The Road to Minnesota - Finally, Utterly Completed
The Road to Minnesota - Finally, Utterly Completed
by Ted Sadler
Summary: Sam goes in search of soemthing she left behind.
I tried to finish this story twice before but readers wouldn't let me. This is the final, complete version.
Category: Drama, Future Story, Romance
Episode Related: 715 CHIMERA, 721 LOST CITY Part 1, 722 LOST CITY Part 2
Season: future Season
Pairing: Jack/Sam, Sam/other, none
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: adult themes, 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: 01/20/04
The Road to Minnesota
by Ted Sadler
Copyright Ted Sadler 2003
"All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author."
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Epilogue
Sometimes, like now, a part of me is detached, all-seeing, all-feeling of my own accord. In these moments I know it's only fleeting awareness, and the conscious, Earthbound me will have little memory of its passing. I savour the delicious *knowing* of all things memorable. The majestic celestial clockwork of how the Universe hangs together, and the relentless coming and going of countless races who believe beyond all evidence to the contrary that they are unique and eternal. Of poetry, the sensations of the flow of time, and The Music of the Spheres. Above all, the floodgates of emotion, of love and hate, joy and sadness which are the only real memories that linger when I return to a state of emptiness.
A yellow-haired woman sleeps beside me, the catalyst for my desire to continue my Earthly existence. The detached me sees her at a distance as my henceforth eternal companion, caught up in the web that I spin, my certain knowledge that one day she too will realise the joys of our timeless bond. My empty self recognises it only as love, but is content nonetheless.
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Chapter 1 - Downfall
Daniel Jackson looked across the restaurant table at his dear friend, noticing once again the greater number of fine lines extending from the corners of her eyes, and the occasional faint twitch that she didn't even know she was experiencing. She stared a lot at nothing these days, snapping back to reality at unpredictable moments.
Sadness would at one time have been his uppermost emotion, but his unique perspective of life after death had inured him to that. Fortunately the desire to help, and knowing how to start the healing, were gifts that he still possessed.
"Sam, it's nothing to be ashamed of. No-one out there can know just what we've all been through these last years. And no-one has done more than you." He paused before speaking the words that he knew would set her on the path. "The same thing happened to Jack, didn't it?"
She looked up at him sharply, the feelings of discomfort, self-pity, alarm, fear, inadequacy and anger flashing through her simultaneously. And then...... The thought that she hadn't dared to think in the year since he'd gone, until yesterday. *He* had known that this would happen to her at some time, had tried to warn her, to teach her to look for the signs. And she'd thrown it back in his face, fed up with his sarcasm, accusing him of self-pity and jealousy over the fact that she'd found someone to belong to. Her career was on track, she had felt comfortable with the new mantle of leadership - thanks to his teaching, she had *graciously* admitted to him - and she was going all the way to save the world. `Go enjoy your fishing, Jack.' were her last words before he walked away to retirement. Moving on definitely has some downsides as well as upsides, she had thought at the time.
And it had been a thrill at first - her new zeal on the job as SG-1 leader; the easy way she could manipulate Pete into accepting his role as her down-time consort at times of her choosing; the swift victories against the Goa'uld. A heady mixture for anyone on the fast track to career fulfilment.
Until the day that the slowly mounting subconscious fear and tension overtook the bounds of suppression and consumed her. The day that she froze, suddenly overwhelmed by the endless killing and sending people to die or be maimed. The scene that haunted her dreams, of an ordinary enemy soldier staring at her, uncomprehending, not believing that his own life was ending as she poured a stream of bullets into his chest.
She broke. That had been her last day on active front-line service in any role. Weeks of counselling and psychiatric therapy had failed to get her to look at it all in perspective. Her dedication to science in her lab was now erratic, and the inevitable had happened. Medical retirement, full honours, enough money to take her time in finding a new job on the outside. Outside.... Outcast..... She taunted herself frequently.
Pete had been supportive, of course, and she knew deep down that her retirement was his opportunity to turn their relationship round onto a course that suited him somewhat better. She was glad of his support, and not surprised when he had started making hints about moving to Denver. So why had she stonewalled him? Was it just the reluctance to let go of the past and the intensity of her life these last eight years? Or was it the growing seeds of discomfort in their interactions? Why, even though their lives were intertwined, did she feel so *lonely*? None of it mattered now anyway.
She had no idea whether Daniel had been waiting seconds or minutes for her reply. "I learned something last night, Daniel, that makes me ashamed." She paused and he knew to wait for her to say it in her own time. "Pete and I were sitting in a booth at a bar. We weren't saying much - that's been happening a lot lately - and I found myself listening to the conversation in the next booth. It wasn't busy and two women were just talking over drinks. One asked her friend whether she'd ever thought she could settle down with any of the guys that she'd been with since her divorce. Her friend thought not, but then the first woman asked `What about that Air Force Colonel you spent three months with last year?'. She said, `Yeah, I thought for a moment or two it was the real thing. But then I realised that even though he'd spent three thousand bucks just for our vacation in Europe, he needed me but he didn't want *me*. He always seemed to be on tenterhooks about me enjoying myself, like he didn't want me to be bored or upset about anything. I told him I wasn't made of glass, and although the attention was nice at first, it upset me to think he couldn't let his hair down and just enjoy himself for once. It's like he was overcompensating for the way he'd been before, maybe. He was pretty far out of it sometimes, and he was into painkillers in a big way - not as a junkie, but to control the monster headaches he kept getting. And nights, he'd dream about things that had gone down in the past, about losing his buddies. Or about other weird stuff. Seems one of his guys meant a lot to him. He'd often shout for *Sam* not to die on him, but I guess he lost him.'"
Sam fell silent as she contemplated what she had told Daniel. "That was Jack, wasn't it?"
"Yes." he said quietly, not attempting to hide anything from her. "He was lost, Sam, totally and utterly, and we weren't there to help him. I went to see him a few times but he wasn't himself any more. He didn't dare confess to the headaches for fear that he'd become a lab rat for the medics or the NID. Suddenly he just up and left Colorado Springs for Minnesota. I never did find out why."
"Because he came under investigation from the local police concerning his apparent drug habit, when he tried to buy morphine a few times. He sold up and left before anything happened." she replied. "Pete told me last night that he was concerned about Jack's attitude towards me after he retired and he got the local PD to check up on him, as a favour from one cop to another. I accused him of being motivated by jealousy and he didn't exactly deny it." She paused. "Pete's gone back to Denver. I..... I don't know if I'll be seeing him again."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Sam." said Daniel.
She glared at him. "Are you?"
"No, not really." he replied, staring back at her. "It was you that drove Jack away, not the police. He was gone the moment you took up with someone. I know he never let on, but he's quite big on denial, as you well know." He didn't move when her tears started. But then, he reached across and placed his hand on hers. "You know what to do, Sam, for yourself if not for him."
