command. Probably won’t be the last time either.”

“Yeah, but it’s the first time it’s happened to you. And that matters to me.”

Sam turned wide, startled eyes to his face, gauging him, “Thank you, sir. I appreciate the sentiment. I’ll be fine.”

“Of course you will. But if you need anything, don’t forget, Daniel’s door is always open,” Jack said, a mischievous smile creeping its way onto his face.

Sam’s genuine smile reached all the way to her eyes and she ducked her head, chuckling softly, “I’ll remember that, sir.”

“Well, we should probably head back in before Daniel and Teal’c find the ice cream I brought and eat all of it before we get any.” O’Neill stood and dusted his hands off on his jeans before sliding open the door.

Sam followed his lead and stood, “Can’t have that, now can we, sir?”

“Hell no. It’s my favorite too! Chunky Monkey.”

Sam laughed lightly, feeling for the first time in the last couple of weeks as though things were finally getting back to normal.

***** 

Daniel knocked lightly on the doorway to Jack’s office.

O’Neill looked up from his ever growing pile of administrative paperwork, “Daniel.”

“You wanted to see me, Jack?”

“Yeah, come on in and close the door, will ya?”

Daniel closed the door softly behind him and sat down in one of the chairs just in front of Jack’s desk, “So, what’s up?”

Jack rearranged the memos on his desk a bit, then shifted in his seat to get more comfortable, but it didn’t appear to be working. Daniel got the distinct impression that Jack was more than a little bit uncomfortable talking about whatever was on his mind, but was resolved to wait him out and let him bring the topic up in his own time.

Jack finally looked up, “So, how’s things been going? On the team, I mean.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows at the question, “Ah, fine, fine. Why? Something happen to give you the impression things weren’t okay?”

“No, no. Not really. Just like to check up on things every now and then. Ya know, just to be sure.”

“Oh, oh. I see. Well, no need to worry Jack, we’re doing fine. We miss you out there of course, but we’re doing good.”

“How about Carter? She settling into command well?”

Ah, now I get it. Daniel realized. This isn’t about the team, this is about Sam, “Great. She’s doing great, Jack. She’s been ready for this for a while, you know that.”

“Has she been talking to you much lately? You know, about…stuff?” O’Neill again shifted in his seat, looking more uncomfortable by the moment.

Daniel’s eyebrows again traveled nearly up to his hairline, “Yeah, we talk quite a lot. We are friends, ya know. Is there something in particular she was supposed to talk to me about?”

Now O’Neill knew he was on shaky ground. He honestly was worried about how the break up of her engagement was affecting Sam, personally rather than professionally since he had the utmost confidence in her abilities at work. But it was hardly his place to tell Daniel what had happened between Sam and Pete.

Daniel, being the perceptive person he was, picked up on the nature of Jack’s discomfort and saved him from having to say something embarrassing, “This is about Pete, isn’t it? Sam mentioned she told you Friday night.”

Jack’s relief was palpable, “Yeah. You think she’s handling that whole….thing okay?”

Daniel smiled, “She’ll be fine Jack. I got the feeling that she was never as confident in their relationship as Shanahan was. It almost seemed like it was a relief to her that it was over.”

“Ah. Well, that’s good. Good,” Jack replied.

“So, things all smoothed out with Sam and Area 51?” Daniel inquired, his expression carefully schooled to be inquisitive but little more.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, that. Yeah. Everything’s been taken care of. Paperwork’s all been submitted. She officially reports to General Greene as of today.”

“Well, that’s good too. We’d hate to lose Sam from the SGC,” Daniel replied, wondering if Jack had a clue at all where this conversation was going. Knowing that he likely didn’t.

“Too damn true.” O’Neill replied.

“So, she’s going to report directly to General Greene?”

“Well, he will be writing her performance reports, but I’ll still have some input on those. And day to day she’ll get her direction from me and her superior officers in the SGC. But yeah, for all practical purposes she reports to…” Jack trailed off slightly, “Greene now.”

Daniel watched as the realization dawned. Well now, that wasn’t so hard after all. Good boy, Jack. The archaeologist smiled as he rose from his chair and turned toward the door, “Well, that’s good to know, Jack. I was about to head down to the commissary, get some lunch. You coming with?”

Jack felt as though someone had set off a Jaffa stun grenade in his office. I’ll be damned. He thought. What the hell do I do now?

“Come on Jack. We’ll go have lunch and maybe after work we’ll head over to Joe’s, have a couple of beers and talk over old times. What’d’ya say?”

Jack rose from his chair, operating on autopilot, “Sure, Danny. That sounds great.”

Daniel smiled again as he pulled open the door and stepped out into the entryway, feeling that for once, the universe finally seemed to be lining up in favor of two people who so richly deserved it.

Chapter 4

It had been another crazy couple of months in the life of General O’Neill and the SGC. Several missions had been launched and recovered, with varying degrees of success and not without a few mishaps along the way. O’Neill had found himself running from one crisis to the next with barely enough time to choke down a piece of cake and a cup of coffee. By the time things had finally gotten back to what the SGC considered to be normal, he was more tired than he would have thought possible working a desk job.  

He hadn’t had time to worry about confronting other new developments in his life, as so eloquently pointed out by the SGC’s resident archaeologist and all around busy body. Not that he would have been able to do anything about those recent developments. By the time things had calmed down enough for Jack to ponder having a conversation with Carter, she had gone to Area 51 for an orientation tour. Jack hadn’t seen her for just over two weeks, and so had been allowed plenty of time to consider what to do, if anything, with his newfound freedom.