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Chapter 2 - The Dawn of Hope
Sam found herself swallowing frequently and shaking as she took the rental SUV up the long track through autumnal yellow and gold-tinted wooded hills to Jack's cabin. When she realised it couldn't be much further, she stopped for a full fifteen minutes before forcing herself to continue. As she pulled up on some open ground near the dark brown wooden cabin, her nerves had the better of her again. However, after a few minutes it was apparent that the place was deserted, and she ventured out. Walking slowly around, she noticed a large stack of logs under a rudimentary shelter next to a small barn. From the tyre tracks leading into it, this was obviously where he parked his truck, but it was empty now. Peering through the open door, she saw tools hanging on the side wall - a sizeable tree saw, an axe, rake, shovel, fork and large yard broom. Stacked against the far wall was a set of spare wheels with large chunky tyres, with snow chains draped across them. A stout work bench with woodworking tools stood along the opposite wall, under which were a chain saw and a leaf blower. His renowned fishing gear lay on a shelf higher up. Outside on the other side of the barn was an upturned rowing boat supported on vertical wooden stumps to keep it clear of the ground and termites.
She turned round and walked across to the cabin, noticing the old but well-polished oil lanterns hanging under the porch eaves. `So this is the kingdom he cares so much about.' she thought. As she got nearer the fading smell of wood preservative hung in the chill air, scented with pine oil. She strolled around to the rear and came across a wooden jetty extending into a small inlet of a much larger lake. She stood silently on the planks, slowly taking in the magnificent view.
Her reverie was interrupted by the arrival of a large, tan-coloured shaggy dog which stopped as soon as it caught sight of her. It dropped the limp jack-rabbit it had carried in its jaw, stared at her and barked loudly. Sam stood still, not knowing whether to approach it in an apparently friendly manner, or stay rooted to the spot in the hope that it would go away. They stood like this for some moments before the dog decided for her and barked once more before turning around suddenly and rushing off along the lake shore.
"Sam!" *his* voice called loudly from out of sight. "Get your scrawny ass over here now! Sam!" Sam stood in open-mouthed amazement. Welcome or not, there was no way she would respond to such an ill-mannered form of address. She started to walk back to the cabin when Jack called again, "Sam! Come on!" followed by a piercing whistle. The dog came bustling back through the trees and went back to its abandoned rabbit, sitting and panting.
"Good girl!" said Jack as he strode round the corner. Looking up, he stopped in total astonishment. "Good God! Carter?" They stood motionless, staring at each other in astonishment until the dog barked again, when Jack looked down and patted its head.
"Of all the brass-plated, iron-clad nerve!" she cried. "You named your mutt after me?"
"Kinda." said Jack. "Sam, meet Sam. Hey! If you ask her nicely, she'll maybe let you share her rabbit this evening. Assuming that you're staying, of course? Are you alone?"
Sam was speechless. Of all the scenarios that had played through her mind on the long journey here, this was number five hundred on a list of four hundred and ninety eight. His question as to whether she had brought company took the wind from her sails though, and she looked away, shaking her head.
"Well, if you don't want to stay, the nearest motel's about seventy miles away. I can draw you a map....." he faltered.
"No." she said firmly. "No, I came prepared for anything." `Well, almost.....' she thought.
"OK." he said simply. "Welcome to the Ponderosa. Oil lamps, log range and fire - got hot water today, though. It's getting kind of chilly this time of year, so I hope you got some practical clothing with you."
"Is there any other kind?" she replied in a sarcastic tone, setting off towards her parked car. Jack walked over to the front door and unlocked it. He turned to watch her sauntering towards him, her bag slung casually over her shoulder.
As she entered, he pointed out the four rooms. "Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, lounge. I'll change the bed so you can be comfortable tonight at least." he said. She made to protest but he just waved a hand and disappeared into that room. Sam put down her bag and took in the surroundings. The lounge was the largest room, dominated by a grand mantelpiece with space for a sizeable log fire. An old brass kettle on a stand was perched on the hearth, and on the shelf above was a picture taken years before of his ex-wife Sara standing with their son Charlie. The large leather couch was of indeterminate age, but with well-worn contours marking the times possibly a generation or two of O'Neill's had sat and lain there. An antique wooden table and chairs occupied the corner space.
The canine Sam sat down in the doorway, dropping her rabbit onto the floor again and whining. "Don't let her bring that in until I've skinned and dressed it!" Jack yelled from the bedroom. "She'll have to wait until I've finished here and then lit the fire. Help yourself to anything you can find in the meantime."
The shock of their meeting was beginning to wear off, and Sam was determined that she was not going to be a passive visitor here. It was therefore a total surprise to Jack when he emerged from the back room a little later to see her out by the lake shore with a large knife from his kitchen, expertly skinning and preparing the rabbit for the pot, with quadruped Sam sitting impatiently by her with adoring eyes and half a yard of tongue hanging out.
"We all had to do aircrew survival 101, Jack." she said calmly as she re-entered with the pot and her new companion for life on full alert lest it go astray.
Jack stared at his dog and muttered "Trollop!". Sam 2 looked away shame-faced but soon returned her gaze to the supper. Sam 1 couldn't help herself and laughed out loud. She hadn't felt this good in days - weeks, even.
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Time flew, and it was by the soft light of an oil lamp that they ate dinner in the corner of the lounge, the rest of the room lit by the yellow glow of the fire in the hearth. Sam 2 lay gently snoring on the rug by the foot of the sofa.
Their conversation had been light, non-essential banter that was just pleasant, neither daring to touch on anything substantive that might ruin the unexpected good atmosphere.
"She's a lurcher." said Jack, after Sam's obvious question. "Cross between a greyhound and a Collie, with probably some kind of terrier thrown in for good measure. The gypsies in Europe used to breed them for hunting. I've no idea how she came to be here - we just kind of gravitated towards each other and she stayed. She's great at hunting biscuits in the house, by the way, so don't leave food within reach. She'll burn your soul with those eyes but then steal it anyway when you're not looking."
"And the name?" said Sam archly.
"Reminds me of good times." replied Jack in a soft voice. But before she could react, he changed the subject. "Did you switch off your cell phone? There's no signal round hereabouts. Don't waste the battery."
She asked the other question that had been on her mind. "Where's your truck? I didn't see it parked anywhere."
"Lent it to Will. He has a place about fifteen miles *that way*." he said, waving his arm towards the fireplace. "He'll have it back in the morning. I'll need it to get to work anyway."
"You have *work* round here?"
"Kind of. Unpaid, except for the trade-offs I can make with the folks I do jobs for. I hope the IRS doesn't send in the spies! You can come and see for yourself, if you like - unless you're planning to leave in the morning? You can stay as long or as short as you like."
Sam paused and drew breath. "I'd like to stick around for a little while, if that's OK with you? I mean, you can throw me out any time you don't want......"
"You're welcome, Sam." replied Jack. "Though I think you'll probably tire of the surroundings and lack of facilities before too long."
"What makes you think that?" she said, staring back at him.
"Oh, I recall you saying a year or so back that you missed being treated like a lady." `When I lost you.' he thought, the first underlying, searing emotions seeping into his conscious mind. Seeing that she remembered it too, and the consequences, he quickly got up and said, "Coffee? Ain't nothing else on offer, I'm afraid. I'll have to speak severely to the head cook."
"Coffee it is, then." she smiled.
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Sam didn't think she would be able to get to sleep easily, and was therefore surprised when she awoke in the early hours to the sounds of Jack's voice coming from the sofa. She sat bolt upright from under the thick quilt and immediately felt the chill of the night air. Pulling her slippers on and donning her fleece jacket, she prised open the bedroom door and crept out. In the moonlight she saw him tossing and turning, prone on the sofa, the blankets in a heap on the floor. Every few moments clear words could be distinguished.
"No. Can't. Not again." Then a space, followed by, "Only positive integers allowed and the power of n higher than two....."