And certainly this was not his decision alone. Daniel had, in no uncertain terms, pointed out to him that he was now free to pursue a personal relationship with Carter. Simply the idea of it had left him feeling lightheaded with the possibilities. Daniel had also pointed out the fact that Carter’s engagement had only just been called off, and for him to step up and ask her out within a couple of short weeks after that breakup would hardly be the way to approach the situation. But the thought that had been weighing heavily on his mind ever since that evening was whether or not she even wanted any sort of relationship with him.

Now, however, just over two months had passed and Jack felt as though it may be now or never. Carter should have returned from Nevada Thursday afternoon and had actually taken some leave on Friday, much to his surprise. So here it was, Saturday morning and Jack had the phone in one hand debating whether or not to call. He had been attempting to work the conversation out in his mind for the better part of the last five days and still didn’t have a clue what he was going to say. An invitation to dinner seemed to be a given, but how to lead up to the question was the dilemma. 

In the end, he simply dialed the phone, hoping that by the time Carter answered, he would think of something, or at least not sound like a complete idiot. The phone rang twice before it was picked up.

“Yeah, hello.”

“Ah, mornin’ Carter.”

“General. Good morning, sir.” Sam answered, the surprise evident in her voice, “Is there something wrong sir? Do you need me back at the base?”

“No. No, nothing like that. Just calling to see how the trip went.”

“Oh. Well, it’s certainly going to be a lot of extra work, but they have a good team put together at Area 51. Top notch people, sir. We should be able to do some good and hopefully build some better relations between them and the SGC.”

“Them? Ya know, you are now technically ‘them’, Carter.”

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line, “Huh. Never really thought about it that way, sir. I still feel like I’m a part of the SGC.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, you definitely are, but you report to them now.”

“Kind of like dual citizenship, sir?”

O’Neill chuckled slightly, “Yeah, kinda.”

“So, how’ve things been at the SGC the last couple of weeks? Did I miss anything fun?”

“Well, I managed not to kill Daniel, if that’s what you mean.”

Sam laughed lightly, “Don’t worry, sir. I’ll be sure to take him off your hands first thing Monday morning. I brought back a couple of projects from Area 51, one of which I think I can entice Daniel to help me with since it’s got some sort of encryption that appears to be in a language he’s familiar with.”

“I’d definitely appreciate that, Carter. I’m not sure how much longer my self control was going to last.”

Sam chuckled at the image of General O’Neill actually holding back rather than letting Daniel have an earful, as he would have as SG-1’s CO. Maybe the new rank and position was truly changing him, something she had never thought possible.

“So, ah…there was another question I had for you,” Jack began uncertainly.

“Really, sir? What’s that?”

“Well, actually…I was wondering what you were doing for dinner tonight?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it yet. Probably nuke some soup or something. Why? You thinking about having the old team over, sir?”

“Not exactly, just one little bit of the old team. And I was thinking something a bit classier than our usual cookout in the backyard. Like The Olive Branch? Say around 1900?”

Sam was stunned. Did he just ask me out? What the hell has gotten into him? “Ah, well…wow, sir. Umm….are you sure that’s such a good idea?”

“Actually, Sam, I think it’s just about the best idea that’s come along in quite some time,” Jack replied confidently, “Considering some recent changes to our command structure, I think it’s a damn fine idea.”

That stopped Sam cold. Changes to our command struct...oh my God, “I, um…I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

“To be honest, neither can I, Carter. And here I thought you were the smart one,” Jack replied, chuckling, “So, should I pick you up at 7?”

Sam wasn’t sure later if it was the unexpected invitation or the fact that for years she had dreamed of just this moment, but the words were out of her mouth before she could take them back.

“Sure, sir. I’d very much like that.”

“Great, Carter. See you then. Oh, and one other thing.”

“Yes, sir?”

“See if you can lose the ‘Sir’ before 7.”

“On one condition.”

“And that would be?”

“You lose the ‘Carter’.”

“I’ll see what I can do, Sam. See you tonight.”

The phone disconnected and Sam stood staring at the idle handset clutched in her nerveless fingers. What did I just do? Oh hell, face it Sam, you just did what you’ve wanted to do for years. Enjoy it.

“Now the big question. What am I going to wear?”

***** 

The Olive Branch had been a Colorado Springs dining spot for over 20 years. In that time it built a reputation for good food, good atmosphere, and good prices. Sam and Jack were sitting in a quiet booth near the back of the main dining room, their voices low amongst the murmuring of the dinner crowd. The meal had passed pleasantly and Sam found herself, after a period of tense nervousness, slowly relaxing and beginning to enjoy the evening. The feeling that they were doing something wrong was never far from her mind, but as the meal progressed she realized that this truly was okay; that a relationship was finally possible.

The night had begun well, Jack appearing on her doorstep promptly at 7 pm. Sam had gone for a casual look, a low cut stretchy white top over tight black jeans, heeled black boots, and a black leather jacket. O’Neill’s open mouthed reaction as he stood on Sam’s front porch had validated the choice. Sam had blushed slightly at the frankly approving stare and had simply stepped out the door and past Jack, heading for the passenger door of the truck. Following Sam with his gaze, Jack turned to follow, lengthening his stride and reaching the vehicle just in time to open the door and hold it as Sam climbed inside.

The meal had been as good as the Olive Branch’s reputation promised and Sam found herself contented, sipping on her second glass of Kendal Jackson chardonnay. She gazed across the table at her dinner companion. Sam had seen Jack O’Neill in many states and emotions ranging from silly to enraged, but tonight was different. Tonight he was more relaxed than she could ever remember, his smile never far from his lips as they chatted about everything imaginable, from politics to sports. But one topic had been rather elusive, and Sam found herself wondering more and more about it as the night wore on. Finally, she decided to bite the bullet so to speak, and simply ask.

“So.”

“So?”

“Why tonight?”

“Tonight?” Jack asked, genuinely confused.

“Yeah. Why did you ask me out tonight? Why not the day my transfer became effective?”

Jack’s eyebrows rose, “Oh, that. Ah. Well… that was sort of Daniel’s idea.”

“Daniel? What’s Daniel got to do with it?”

“Well, someone had to knock me over the head and get me to ask. Certainly wasn’t going to be Teal’c. He’s more subtle than that.”

Sam smiled at the image, “So Daniel knocked you over the head?”

“Figuratively speaking, of course. This is still Daniel we’re talking about. He actually took me out for a beer.”

Sam leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table, “So it was his idea for you to ask me out?”

“Well, that was sort of my own idea, but Daniel helped with the timing a bit. He convinced me it wouldn’t have been such a great idea if I asked you out right after you and Shanahan….you know.”

“Broke up?”

Jack grimaced slightly, “Yeah, that.”

“Thoughtful of him.”

“Yeah, that’s Daniel for ya. So…are you…you know….?” Jack gestured aimlessly toward the open air between them.

“I’m fine. Really. Thank you for asking, though,” Sam sat back in her chair and toyed with her napkin.

“Ah. Good then.”

Sam looked up, their eyes met across the table, and suddenly that warm feeling that had been niggling in the pit of her stomach exploded through her chest, warming her from the inside out, causing her to suck in a startled breath in response.

Jack suddenly looked concerned, “Hey, you okay?”

Sam shook herself from her startlement, “Yeah, yeah,” she replied, pulling in a deep breath and letting out slowly, “Great in fact. This was very nice, tonight. Thank you.”

Jack allowed a smile to crawl across his face, “Anytime, ma’am. Anytime. How about we get out of here?”

“Sure.”

Jack stood up and moved to hold Sam’s chair, then helped her don her jacket before they headed out the doors and back to his truck. The evening air was crisp, the beginnings of winter turning the nights sharply colder. Sam pulled the collar of her coat closed as a gust of chill air blew past her. Jack again moved past her to pull open the passenger door of his truck and hold it as Sam climbed in. She couldn’t help the small smile that crossed her face as Jack gently closed the door behind her and walked around to enter on the driver’s side.

Jack caught Sam smiling at him as he pulled on his seat belt, “What?”

“Nothing. I just never pictured you as someone who opened doors and all of that.”

“Really? I always thought that kind of came naturally to me. Why, does it bother you?”

“Surprisingly enough, no. It doesn’t.”

“Alright then.”

They arrived at Sam’s doorstep a few minutes after ten. Jack walked Sam up to her front door, pausing while she unlocked the door and pushed it open slightly.

“So, would you like to come in for some coffee?”

“I think if I come in for coffee, I’m going to want to stay for pancakes.”

Sam felt her mouth go dry, “Oh.”

“Yeah. Sam, I…I’ve wanted this for so long, I just don’t want to do anything to screw it up.”

“I know what you mean.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, I think I’ve probably wanted this at least as long as you have. Maybe longer.”

“You have? Really?”

Sam smiled gently, “Yes, really. Jack, I haven’t exactly had the best of luck in relationships and the last thing I want to do is make a mistake with you. With us. Not after…” Sam trailed off. Jonas. Pete. Both mistakes. Both regrets.

Jack tucked his hands into his pockets and nodded, “So, we’ll be careful then. Okay?”

“I think I can handle that.”

“Good. So, is dinner at my place tomorrow night careful enough?”

A wry smile graced Sam’s lips, “I’m not sure…how careful is it to subject myself to your cooking?”

“Oh, now that hurts. That really hurts!” Jack said, grinning as his hand clutched his shirt over his heart.

Sam smiled at the theatrics, “So, what can I bring?”

“So is that a yes?”

“It’s a yes.”

“Then you bring the dessert. Anything chocolate.”

They stood, looking at each other for several moments.

“So,” Jack said simply.

“So.”

“I should probably go.”

“Yeah, probably.”

But rather than turning toward his waiting truck parked on the street, Jack reached out and curled a hand around Sam’s arm, sliding his hand down the butter soft leather until her hand was clasped in his. Reaching out with his free hand he cupped her cheek, drawing her face nearer to his until they were breathing the same air. Sam’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes wide and luminous in the evening moonlight. Jack took a moment to simply look at her, drink in the beauty of her, before he bent his head ever so slowly, his lips hovering just above Sam’s.

In a moment that was exquisite in it’s magnificence, Jack’s lips brushed Sam’s, feather light at first, then increasingly demanding in a wave of passion that left them both breathless. He pulled back, his hand stroking her face, “You are so beautiful.”

Sam’s eyes filled and she blinked hurriedly to keep the tears from falling.

Jack grimaced slightly, “I’m sorry. That wasn’t really all that careful was it?”

“No, no. It was fine. More than fine, actually.”

“More than fine?” Jack smiled mischievously, “I always wanted to be ‘more than fine’.”

Sam grinned, then stepped closer to him again, the smell of soap, cologne, and a scent that would always be Jack O’Neill filling her nostrils as Sam angled her lips toward his, her kiss searing in its intensity. As they broke apart, Sam moved in to wrap her arms around his waist, allowing herself to sink gratefully into his embrace as Jack enveloped her in his arms, creating a cocoon of warmth against the night chill.

“Oh God,” Sam breathed, this perfect moment overwhelming her.

They stood there on her front porch for what seemed like an eternity, each warmed by the other. Jack moved first, pulling back from their embrace and reaching up to brush his hand across her temple and through her hair, “You okay?”