`What the hell?' Sam thought. `Fermat's last theorem?' Her mind raced as to why Jack could even place words in the same order as those in the mathematical conundrum. Then her blood ran cold as his ramblings continued.
"Sam! Don't die! Please God, don't let her die, not now. Not now. She's happy with him. Got who she wants..... Don't die! Take me..... No!"
She could see the sweat across his face as he turned his head from side to side. Suddenly he became still and his breathing slowed to normal. She realised that she had been holding her breath, and released it slowly. She lifted the fallen blankets and gently placed them back over him. Taking a handkerchief from her jacket pocket, she very carefully mopped his brow, but his sleep seemed to be deeper now and he didn't stir.
Eventually she felt the cold getting to her and crept back to her room, to find her namesake lying on the bedcovers, eyes pleading to be allowed to stay. She smiled and squeezed in alongside, revelling in the warmth. But her mind was racing, forbidding sleep to come. Eventually though, it did, her last drowsy thoughts being the realisation that for the first time in months, she had been consumed with someone else's problems.
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Chapter 3 - Building the Future
Sam awoke not long after dawn, and expecting it to be cold again, quickly donned her coat and slippers and left the room. To her surprise, the fire was lit and all traces of Jack's residence on the sofa had been cleared away. The coffee pot on the stove was obviously hot and she poured herself a cup. As she sat wiggling her toes in front of the burning logs in the hearth, Jack re-appeared through the door. He wore a woollen cap and a red and black chequered jacket. Sam 2, as they now both thought of her, came in behind him, shaking herself as the pleasure of warmth hit her.
"Morning camper!" he smiled. "Sleep well? I hope our mutual friend here didn't push you out of bed?"
Sam smiled. "You knew she'd do that, didn't you?"
"Yup. The trollop has no scruples. But she'll get off if you're cranky enough with her."
"Oh yeah? And how often have you thrown her out in the night?"
"Well, there must have been at least one occasion." Jack said. "I can't quite remember when, though."
"What time did you get up this morning?" asked Sam. "Did you have a rough night?"
"Not especially. I had a headache so I got up to take something for it and by then it was late enough to go out for a walk to clear the cobwebs."
Sam hesitated but was determined to satisfy her curiosity. "Do you recall having a nightmare last night? And how bad was your headache? Please be honest with me, Jack. I'm not med staff. I put your blankets back over you in the middle of the night."
He looked sharply at her but could sense that lying was not an option. "Same as most nights. Headaches come and go - this one wasn't so bad. It's a legacy of the Ancients' knowledge download. The second one, anyway. Seems the Asgard's retrieval of Encyclopaedia O'Neillia chapters one to one thousand wasn't quite so exhaustive as the first time. They left some junk in there that comes out at odd times. Pity I can't do anything useful with it. You gotta promise me not to report this back at the SGC, Sam. They'd have me in the fruit farm in time for Harvest Festival."
Sam realised with a shock that he didn't know about her leaving the Air Force yet. She just nodded and said, "I promise."
"So, time to get washed and dressed if you want to come to work. You can hang around and watch for as long as you want, or you can join in. You got any old clothes with you? I got some old jeans and sweats you can have if not." At her puzzled look he smiled and went to a laundry cupboard in the bedroom, returning with some neatly pressed but obviously faded garments.
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"You cannot be serious! I can't believe that you know how to be a bricklayer, let alone expect me to do it" cried Sam. "How on Earth did this happen?"
"Quite simple." replied Jack. "Village school has no funds to speak of. Needs to expand. Plans cheap extension, but nasty conservation people insist on `retention of historical character in the same style as the main building'. School despairs. Jack comes, Jack sees, Jack volunteers to lay the foundations and do the brickwork. School governors' eternal gratitude leads them into barter deals for food, fuel, repairs to the Jackmobile, free vet's bills for Sam 2, et cetera et cetera."
"You did this all by yourself?"
"Hell, no. Jimmy is a local guy who helps me all the time. He's handicapped, OK, but he's not slow mentally and he'll work till he drops. He'll be here in around half an hour. Look, Sam, it's not why you came here, I know, and if you want to leave...."
"No! Show me where the adhesive is and I'll join in!"
"Adhesive? Holy crap, this is worse than I thought. OK, Sam, you'll be Jimmy's apprentice today. Watch, learn and copy what he does. He's the greatest!"
And so Sam met this charming, gentle man with a severe limp and a speech impediment that was difficult to follow at first, but she soon found him easier to understand. She learned about mixing mortar to the right consistency, how to build up the corners first, and to lay level courses in straight lines. Of course, her first efforts had that individual look about them. "Inspired by Picasso." Jack explained to Jimmy, which he laughed about for fully five minutes.
Jack was content to work away in the background, smiling or shouting encouragement, happy at the way Sam was, to her own amazement, learning something completely new. Sam 2 roamed about the site, or went to sleep in the truck cab as the mood took her. Jack introduced Sam to Mrs. McReadie when the old lady appeared with their lunch - part of the barter deal, after all. "Is this your young lady, Jack?" she had asked. Sam blushed bright red but looked annoyed at him when he replied that she was just Jimmy's new apprentice.
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Sam fell asleep in Jack's truck on the way home, waking with a start as he closed the driver's door. Her hands were sore, and she ached in places she didn't even know she had. She followed him and his trollop into the house. Jack told her to sit on the sofa while he made up the fires, but she bridled at being treated as though she couldn't do her fair share of work, so he lit the range fire while she made up the one in the hearth. Sam 2 had disappeared, presumably in search of more rabbits, but returned by herself half an hour later. Sam 1 was unashamedly relieved to be opening a can of dog food this time.
Jack announced that the water would soon be hot enough for her shower, and she revelled in that experience while he cooked dinner. But tonight, she never made it through to coffee, and Jack supported her as he sleep-walked her into bed, laying her down gently to one side and covering her with the quilt. As he stood by the door, he looked back for some time, hoping against hope that his heart wouldn't break when she went back this time - he knew it would be for good.
Once again she woke in the early hours and heard his anguished cries from the sofa. Again she stood by and listened in amazement as he spouted what sounded suspiciously like parts of Schroedinger's wave equation. Then the short silence, followed by the chills running down her spine as he pleaded with unknown people to let her live, to be allowed to fulfil her life with *him*, to take Jack instead.
She sponged his forehead again with a cool damp cloth, and sat on the edge of the sofa staring at him after she had covered him up. One way or another, she determined, things were going to change tomorrow, and there would never be another step backwards.
She climbed back into bed and patted the covers for Sam 2 to climb alongside. As the dog nestled against her, she embraced it and was rewarded with a grunt. With any luck, it would soon be him making that noise.
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The next day's labours were cut short as rain was forecast for the afternoon. Jack suggested that if she was likely to be staying a few more days, they should run her rental car back to Duluth airfield to save the money. They drove back to his cabin, and he followed her all the way to the rental return office. Whilst at the airport, Jack suggested that she might want to call Pete and others back at home as her cell phone was now working. She smiled thinly at him and he walked away to the coffee stall to give her some privacy.
Sam had realised in two short days that she would never be going to Denver, and that her first love affair in eight years was quite definitely over. But that was a face-to-face conversation, not the coward's way of a telephone call. So she called Daniel instead.
"Sam! How's it going?" he asked nervously.
"Oh, Daniel! I've built a wall!"