“Yeah. This just feels so good. So right. Caught me a bit off guard.”

Jack smiled at that, “So, I’ll see you tomorrow night?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Great, I’ll see you around 6 then.”

“Okay,” Sam said simply, reluctantly releasing her hold on Jack as he stepped back from her door and moved slowly toward his truck. He opened the door and turned back, smiling and giving her a small wave. Sam returned the gesture as she watched him turn the motor over and pull away from her curb. She followed the taillights of his vehicle as he turned the corner before entering her house and closing the door silently behind her.

 *****

Sam paused just outside Jack’s door to smooth down the hem of her skirt. Generally she wasn’t a vain person, but then again, how vain could you be when you spend most of your time off world living in the field? Sam was a bit surprised at herself. How many years had she known Jack? 7 nearly 8? And here she was, standing outside his door nervous about how she looked. Get a grip, Sam. 

She reached out and knocked lightly on the door. A few moments later the door swung open and Jack stood just to one side of the doorway.

“Hey there. Come on in.”

“Hey. I brought New York Super Fudge Chunk. Hope that’s okay.”

“Sounds great. Let me put that in the freezer. Unless of course you want to just skip dinner and go straight for the ice cream?”

“As good as that sounds, I wouldn’t want your hard work to go to waste.”

“Right. Can I get you something to drink?” Jack asked, slipping Sam’s jacket from her shoulders and hanging it in the nearby closet.

“A beer would be great, thanks,” Sam said, stepping down into the family room and taking a seat on the sofa. Jack returned with two bottles of Guinness, handing one to Sam and settling himself on the couch next to her, their knees not quite touching. 

“So. Dinner should be ready shortly,” Jack began, a sudden awkwardness causing him to feel somewhat self conscious. Although, for what reason he had no idea.

“What’re we having anyway?”

“Oh, um…baked chicken, baby carrots, garlic mashed potatoes and a salad. Hope you came hungry.”

“You made all of that? Yourself?”

“Well, yeah. You didn’t think I sat around here eating pizza and burritos every night, didja?”

“To be honest, I sort of had you pegged for the frozen pizza kind of guy. Are you sure all of that didn’t come out of a box from the freezer?”

“Hey now, first you doubt my gentlemanly gestures at dinner, now you’re doubting my cooking skills. We’re really going to have to work on your image of me.”

“I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised so far. I’m discovering there’s a great deal I don’t know about you. And I’m looking forward to the chance to find out more.”

Jack smiled, “I was hoping you’d say that.”

The timer sounded from the kitchen and Jack excused himself to put the finishing touches on dinner. Sam listened to him putter around for a few moments before following, leaning against the doorframe that separated the dining room from the kitchen sipping on her beer.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Sure. You can take the salads to the table. What kind of dressing do you like? I’ve got ranch and um….ranch,” Jack frowned at the refrigerator.

Sam laughed lightly, “I guess in that case I’ll take the ranch.” Picking up the salad bowls and bottle of dressing, she headed back into the dining room, setting her burden down on the table.

“Go ahead and have a seat, I’ll be right in,” Jack called from the kitchen.

Sam pulled out a chair and took her seat, turning to see Jack entering the room carrying two steaming plates.

“Wow. That smells great.”

Jack grinned and set a plate in front of Sam, “Go ahead and dig in. Hopefully it tastes as good as it smells.”

Sam picked up a fork and cut off a small bite of the chicken, tentatively bringing it up to her mouth. The flavors exploded on her tongue, “Oh wow. I think it actually tastes better than it smells. This is wonderful.”

“Ya know what, you’re right. This is pretty good,” Jack said, a bit incredulously.

“You sound surprised.”

“I am, a little. I’ve never tried baking chicken before. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.”

“Well, for a first timer, you sure did get it right.”

They ate in companionable silence until their plates were nearly cleared.

Sam sat back in her chair, draining the last of her beer, “I don’t think I could eat another bite. That was wonderful, Jack. Thank you.”

“So, no room for New York Super Fudge Chunk huh? Now that’s just a shame.”

“Hey now, I didn’t say that! Just give me an hour or so and I’ll be ready for round two,” Sam replied, smiling.

Jack’s grin widened, “Far be it for me to keep a woman from her chocolate ice cream,”  he stood, ignoring Sam’s playfully indignant glare, and picked up the empty plates to deposit them in the sink before returning to the table and reclaiming his seat.

“So,” Sam said simply.

“So?”

“What’s tomorrow going to be like?”

Jack leaned forward a bit, playing with a loose string dangling from the placemat in front of him, “It’s going to be different, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah. Different. But good, I think.”

Jack raised his eyes to meet Sam’s, “You know people are going to talk, right?”

Sam sat up straighter in her chair as she caught the serious tenor in his voice, “Jack, people have been talking for years. Now they’ll just have something real to talk about.”

“Well now, that’s true enough. But now that there’s something real to talk about, things might get a bit more…intense. Especially for you,”  Jack’s concern crept into his voice.

“I can handle myself.”

Jack shook his head, “I never said you couldn’t. I’m just sayin’.”

“I know. Really, though, I’ll be fine. But we should probably set some ground rules for when we’re at work.”

“Such as?”

“Well, making out in the control room is probably out.”

Jack grinned, “Ah, yeah. That would be a given.”

“I guess we just try to act the way we always have. I don’t think I’m going to be able to pretend I barely know you, but eyebrows are going to rise if you suddenly start spending all your time in my lab.”

“Okay, so no making out in the control room and no spending all my day in your lab. Anything else?”