"What? Are you sober?"
"Yes, of course I am!" she giggled. "And I've met my namesake, and I skinned a rabbit for her, and....."
"Sam? Slow down! You haven't sounded as happy as this in months. You are with Jack, aren't you?"
"Yup! And thank you, Daniel. Thank you for everything!" She shouted across to Jack, "Hey, do you want to talk to Daniel?" and back into the phone, "Nope! He's busy ogling some waitress. Yeah, you too. Bye!"
They stopped at a roadside diner on the way back, and Sam 2 for the first time was treated to Double Cheeseburger, hold the onions, hold the relish, hold the bread. To show her gratitude, she lay in the back of Jack's cab on the way home, breaking wind at frequent intervals, wagging her tail as a further sign of appreciation.
Although it was quite late when they arrived at the cabin, they lit the fire in the lounge to warm the place up. Sam asked Jack to sit beside her on the sofa, and to his surprise, leaned against him and grasped his hands in hers.
"Sam, should we be doing this? Because I don't think I can....."
"Please listen, Jack, this is both the hardest and easiest thing I've ever had to do. Please, just listen." He nodded and sat quite still.
"Firstly, I never realised how much I hurt you, and I'm so sorry. Yes, I fell for Pete and what we had was nice for a while, but it's not what I want now. It's over, for good, and I'll tell him so when I get back."
"Sam, you don't have to....."
"Yes I do! I'm not in the Air Force any more, Jack. I didn't believe you a year ago about hitting the wall, and watching for the signs. I get bad dreams too, about the people I killed and most of all about one man I just mowed down in a battle. I'm unfit for front-line duty and I can't concentrate the way I used to on science any more. Maybe it'll come good again but I can't be sure. All I know is this. I've loved you for over seven years and I didn't have the courage to find a way for us to be together when my career meant so much to me. If I've lost your respect I regret that too. But I think you need me as much as I need you. I want to be there when you get bad dreams, so you know I'm not dying or going away with someone else. Not ever."
Jack sat back, stunned. `Oh God!' thought Sam. He's going to tell me it's a mistake......'
"Sam, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't built up a mental wall to protect myself from what I'm scared of ever losing again. I can't be consciously looking out for your every need all the time. I just ain't that bright. But I know I'd be a damned fool to walk away from you now. If you think you can be happy with this old guy....."
"And his mangy dog." she interrupted.
"And his pedigree lurcher." he continued.
"And help build a school for our kids."
"Sam?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up and kiss me."
"Here or in bed?"
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Chapter 4 - The Ties That Bind
Everyone knows that the first time for lovers is a magic affair, an unending sexual passion that transcends everything that's gone before and is utterly memorable. Right?
Wrong. Well, not completely wrong, but often it's not so when those same lovers have experienced every side of each other, except for intimacy, for so long - like eight years, for example. The fiery emotion of the first embrace is what overwhelms, releasing feelings that they have been afraid of and longing for since the first realisation that the other was *special*. Some people move to intimacy straight away, the desire to consummate overcoming all else. Others become lost in the flood of pure joy and emotion, and lose track of time. So it was with Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter.
They rose together from the sofa, still holding hands. The flow of blood in Jack's head seemed to be singing in his ears and instead of leading her away to bed, he stood stock still, staring into the eyes he had known in every waking and sleeping moment. His throat was choked up and he wasn't sure if he could speak coherently. He raised his free hand to stroke her cheek, her eyes never leaving his. Without a sound they both leaned forward and kissed, gently at first but more passionately as the moments passed. Eventually they pulled back, holding each other tight and not moving. She rested her forehead against his cheek and was surprised to learn that he too was crying, and gasped softly.
The warmth of the fire held them there, for how long they didn't know. For both, this was *the* moment, and they knew it. Instead of moving away, Jack looked round to sit back on the sofa but canine Sam had quietly left the rug and was now stretched full-length on the seat, lying on her back fast asleep, paws folded in the air, snoring gently. Neither could resist a joyful laugh, and somehow they both knew to sit down on the rug, but not before Jack had placed another couple of logs on the fire. They leaned back against the sofa, his arm round her shoulders as she leaned her head on him. He reached across for her hand and raised it to his lips. She smiled and looked up at him.
"I..... I love you, Samantha Carter." he whispered. "I never thought I'd get to tell you."
"I love you too, Jack." she replied in a slightly firmer voice. "I've been running away from believing that for so long. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." he said softly. "I don't deserve you. You could do anything you want, you know. But if you're going to leave again, do it now, because if you stay I'll want it to be forever."
She pulled his head down and kissed him gently. "I'm not going anywhere, Jack. Be sure of that."
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Somehow, though neither could remember quite how it came to be, they woke up at dawn, fumbling through the folds of the quilt that had somehow made its way from the bedroom to the hearth rug. Foolish grins were on both their faces as they surveyed each other's sticking-up hair and lived-in expressions.
"No nightmares." she stated plainly, kissing his forehead. He didn't reply, but ran his fingers softly up and down her back.
The chill air of the room brought goose bumps to naked flesh and they dressed quickly before Jack opened the door to let Sam 2 out for her first morning outing.
"I'll get the range fire going to heat the water." said Jack. "Then you can take a shower and we've time for a quick breakfast before I have to get back to the school. You want to come with today?"
"Oh yes." said Sam. "I'm up to my fourth course of bricks. Can't disappoint Jimmy, now, can we? But will there be enough hot water for you?" She giggled. "Unless you want to share?"
"Love to, but you can see there's not enough room in there to make it interesting. I don't often light the fire in the mornings, anyway, unless it's bad weather and I'm not going out for a while."
"So, er, how do you......"
"Just watch!" he grinned, and to her surprise he took off his shirt in one smooth movement, followed to her astonishment by his pants and boxers, and ran swiftly to the door. Throwing it open, he sprinted, gloriously naked, to the jetty. Then a few paces along it, and an ungraceful leap into the lake. A sound like a whoop or a scream - she couldn't be sure which - rent the air as the spray flew up. He surfaced a few moments later and climbed back onto the dock. Grinning like crazy, he strode nonchalantly back towards the cabin, expecting to have impressed her like no other man before.
His face fell when, only a few yards from the door, she suddenly grinned back at him and produced her camera, which she had rushed to get out of her bag as soon as she realised what he was planning. The flash went off before he had time to do anything other than change his facial expression.
"Carter!" he yelled. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Wouldn't I?" she yelled back. "Do bears shit in the woods? Anyway, it'll do wonders for your caveman reputation. I hope they're careful with the staples when you make centrefold!"
He couldn't help but smile as he re-entered the house. "Light your own fire." he mumbled. "Unless you want to?....."
"No way today, Jose!" she laughed. "OK, I will admit I'm impressed at some deep level. Is it one of those things that you do because it's nice when you stop?"
"Trade secret." he called back from the bathroom where he'd fetched a towel. "At this time of year, the water is warmer than the early morning air. The dash across the open kind of sets you up for it."
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On the school building site Jimmy picked up straight away that something was very different between the two of them. Sam was just as determined to make a good job of the wall as before, but Jack's occasional comments were softer and quieter. His suspicions were confirmed when Mrs. McReadie delivered lunch. "How's your apprentice doing?" she enquired.
"That was before." said Sam, smiling at the old woman. "I'm his *young lady* now." she added, nodding in Jack's direction.