Sam smiled, but her expression faded to one of utter seriousness, “Are you sure we can do this? Are you sure we should?”

The questions stopped Jack cold and sent his heart pounding in his chest. Never had he considered the possibility that Sam wouldn’t want this. That she would consider a relationship while they were still working together at the SGC to be too difficult. Arrogant Jack. Very arrogant. You never considered that maybe Sam wouldn’t want the headaches that come with dating someone she works with.

Jack consciously willed himself to calm down before attempting to speak, “Are you saying you don’t want to do this?”

“I’m just giving you one last chance to…reconsider. If you want.”

Jack moved his chair closer to the corner of the table and Sam’s seat and reached out to pull her hand into his. He could feel the tremors running through her cold fingers and suddenly realized that this conversation was just as difficult for her as it was for him.

“Sam, nothing at the SGC could cause me to reconsider. Nothing. But if you don’t want to deal with all the crap…well then, if that’s what you want, okay.”

“No. No that’s not what I want, Jack. I want this. Us. No matter how hard it might be at work. I just wanted to give you one last chance to say stop.”

Jack blew out a relieved breath, “You realize you just scared the crap outta me, right?”

“I’m just glad you didn’t take me up on it. And I wanted to be sure we both knew what we are getting ourselves into.”

“Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea,” Jack replied before leaning across the table and kissing Sam gently, then the kiss deepened to something more passionate. Jack pulled back slightly to look Sam squarely in the eyes, allowing her to see the depth of his feelings reflected in his gaze.

“Sam, I have never wanted anything as much as I want this. Believe me.”

“I do, Jack. I do believe you.”

“Okay then. So, ready for ice cream now?” Jack’s lightly asked question broke the tension that had seeped into the room.

Sam’s face broke into a small smile, “I’ll get the spoons.”

Chapter 5

As the weeks progressed Jack’s prediction of talk at the SGC proved to be something of an understatement. At first, the scuttlebutt had been moving through the corridors faster than the Marines during an alert. But finally the gossip began to calm, moving on to more interesting topics and away from the new couple who had given the rumor mill little fodder for their lunchtime chatter.

Through it all, Sam and Jack kept their contact at work strictly professional and left any personal interactions for his home or hers. It wasn’t as though they didn’t want to go out, but between their work loads and the rumors of favoritism at work, Jack had suggested that perhaps some time out of the public eye, even off duty, might not be a bad idea.

On her first day back at the SGC after her trip to Area 51, Sam had pulled Daniel and Teal’c aside and filled them in on all that had happened over the weekend. Originally, she was going to casually suggest breakfast in the commissary, but scratched that plan when she considered how exuberant Daniel could be sometimes. Instead, she asked them to join her in town for dinner, seeking to keep her private life as far from the base and its prying eyes and ears as possible.

They met at a local pizza parlor and had plowed their way through two large sausage and pepperoni pizzas and a pitcher of beer before Sam felt relaxed enough to broach the subject she had wanted to discuss with her team. While she was finishing up the last of her dinner, her mind continued to run through possible reactions so she could be ready to respond. 

Stop it Sam. These are your friends. Just give them the benefit of the doubt, already.

After a few moments of companionable silence as they handed over their empty plates to the waiting server Daniel decided to break the ice, having already surmised the true purpose for this ‘team building dinner’. 

“So. How was your weekend?”

Sam looked up, slightly startled, “Fine. Yours?”

“Sam…”

“Daniel.”

Teal’c’s eyebrow cocked quizzically.

Sam couldn’t suppress a grin, “You’d think after all these years I’d be used to Daniel being a step ahead of me,” she paused then, looking at her hands, trying to quickly form her thoughts into a coherent statement. Seemingly without her control, a steady stream began flowing from her mouth. 

“Before the rumor mill on the base gets started, I thought I should inform both of you that Jack and I have decided to see each other outside work … to pursue a personal relationship. Due to the fact that I am no longer officially under General O’Neill’s command, the fraternization rules no longer apply. I believe that we’ll both be able to maintain our professional relationship, and maintain the status quo, but if you guys have any objections, or any reason to feel uncomfortable about this, then I think we should discuss this as a team. I don’t want our relationships in or out of work to be affected and I…”

“Sam!” 

At his exclamation, Sam’s head jerked up to look at Daniel.

The archaeologist was grinning from ear to ear, “Breathe, Sam.”

Teal’c’s face creased into a small, sage smile, “Indeed.”

Sam released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, “So, you two are alright with this?”

Daniel nodded, “Sam, it’s been obvious for a long time how you and Jack feel about each other. I’m happy for both of you that you can finally do something about it.”

Sam looked over at Teal’c for further assurance, “Teal’c?”

Teal’c was looking at her now with such seriousness, that she began to worry, “Samantha, I have been aware of your feelings for General O’Neill, and his feelings for you, for some time. I am extremely pleased that you will now have the freedom to express them.”

Sam felt as though a boulder has been lifted off her shoulders. She wasn’t sure why she had been worried. These were her best friends in the world. Hell, her best friends in the universe. She should have known they would be as supportive in this as in every other endeavor. 

“Okay, then,” Sam looked from Daniel to Teal’c, a smile playing over her face. Daniel smiled in return, nodded and reached out to pick up his drink, raising it up in front of him.

“To Sam and Jack, and many happy years together.”

Teal’c followed suit and Sam’s smiled broadened as she lifted her glass, “And to good friends.”

“Indeed.”

Drinking from their respective glasses, Sam felt as though all was finally right with her world.