"'Bout time too." replied Mrs. McReadie. "He ain't had nobody to care for since Sara left him. I knew you were special." Sam blushed furiously, and wondered how Jack had come to confide in this sprightly lady when he had never been able to talk to others. "He's got a whole lifetime of carin' to give to someone. Just be glad it's you." she said as she turned to leave.
"Believe me, I am." said Sam quietly.
Later that afternoon, as they finished clearing up for the night, Sam stood gazing proudly at her red brick creation. Jack came to stand beside her, placing his arm across her shoulders. "We can call it Sam Carter's wall, if you like. Get a stone with an inscription on it. Generations of Minnesota school kids will wonder who the heck you were."
She smiled. "No, you're wrong. They'll wonder who Sam O'Neill was." Jack was dumbstruck, and found little to say on the journey home or during the evening. Sam on the other hand, felt absurdly pleased with herself.
That night, they lay in a real bed together and felt the deep satisfaction of making love with someone you'd live and die for, and experienced the sensation of being in love rather than just being infatuated with someone. She listened for a while to his brief, confused outpourings of hidden knowledge in his dreams, but there was no repetition of the nightly terror she seen when she had first arrived. `I wonder if I can harvest some of what he's saying?' she thought before falling asleep herself.
And if Sam 2 thought it strange that someone else should be sharing her master's bed, she didn't allow it to prevent her nestling between their feet when they had finally stopped moving around under the covers. After all, a dog's got to keep warm too, hasn't she?
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Chapter 5 - Sounds Like a Plan
It's funny how conversations can take unexpected turns after you've made love first thing in the morning. Although Sam and Jack had yet to do the same things often enough to consider themselves getting into a routine, the way they fell in with each others plans or moods was unexpected.
"If I hadn't come here," said Sam as she lay where she'd collapsed onto his chest, "what were you planning to do?"
"Can't remember. So long ago." he mumbled in reply, as the tips of his fingers ran gently up and down her spine. He loved watching the goose bumps appear across her shoulders when he stroked her just *there*, between her shoulder blades.
"Seriously, what was it?" she persisted.
"Well, you see, there's two ladies appeared in my life just lately who've caused major upsets in the O'Neill strategy." He smiled as she looked up sharply at him. "You're the second. The first is standing watching us, waiting to be let out."
Sam laughed, threw the covers back and got out of bed to let Sam 2 out. It was Jack's turn to smile as his fantasy-come-true walked away naked across the room. "Wipe that grin off your face, Colonel!" she said without turning round. He heard her opening the door and then the dog's excited barking as she rushed off to the lake shore. Moments later Sam scampered back in, jumping on him and forcing him to lie down as she drew the covers back round her shoulders. He wasn't objecting.
"Now, you were about to explain." she said, staring down at him, her hands pressing down on his chest.
"Well, first off I was planning to take a trip round the world, trace the family roots in Ireland, stuff like that. Then before I realised it had happened, the trollop and I were an item and there was no way I could leave her in kennels while I went off for weeks or months." His hands had absent-mindedly begun to wander as he was speaking, and now Sam wasn't objecting either.
"And?" she said, starting to wriggle about.
"And then I decided that I'd spend the winter here in the cabin while I figured out where I was going to live in the future. Been preparing for it for a few months now - cut down extra firewood, finished all the repairs and treated the wood."
"Sounds like a plan, then."
"So where will you be while I'm here? I mean, this isn't your kind of thing, is it?"
"'Tis now." she replied, leaning down to kiss him. "Just for one winter, anyway. Then we can find a place of our own."
"Sweet!" was his last word before they resumed the process of making up for their lost years.
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A while later they lay side by side again, and Jack took his turn with the question.
"What were you planning to do before you came up here?" he asked.
"That's the thing. I didn't know what I wanted to do." said Sam. She had been wondering if she should talk to him about her relationship with Pete, and suddenly decided that it would always be hanging over them if she didn't bring it out into the open now.
"I was obsessed with Pete at the start, and while everything in the SGC was going great, it was nice being with him on downtimes. But when I broke down and left the Air Force, I knew deep down that the prospect of being with him full-time wasn't what I wanted. And he was kind, and helped me, but he wanted me to go live with him in Denver while he carried on with his job. That's when I realised I didn't love him. Not really."
"Two things happened that caused me to come here." she continued. She knew Jack was on tenterhooks with her every word, and she wanted so much to allay his inevitable fears. "Quite by chance I heard about your affair last year with a divorcee. She mentioned your need for pain-killers and I found out about the police questioning you about your *drug habit*. Well, I also found out that Pete had instigated your interrogation by asking a favour to the local PD. He said he was worried about you bugging me when you found out about me leaving the Air Force."
"Nice of him." mused Jack.
"I was furious with him. I accused him of being a control freak and meddling in my private affairs. He flipped and said he wasn't going to let you upset me any more while I was recovering. He said I'd never stopped talking about you the whole time we'd been together and he was damned sure you weren't going to threaten *our* future together. I accused him of being jealous, and he said he was fed up of being compared to you." She paused for a few moments. "I wasn't even aware I'd mentioned you so much, Jack."
"What was the other thing?" asked Jack.
"Daniel." she replied. "He made me see where I had been, and where I should go. He's the reason I came here. We've never had a friend like him, have we?"
"No, we haven't. They broke the mould."
Sam was silent some more, not knowing what to say next. She felt Jack's embrace tighten and his quiet voice brought floods of relief.
"What's done is done, Sam. I never held it against you for taking up with someone while we couldn't do anything about it in the SGC. It hurt like hell, but in the mess that my life's been, it was only one more factor. All I know is, my life began again a few days ago, and I'm not going back. But are you sure that I can give you enough, Sam? All I've got is what you see. You've got to be sure that you'll be happy with that."
"You idiot!" she laughed, sighing at the same time. "I'll let you know in thirty or forty years time."
They lay together for a little while longer, before the familiar sound of barking to be let back in signalled the need to rise.
If a dog could visibly express surprise, Sam 2 would have done so when her two humans, naked as the day they were born, flung open the door and ran squealing and shouting along the jetty and jumped into the lake. `If they think I'm going to follow them, they can think again.' she probably thought, but dogs are inscrutable that way.
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Chapter 6 - Belonging
Sam went back to Colorado at the end of October after three weeks with Jack, where her first priority had been to say goodbye to Pete. He knew that the end was coming when she suggested they meet at a restaurant just off Interstate 25, mid-way between his home in Denver and hers in Colorado Springs.
Dinner had been a quiet, hesitant affair, with long gaps between sentences and their food barely touched.
"Sam, you know I still love you. What's made you change?" he had asked finally.
"I'm sorry." she had sighed back. "It's not to do with you. It's me. I've realised that I should have told you that I didn't feel the same months back. But you were looking out for me when I was down, and I didn't have the courage then. It seemed *ungrateful* somehow."
"And now, Sam? What's given you the courage now? You've found someone new?"
"Yes..... No..... Not exactly." she had stammered, not looking at him.
Pete had become visibly annoyed at that point. "It's him, isn't it? I should have known he'd come crawling around when you were still vulnerable from leaving the Air Force."
"It wasn't like that at all, and you know it!"
"Do I? What on Earth do you see in someone like him anyway? He's ten years older than you and going downhill quickly! He'll have you running around looking out for him..... He'll make you old as well."