 *****

The discovery of each other as their relationship began to take shape came as something of a surprise to Jack. He found himself pleasantly surprised at the side of Sam Carter that was slowly emerging. This was the side of Sam who could be shyly uncertain of herself in their new found closeness. The side to her that enjoyed a good romantic movie versus a technical journal; the side who could relax and smile and laugh over a comfortable dinner by soft candlelight. The side of Sam that wasn’t at all afraid to simply sit on the couch and be held.

If he hadn’t been in love with her before this discovery, he certainly was now, not that he had actually said the words out loud yet. This Sam could be feminine without losing any of the strength of character that had attracted him in the first place. Not that Sam wasn’t feminine already, he could hardly count himself a man if he had missed that little detail. Hell, let’s face it, she’s HOT. But this part of Sam endeared her to him even further. It was almost as if he she was allowing him to take control, to be a protector; a role he had become rather accustomed to in his previous relationships, but hadn’t expected to find with Sam. A role that made him feel wanted and needed and he was surprised to find just how good it felt.

However, this role of protector had its downside as well, especially when they were on base. Jack found it increasingly on his mind the dangers Sam faced in their day to day work environment and had to consciously pull himself back from those feelings of protection as they were things that Sam neither wanted nor needed at work. So when a mission came up and SG-1 was next in the rotation Jack didn’t hesitate to assign them, but it was never far from his mind what could happen at any time when they stepped through the ‘gate.

They had in fact discussed just that fear not long ago over a quiet dinner at Sam’s after a particularly difficult week for the both of them. 

Jack had been under the usual pressures from the President and the Pentagon, but for some reason this week seemed to wear on him more than usual. Sam had been under pressure from Area 51 to complete a key analysis of some pieces of Goa’uld technology that had recently been acquired by other SG teams. They hadn’t seen each other outside work for the entire week and by Friday evening, they were both worn down by the stress and long hours that they agreed to meet that evening for dinner to get a head start on what they hoped would be a relaxing weekend.

The conversation during dinner had been light, about everything and nothing. Cassie’s school work, her latest change in major, the early change in the weather this year, whether or not to watch the Simpsons or King of the Hill. Sam wasn’t sure later who had brought it up, but the conversation suddenly took on a much more serious tenor.

“Jack, are you telling me you’ve thought about pulling us from a mission? You would seriously do that?”

“Hey, I only said I’d thought about it, not that I’d actually do it. I’m sorry, Sam, I can’t help but think about it. I can’t stop thinking about it some days when you’re out there and I’m stuck back here, not knowing what’s going on.”

Sam’s expression softened from indignation to understanding, “I know it’s hard for you, Jack. I really do. But this is what I do, it’s what I love. I’m not likely to give it up willingly anytime soon.”

“I know. And I would never ask you to. But I can’t help it. I want to keep you out of harm’s way. It’s the over-controlling alpha male in me. It’s genetics. Unavoidable,” Jack shrugged, attempting to throw off his concern. But Sam wasn’t so easily put off.

Sam reached out to take Jack’s hand in her own, absently rubbing her thumb along the backs of his knuckles, “I kind of like that ‘over-controlling alpha male’ side of you, ya know.”

Jack’s surprise must have shown on his face and had Sam laughing in response.

“Don’t look so surprised. I’m not that different from other women, am I? We all like to be taken care of, at least some of the time. But so help me, if you breathe a word of that to Teal’c or Daniel...you’ll regret it.”

That brought an answering smile to Jack’s face, “No, of course you’re not different. But I’m still figuring that out. You’re usually...I dunno...more assertive than that. I just wasn’t expecting it.”      

Sam’s smiled widened as she released Jack’s hand to reach for her coffee mug, “We both know what we do is dangerous. But if we don’t take on that danger, who should? All the times we’ve saved the world, even if no one outside the mountain knows about it, that means something to me.”

“Even the times when things didn’t work out? The times when the end of the mission means a bed in the infirmary? It’s not the times we saved the world that worry me, Sam. It’s the times things went wrong.”

“Jack, there’s no way to protect me from everything. You know that. I could die tomorrow driving to work. When it’s fated to happen, it’ll happen, and nothing we do or say can stop it.”

Jack looked skeptical, “Do you really believe that?”

“What, in fate? After all we’ve seen, all we’ve been through, it’s the only thing that makes sense. Why else am I even still here, still alive if not for fate? Or just pure dumb luck.”

“Yeah, luck. Eventually luck runs out though. It always does,” Jack murmured quietly, his gaze skittering away from Sam’s.

Sam’s smile faded, her expression becoming concerned, “Jack look at me.”

O’Neill knew he was caught; he knew the look in his eyes would give him away, but he couldn’t deny her and slowly turned his head so that their gazes met.

The look Sam saw in his eyes surprised and shocked her. He was afraid; a fear that went deeper than she realized, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here and I’m going to always be right here.”

“You can’t know that, Sam. You can’t promise me that. Damn it, I’ve seen you die. I just don’t think I can handle that happening again. Not now.”

Sam paused for a moment, unsure what to say. She pushed back her chair, got up and came to kneel at Jack’s side, looking at him directly, “You’re right. I don’t know that for sure. No one ever does. But what I do know is that I care about you, very much, and there is nothing in this universe that will stop me from doing everything in my power to come home to you.”

Jack stared deep into Sam’s eyes, measuring her resolve; measuring his own.

“Do you believe me?” Sam prompted.

Jack seriously considered her question before answering, “Yes, I do. It’s not about belief or trust Sam. You’ll always have that from me. It’s just going to take me some time to get comfortable with this.”

Sam smiled and leaned in to place a gentle, loving kiss on his lips, “You can have all the time you need, Jack.”

He nodded in reply, reaching up to pull Sam’s head back down to kiss her forehead, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Everything,” Jack replied simply, meaning it in every sense of the word.