"That's it!" Sam had retorted, standing up and throwing down her napkin. "I'm sorry you're hurt, but I won't have you bad-mouthing someone who's done more for me than anyone has a right to deserve. If I had regrets about leaving you before, they've gone now. Goodbye, Pete. And by the way, he's fifteen years older than me. But I stopped noticing that seven years ago."
She had sat for a while in her car outside the restaurant, her hands shaking as they gripped the steering wheel. Eventually though, she wiped the moisture from her eyes with the back of her hand and drove off, accelerating hard away from the car park into the night.
Her empty home hadn't seemed quite the place to go straight back to, so she called Daniel on her cell phone when she got back to the outskirts of Colorado Springs.
"Daniel? Hi, it's Sam. Yes, I'm OK, thanks. Well nearly anyway. I was wondering if I could come round for a while?"
"Ah..... Well, you know that normally I'd be only too pleased. Your house is my house, and all that." Daniel stammered. "It's just that I have, er, something that I have to do this evening, and it's very important, and I'm sorry......"
"Daniel? Have you got a date?" she asked, her previous sadness suddenly overcome by feminine curiosity - you know, the deadly `straight as an arrow' kind.
"Well, er, actually yes. We're just off out. If you'd like to join us......"
"Thanks, Daniel, but no thanks!" Sam laughed. "You have a great time. Bring her to see Jack and me in Minnesota sometime."
"You mean......?" said Daniel. "Oh, Sam, I'm really happy for you. But that reminds me, Jack called a while ago. Said he'd driven into town to make the call."
"What did he want?"
"He said he knew you'd probably call me at some time. He told me to tell you that he'd understand if things were difficult for you coming back here, and that he wants you to take all the time you need to decide what you want. He sounded pretty nervous, Sam. Well, nervous for him, anyway - no sarcastic comments or jokes."
"Did he? Wow!" she sighed. "OK thanks again, Daniel. If he calls again tell him I invited you and your hot date up to the cabin. Even he should get the message then." The fact that Jack hadn't called her directly struck her as a measure of how much he cared by not putting pressure on her.
"Thanks, Sam. Got to go now. And I'm really, really pleased for both of you."
"So am I, Daniel, so am I."
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During the journey she kept wondering whether her decision to take the hard, seventeen-hour ride on her motorcycle back to Minnesota in cold weather had been the right one. She'd spent the last night in her otherwise empty house in just a sleeping bag, getting up to pack her motorcycle panniers with the last of her personal items, to leave in the dark just after 3 am. Daniel had promised to meet up with her the night before but had not returned from the SGC. Sam was reminded yet again how partners were left in suspense, and wished she knew who his new girl friend was so that she could reassure her.
After a week away though, the manner in which Jack had warmed her up again and eased the stiffness in her joints after her arrival had been welcome, to say the least. Her quadruped namesake had been ecstatic at her return and had expressed her thanks by dropping another rabbit at her feet, which Jack quickly threw outside. After removing her leathers and donning an old oversized woollen shirt of Jack's, she thawed out in front of the fire with the dog, while he fed her hot soup followed by baked potatoes and a spicy goulash stew. Gourmet cooking it wasn't, but the timing was perfect. She rewarded him by falling sound asleep in his arms, and he carried her to bed before the fire died away completely.
When she woke up in the night, Sam felt oddly pleased to find Sam 2 sleeping on the bed at her feet again. Looking across as Jack's unconscious form, she was overwhelmed by a feeling of belonging in a way she had ever known before. She moved closer and rested her forehead against his shoulder, reaching over to lay her arm lightly across his chest. He grunted in the same way that the dog did, and she smiled, her inner self wondering whether she could orchestrate this nocturnal `choir'. Squeezing Jack gently again, at the same time rubbing her foot against the dog, she was rewarded with a stereophonic response and giggled softly. The mood of contentment and amusement accompanied her into sleep again.
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Sam was relieved that the plastic boxes containing her clothes and personal items had already been delivered the day before her arrival. Jack had stacked them in the lounge and the barn but had been reluctant to open any.
Although the situation was new for her, Sam had quickly realised that manipulating Jack the civilian was a talent that she possessed in abundance, in contrast to their time together in the military. His astonishment at the number of boxes she had sent and his lack of understanding about where all the contents were going to be accommodated were relatively easily overcome. In each room she helped him, forced him or wheedled him into emptying each and every cupboard or storage place of useless items and junk, or `family heirlooms' as he referred to them. However she showed the utmost respect regarding anything relating to his late son, which Jack appreciated even when he had come to realise that he was being railroaded into the inevitable. She then arranged for two piles - `his' and `hers' to be placed in the open, and got him to agree that anything old and un-needed should be discarded. She had even seeded her own pile with some disposables to give a semblance of equality. What was placed back in the cupboards was what they wanted to keep. He finally agreed with a sigh that an eighty-twenty split of space in her favour in the large wardrobe was reasonable, remembering that his ex-wife's logic had also been irrefutable on this subject. But it felt so good to be sharing his life again, and he was sure he could find a corner of the barn for some of his stuff anyway.
So here she was, bridges burned - house up for sale, furniture in storage in the same Colorado warehouse as Jack's, car sold. Just the adventure of an electricity-free cabin winter for her with the man she loved and the dog that was becoming as big a part of her life as it was Jack's. Barter deals for the things they needed, just getting to know the small community - all challenges to be looked forward to.
They say you don't know happiness until it's gone, but Sam suddenly realised that she did. She recognised that she'd get a back into a role involving science at some stage, but right now, there was no need to rush. No need at all.
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Chapter 7 - Interlude
Autumn drew away the last vestiges of summer and portrayed flashes of the winter to come. It was muddy underfoot outside the cabin and keeping the place presentably clean took that extra effort, especially with a dog that had no respect for doormats. Jack seemed to take it in his stride, and did whatever was necessary to maintain the neatness he'd always lived by without complaining. Sam however was unused to how much time and effort even basic activities could absorb, and was sometimes irritated by the slowness of progress. Several times he caught her moving towards her laptop computer and then sighing in frustration when she realised that without power, it was useless.
Days when work on the school building could be carried out became fewer, either because of rain showers during the day or freezing conditions being forecasted for the night, when the wet cement would be damaged. Jack occasionally had bad days or nights when his migraine-like headaches would cause him to dose up on painkillers and become silent and remote until the worst had passed. Being outside whatever the weather seemed to help, though, and at times like these they would take leisurely walks, with Sam knowing that she couldn't do anything to help him except to be there. At first he told her that she didn't have to accompany him, but did admit under her subsequent questioning that he appreciated her company. So while Jack silently concentrated on refusing to feel the worst of the pain, she got into a routine of playing games with Sam 2 on their mini-tours. She realised after the first few walks that she could also attempt training sessions, where the hound soon lived up to her reputation of a lady of easy virtue by showing a willingness to do practically anything for the prospect of a reward.
Sam's circle of acquaintances in the village around the school began to broaden. It was a little intimidating to find that many had known Jack nearly all his adult life, and some older folks had even seen him at the cabin during his childhood. A few openly compared her to his ex-wife Sara, and she was amazed by the number who commented on how happy he was these days. More horse-trading saw Mrs. McReadie doing Sam's laundry in addition to Jack's. In exchange Sam kept her garden tidy and repaired her old television set.