Thinking back on that conversation now, Jack felt a bit foolish. He knew Sam was right, but he also knew that those fears would be with him as long as Sam remained an active member of SG-1, stepping out of the ‘gate into unknown situations on a fairly regular basis.

Gazing across the conference table at her as she attempted to explain why they needed to visit P7X-035, Jack felt the weight of his duty pressing down over the knowledge that he would do almost anything to keep her safe. In the end, as always, his dedication to his duty prevailed.

“Okay campers, go for it. You ship out at 0900 tomorrow morning.”

Jack kept his eyes on the mission outline in front of him as SG-1 pushed back from the table and headed out into the corridor. It wasn’t until he looked back up that he realized he wasn’t alone.

“Something I can do for you, Colonel?”

Sam pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes briefly before replying. She could feel his unease as if it were a living thing standing between them, and she wanted to know what she had done to cause it before she left on this mission.

“Everything okay, sir?”

Sam watched as surprise rippled fleetingly across his face before Jack closed it off, his eyes taking on the cool veneer of command.

“Sure. Everything’s fine.”

“You sure, sir? You seemed a bit…distracted, during the briefing.”

“I heard every word, Carter. You’re going to P7X-035. Daniel’s going to go dig up his bits of stuff, you and Teal’c will hopefully keep him from falling into another sink hole,” Jack replied, a smirk gracing his mouth.

“Now, sir. You know that only happened once and Teal’c was standing right next to him when he did and he still couldn’t keep Daniel from going over into the hole.”

“My point exactly.”

Sam realized she was being gently but firmly steered away from her original question and decided to let it go, for now, “Yes, sir. Of course. You busy tonight? I was going to make Thai peanut stir fry, about 1900, if you’re interested.”

“That sounds great, Carter. I’ll be there.”

“Great, see you then, sir. Have a good afternoon.”

“Oh yeah, like that’s gonna happen. I’ve got Doctors Lee and Felger in here right after lunch. That’ll probably last at least until quitting time tonight,” Jack replied, grimacing.

“Now, sir, it can’t be that bad.”

“Easy for you to say, you understand what they’re saying.”

Laughing lightly Sam turned and headed toward the stairs to the control room, “See you tonight, sir.”

 *****

Ba’al stood, his head held high to look down upon those arrayed before him. They had all served him loyally for many years, a dozen of his best and brightest, and now he would put that loyalty to the ultimate test. He paced slowly in front of them, their eyes never leaving him as they waited expectantly for him to speak. Ever the master of anticipation he waited, perhaps for a few moments longer than some of them would have expected, before opening his mouth to speak.

“My loyal servants, I have need of your services in a quest that will lead to the ultimate conquest of the galaxy. My operatives have discovered a weapon that will shift the balance of power in my favor and place me as the sole System Lord to rule over all!” Ba’al paused, allowing the weight of his words to sink in.

“You will be charged with further developing this weapon to serve our needs. This weapon must be ready to use against the Tok’ra and their Tau’ri lackeys before the next meeting of the System Lords. They must know the power I possess and my willingness to use it against any of them who would dare challenge me! You will depart immediately for the planet known as Kianon. There you will succeed! 

“You will unleash this weapon to our enemies before the completion of the next Kianon lunar cycle. Your mission must be held in the utmost secrecy. Leave no trace of your presence on the planet. Leave no marker of your arrival or departure. Kianon is a remote and backward world where you should remain undetected for the duration of your work there.”

Ba’al paused again, gazing into the eager and expectant faces of the best and most brilliant scientific minds he had available within his ranks. He had no doubts they would work day and night to have the weapon ready in time to please their god and master. His only worry was whether or not the weapon would be as powerful as he had been led to believe.

“Go now! For the glory of your god, Ba’al!”

Snapping smartly to attention, heels clicking, arms straight at their sides, Ba’al’s minions bowed together at the waist and then turned to file silently from the room.

Chapter 6

It was 0700 when Carter entered the locker room to gear up for their mission. She had spent a relaxing evening with Jack, mainly curled up on the couch watching some mindless sci fi television. She knew there was still something bothering him, something down deep, but every time she had tried to get close to whatever it was, the conversation had been steered in another direction. He had left early, with the excuse that she needed to get to sleep. ‘Don’t wantcha nodding off during the mission tomorrow.’ He had said, his usual bravado masking anything else he might have been feeling.

But she was learning to read him better as their time together grew, and her sleep was hardly what had been dragging at his attention.  Sam bent down to lace up her boots, pushing her personal worries aside.  Now wasn’t the time to dwell on them; now she needed to be focused and prepared. She knew the minute she started taking what seemed to be routine missions through the ‘gate lightly would be the day she or one of her team might not come back. And that simply wasn’t an option.

By the time she finished up or shut down several projects she had working in her lab and drew her gear from the quartermaster and weapon’s officer it was nearly 0845 and time to meet the guys. She strode through the doorway to the ‘gateroom, unsurprised to find Teal’c already kitted up and waiting for her. And was equally unsurprised to see that Daniel had yet to arrive. Throwing Teal’c an exasperated smile, she was about to have Daniel paged when he skidded to halt at the base of the ramp just as the wormhole was established.

“Sorry.” He at least had the manners to look as though he meant it.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s what you always say,” Carter replied before turning toward the control room and catching O’Neill’s eye, “SG-1 all present and accounted for, sir. Ready to embark.”

The General leaned over to grasp the microphone, “You have a go, kids. Be good. Don’t forget, home by 11.”

Carter smiled, “Will do, sir. Keep the light on for us.”