Occasionally they drove longer distances to shop for basic foods and the occasional luxury item ("anything involving chocolate", Sam had confessed). Then, one wet Friday afternoon in early December, Jack surprised her by suggesting that they spend the weekend in luxury in Minneapolis. They off-loaded Sam 2 onto a willing Jimmy for the time they were away, and managed to ignore her doleful expression while using his telephone to make reservations in a five-star hotel.
The four-hour drive was worth it though when they were shown into their room on the top floor. The view from the balcony of the night-time city was spectacular, reminding them of the how remote it was where they were living now. The lateness of the hour limited them to ordering dinner from room service, but it didn't matter. They were warm, tired and hungry. Sam lay in ecstasy in a foam bath while Jack showered, balancing his beer from the minibar on the soap dish in the corner. They emerged just in time for the arrival of the food and wine.
Watching TV whilst dining was an almost-forgotten experience. Channel-surfing and a brief argument had put both CNN and The Discovery Channel off-limits, but Jack gave way to Sam's sudden "Ooh!" when she discovered an episode of `CSI - Crime Scene Investigation'.
"I love the sexy way they try to portray scientific investigation. Like it happens in real life so quickly with that degree of success!" she said. "But the characters are great. See there, that's Grissom. He's the boss, and he's dedicated to his job and lives alone. And that's Sara. She thinks she might be hung up on him but he knows she couldn't handle it because she's too young. And that's his senior assistant Catherine, who doesn't realise she's falling for him yet but is heading that way. He knows it but can't or won't do anything about it because he's the boss and takes his responsibilities seriously."
"I wonder where they got that idea from?" said Jack dryly. "Sounds like a plot from a long-running TV show. X-Files, maybe?"
Sam glanced at him in puzzlement and then uttered "Oh!" before bursting into laughter, and squeezing his arm. "Catherine will get him in the end, you wait and see!"
When the wine was finished they turned the lights down and made love on the impossibly soft bed, driven by the aphrodisiac of unaccustomed luxury and unfamiliar bath scent.
"You know what?" murmured Sam as she lay in his arms before sleep overcame them,
"What?" he responded.
"I miss your trollop already. She'd love the room service."
"Do you think we should give her a new name? I mean, I was kind of playing a bad joke on myself when I gave her that......"
"No. Not everyone gets the honour of having something named after them. Especially a pedigree mutt."
"So, she's your dog too now?"
"Guess so."
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"Er, I've got a sort of a surprise for you. But only of you want it." stammered Jack after a long silence over dinner in a top Italian restaurant. His choice of somewhere to dine in style was the perfect ending to their `luxury' Saturday. After a late breakfast, she had gone to the hairdresser's and then hit the department stores, while he disappeared on what he'd called `a few errands for folks'. They'd met for lunch and then on the spur of the moment, taken in a matinee performance at the theatre near the hotel.
"Sounds serious." she said. The thought suddenly struck her that he was going to ask The Big Question. She tensed in expectation and she found she couldn't swallow.
"The, er, school asked me to ask you...." he said after a moment. The shock of disappointment rushed through her and she found herself reddening in embarrassment. Noticing this sudden flush, he said, "Sam? You OK?"
"Yes. Fine, thanks." she mumbled, raising her wine glass to hide her discomfort. "What does the school want?"
"Well," he continued, "they'd like to know if you'd be interested in being a helper for the science subjects and math. Just for one or two days per week. They were kind of afraid to ask you direct since they're a bit in awe of your `Dr. Carter' title and thought you might be offended."
"Why would I be offended? Sounds like a great idea."
"Are you sure? Because it's unpaid. All they can offer in return is to give you access to the school computer and the Internet when it's not being used. I saw how you miss using your laptop and I thought it sounded like a good bargain."
She relaxed and smiled. "It's a great bargain, Jack. I'd love to."
"Are you sure? Because if you take the job, it would mean giving them a commitment to stick around for the whole of the school year. Or maybe a lot longer. I don't mean we'll stay in the cabin, though. I mean if you'd like for us to find a place locally and not move out of state again. But if you want to get closer to where your real job opportunities would be, I'll tell them that it's not on."
Now she was silent for a while and it was Jack's turn to get nervous. "I have a confession to make, Jack. I've been listening to your dreams."
"What? I don't recall them being so vivid any more."
"No, the `horror movie' part doesn't seem to be so frequent now." replied Sam. "But you still spout whole sentences about things we've yet to learn for ourselves. For the last few weeks I've been taking notes when you've woken me up in the night. I think I have enough to write and publish a thesis or two on mathematical puzzles and multi-dimensional vector theory. All I needed was a few pointers and the rest was logical deduction. And the beauty of it is, they'll never know where I got the ideas from."
"I gave you that?"
"Yes. Another part of your hidden talents - like bricklaying!" she laughed.
"So will you marry me, then?"
This time, she dropped the glass, spilling red wine over the tablecloth.
"Tell him `yes', signora." said the hovering waiter they hadn't noticed for the last few moments. "Then I can tell the boss this is a romantic stain. You know, the sort that don't get washed away so easy."
Sam laughed uproariously, both at the waiter's cheeky comment and the priceless look of hope and anticipation on Jack's face. "Tell your boss she'd be a fool not to."
And so it came to be that Sam spent her first term as a school helper, and writing her first thesis, while still practising signing her new name.
Sam 2 decided not to let it alter the style of life to which she had become accustomed, and passed the wedding night soundly asleep between them, just a little impatient to have been kept waiting a while longer than usual on one of `those' nights. After all, a dog's got to do what a dog's got to do to keep warm in a Minnesota winter, hasn't she?
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Chapter 8 - All That Really Matters
In the still air of the frozen Minnesota winter's night, Sam could hear a vehicle approaching up the long winding track through the wooded hills from some distance away. `Who's coming to see us at this hour?' she thought. She smiled at the realisation that they really were an `us' now, and she hadn't considered for a moment that someone would just be coming to see Jack alone. As her breath misted in the yellow glow of the kerosene lamp, she knew she really ought to get up from where she sat in the straw-covered corner of the barn, well-wrapped in blankets, but she couldn't leave her canine namesake at this critical time, and continued to cradle the dog's head as she panted and whined. `Jack will deal with them.' "There, shush now Sam, won't be long now." she whispered, stroking the dog's ears gently.
She heard the vehicle pull to a stop and the doors open and slam shut. Then footsteps to the front door and a loud knock, and muffled voices when the door opened and the visitors entered.
The noise at the door had woken Jack from deep comfort on the sofa by the log fire and he was still drowsy as he opened it to admit the callers. The shock of seeing the first visitor pulled him suddenly into full consciousness.
"Jacob! What are you doing here?" asked Jack, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "And who's this?"
"Jack." replied Jacob Carter. "This is my son Mark and this is Pete Shannon, Sam's fiance. Is she here?" Jacob showed none of the friendliness he had when he had previously encountered Jack in his time as leader of SG-1.
Jack glanced sharply at the two other men, who were strangers to him. He stayed silent a moment, his eyes taking in every detail of their faces. The first had several of the features he knew so well in Sam and her father, and was clearly her brother Mark. The second was a man in his thirties, with piercing eyes and short blond hair. He stared back for a short while at Jack with an obvious air of distaste for what he was seeing, and then looked quickly round the room in the way that only a police professional would.
"Where's Sam?" repeated Jacob.