O’Neill nodded, stuffing his hands down into his pockets as he watched them climb the ramp and one by one disappear through the event horizon. The niggling feeling he’d had since Daniel had first briefed them on this mission hadn’t diminished, but he didn’t have any solid reason not to authorize it. He normally wouldn’t have ignored such intuitions, but this time it seemed as though his usual instincts were clouded by his personal feelings for Sam and that was something he couldn’t allow.

And so, he watched them go, and knew that the next two days would be long and difficult and sleepless as well, but it couldn’t be helped. He still had a base to command and other teams who needed his attention.  As the wormhole closed he finally turned away from the windows to return to his office and the responsibilities that lay within.

 *****

Daniel shook off the lingering cold and vertigo as he stepped through the event horizon onto P7X-035.  The briefing he had delivered the day before had outlined the ruins and Goa’uld technology they hoped to find on the planet.  The archaeologist was cautiously optimistic, having learned of this planet from the Tok’ra shortly before the dissolution of the alliance.  Things had been so chaotic after the partnership between the Tau’ri, Rebel Jaffa, and Tok’ra failed that now several months later they were getting their first look at the planet.

Once a remote part of Ra’s influence, the Tok’ra were reasonably sure the planet was no longer under any direct control of any one System Lord. Jack had scoffed at Daniel’s mention of those assurances, having been on the wrong end of a Tok’ra surety one too many times over the last six years. However, he had allowed the mission to proceed, also admitting that no matter how suspect their intel may be, they needed to be sure. If there was Goa’uld technology to be found on this planet, Jack wanted to be sure it was the SGC and not the Tok’ra or Goa’uld that got to it first. Jack had admitted the whole thing made him uneasy; the fact that there may be Goa’uld technology on this planet waiting for someone to come along and scoop it up and that the Tok’ra had known about it but done nothing was disturbing to say the least.

Sam and Teal’c had preceded him through the ‘gate and were now standing on either side of a short flight of stone steps, scanning the tree line ahead of them. Daniel stood at the base of the stairs, waiting for his teammates to signal the all clear so they could move on. Daniel had learned over the years that it did him little good to gripe about the waiting ritual he was forced to endure each time they ‘gated to an unknown planet. Too often this caution had saved their lives.

After several moments, Sam turned to catch Teal’c’s eye and at his slight nod she gave the order to move out.

Carter turned to Daniel, “How far is it to the ruins from here?”

“According to the Tok’ra surveys, just over a kilometer. Shouldn’t take us long to get there, not much between us and the temple but some stands of trees,” he replied.

Sam nodded in reply, “Okay, we head to the temple, take a look around. Get inside if we can. When we get there Teal’c, you’ll take perimeter while Daniel and I go inside. Stay sharp guys, I don’t want any surprises while we’re here. No way to know for sure if the Goa’uld have really abandoned this place or not.”

“Understood, Colonel Carter.”

Moving as silently as possible across the leaf strewn forest floor, it took them less than twenty minutes to reach a large clearing; at its center stood the temple to Ra, just as the Tok’ra had described it. Throwing her hand up to call for a halt, Sam approached the edge of the tree line and sank down on one knee, pulling out her binoculars to get a closer look.

Scanning the outer surface of the temple and the surrounding open ground, Sam saw nothing to indicate that anyone had been there in decades if not hundreds of years.

“Teal’c, see anything I’m missing?”

“I do not. It appears to be deserted.”

“Okay, single file. I’ll go first then Daniel, Teal’c you bring up the rear. Keep your spacing out there. I don’t want us to get caught bunched up and in the open.”

“Okay, Sam.”

“Understood.”

With a nod, Sam stood and cautiously eased out and into the open, her eyes restlessly scanning the trees surrounding them along with the temple itself. She had learned a hard lesson long ago that just because things seemed innocent enough, didn’t mean they were truly safe. Ring transporters rarely left any traces behind, especially if they dropped enemy Jaffa inside a structure, like a temple. Carter was nearly half way across the clearing when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise. 

Slowing her steps, she did a quick 360, searching for whatever had set her senses on edge. Seeing nothing, but still feeling as though she were being watched, Carter picked up her pace again. She quickly reached the temple wall and crouched down at its base.

Daniel waited until Sam was several feet in front of him to make his way across. The archaeologist moved swiftly, and upon reaching the temple wall, took a knee next to his teammate. A few moments later, Teal’c also arrived at the temple wall safely and took up his position at the corner where two of the walls came together, giving him a vantage point where he could cover two directions nearly simultaneously.

Relieved that they had made it this far, but still feeling uneasy, Carter motioned for Daniel to join her as they began to search for an entrance. Daniel began a thorough scan of the temple walls, searching for any markings or writings to indicate a doorway of any type. Carter, meanwhile was working her way in the other direction, running her hands along the rough stones hoping to find some seam or chink to indicate the presence of a door.

After several minutes of fruitless searching, Sam was about to call Daniel back to regroup when she heard him call out.

“Hey, come here, I think I found something.”

Turning back the way she had come, Carter found Daniel staring intently at a small section of the temple wall, the stone there a slightly different shade than the rest of the structure and that appeared to be covered in tiny scratches that to her untrained eyes looking nothing like Goa’uld.

“What’ve you got?”

“Well, it’s writing of some sort, kind of like Sanskrit, but not exactly. But I think I can decipher it. Just give me a couple of minutes here.”

“I’m gonna go check on Teal’c. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Daniel replied, his attention already fully focused on the task at hand.

Carter knelt next to Teal’c, her eyes never leaving the area around them, “See anything yet?”

“I have not.”

“There’s something out there. Something watching us. I’m sure of it.”