"Nice to see you too, Jacob." said Jack wearily. "She's outside. Sit yourselves down and I'll go tell her you're here. But don't keep the door open - it lets out too much heat at this time of year. Got to keep the place warm, haven't we?" But before he went outside, he entered the bedroom and came out moments later putting on his outdoor jacket and woollen comforter. "Sit down if you can find room." he said as he departed.
He walked across the open space, his boots making a sharp crunching sound on the icy gravel. He entered the barn and went across to where Sam was huddled with Sam 2. They smiled at each other and he asked, "How's she doing now?"
"Not long to go, I think." replied Sam. "She's really exhausted. Who's calling at this hour?"
"Well, you know we discussed who was likely to be turning up unannounced? This is a variation we never thought of. Your father, your brother and *your fiance*." he said in a deadpan voice. "Looks like a hanging party."
"What the hell?" exclaimed Sam in shock. Then she looked back at the prone dog and it was obvious that her loyalties were divided. "Did you tell them that this is a crisis? They'll have to wait a while."
"I'll take over here for now." he said. "You'd best go find out what they want. Call me if you need me."
Sam looked at him and suddenly embraced him. "I love you, Jack." she said, to his surprise. "And I'll need your help pretty soon. But we're not leaving her."
"Just go, Sam." he sighed. "And call when you need me, OK?"
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With a last look back towards her man and their dog, she closed the barn door and walked quickly across to the front door. She hesitated a moment before opening it and took a deep breath. Through the window she saw her father and her brother looking round at the ornaments she had brought to the cabin, while her ex-boyfriend Pete appeared back in the lounge from what must have been a complete tour of the other rooms.
"Well this is a surprise!" she said as her father got up at her entrance. "Hello Dad, Mark." She just glared at Pete and nodded in his direction. "Pete." she said softly. "What brings you all out here?"
"Sammie!" cried Jacob, moving towards her to take her into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you after all this time. But you look frozen. Where have you been? What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere?"
"Out in the barn. We've got......"
"But look at you!" he continued before she could finish the sentence. "Sam, you're frozen!"
Sam unwrapped the thick woollen scarf and discarded her thermal overjacket. It felt uncomfortably warm in the room after spending the last three hours outside, and her cheeks were a bright red colour.
"Never mind that. You don't notice it after a while." she said dismissively. "Well, how are you Dad? Just come back into *the country*? You haven't been around for nearly a year, have you?" She turned to her brother, who was hovering beside their father. "Mark! How are you? Everyone well at home?"
"Fine, Sam." he replied. "We've all been very worried about you, you know. Especially Pete." he added, nodding in his direction. "He explained how you suddenly broke off your engagement and fled up here. He told us how much stress you were under. O'Neill's your former boss, isn't he? He explained how you looked up to him. It's understandable why you might want to take a break away from it all, but it's time to come home now."
Sam looked puzzled and then angry, while Pete had the courtesy to look highly embarrassed. Jacob however was not to be sidetracked from his own agenda, not being used as a father and a now a Tok'ra leader to having others contest his authority.
"Sam, I'm so sorry to hear about you leaving the Air Force." he interjected. "But you know the people I'm with could help you overcome your battle-stress. You could be back on active duty before you know it. Or heading up a scientific section - you know they'd welcome you. There's no need to hide away up here any more. Jack's a loner - he'll understand that he can't keep you here for ever. You can come back with us tonight if that's what you want, or maybe you'd like to take a little longer to......."
"No!" Sam shouted, breaking away from Jacob. He was surprised at the look of pure anger, her eyes a steely blue. She paused a moment to breathe deeply and turned towards Pete. "Enjoy snooping round, did you? Did you manage to work out which side of the bed I sleep on?"
"Sam, I...." was as far as Pete got.
"So we were *engaged*, were we? Remind me of when that was exactly, because with all the stress, I don't actually recall the moment it happened!" She turned to her brother. "And what do you mean by dragging him up here? What were you hoping to accomplish? My life is my own, and I'll thank you to keep whatever plans you have for fixing me up with your friend there to yourself!"
"That's not fair!" retorted Mark. "You were sure as hell happy with Pete when I gave him an introduction to you. Look, you've been through hell, I know, and it's only natural to get confused about your feelings for someone."
"Well there's no confusion on *my* part!" Sam shouted back at him. "For the record, we were *never* engaged and we broke up months ago. I came here because I wanted to...... No, I *needed* to. And I'll be damned if you think you're all going to waltz in here and drag me back to your definition of civilisation. I make my own god-damned choices!"
"That's enough!" Jacob shouted, and a sudden silence fell. He continued in a quieter voice. "Mark, and you, Pete - take the car and go back to that motel we passed an hour or so back. I'm going to spend the night here with Sam. Mark, we need to talk things over and it seems that your friend hasn't been exactly truthful in his reasons for being here. Just go, both of you. I'll get a lift back there in the morning. Wait for me." His son knew when not to argue, and beckoned to his friend.
"Sam, can we talk, please, just for a little while?" asked Pete, a pleading expression in his eyes.
She stared back at him, unflinching. "What's the point? I've nothing to say to you." She felt sorry at his crestfallen look, but knew that there was no point in prolonging the conversation.
They turned in surprise at the sound of Jack's gentle cough as he stood in the doorway. "Now that it's down to a dull roar..... Sam, I think you'll want to come back to the barn."
"How is she?" said Sam, getting up in sudden alarm and reaching for her coat. "Are things OK?"
"Well, yes and no." said Jack. "The first two didn't make it, but we're not done yet by any means. Bring a bowl of warm water and some old towels." Without waiting, he turned and closed the door behind him, disappearing back into the darkness. Sam headed for the kitchen, leaving the three men standing in the lounge, somewhat more than a little puzzled by events.
Jacob saw that he would have to bend to Sam's wishes if he wanted to get her to listen to him, and ushered the other two out. "Mark, why don't you explain the facts of life to your friend here? I'll see you in the morning." Pete made to go towards the kitchen where they could hear Sam filling a metal bowl and opening cupboard doors, but Mark pulled him away and they left. The car doors slammed and the engine noise diminished as they rounded the first corner.
Sam left the kitchen carrying the bowl with care, with three worn and faded multi-coloured towels slung over her shoulder. "Open the door for me, please, Dad." she asked, and he moved quickly to let her out. "If you want to come and see, put your coat on but please be very quiet and still when you're there."
"Sammie, I can see whatever's going on must be important to you. Care to explain?" he asked as he followed her out.
"It's Sam." she replied, not looking round. "Sam the dog, that is. I'll explain about that later. She's gone into labour tonight. Jack figured she'd choose the barn to whelp in, so we put straw on the floor. We're looking out for her because the local veterinary got called away to see a sick horse. I took the last watch while Jack got some sleep. He's been having a bad day today - I'll explain about that later too."
They entered the barn and Jacob stood back, watching his daughter and her ex-CO, as he still thought of him, crouched over the brown form of a dog in the circle of light from the kerosene lamp. He took in how attentive they were to the animal, little caring for anything but it and each other as they soothed and fussed away. The sound of whining and squeaking came and went, and suddenly Sam looked round at her father, an expression of utter joy on her face, like in the happy times when she was young and they had been a complete family. They kept talking in low voices to the dog and to each other, and he smiled when he saw her suddenly embrace Jack and kiss his head, laughing, before they both returned their attention to the new parent and her litter. Realising that a whole new set of facts about her life was unwinding before his eyes, and also seriously beginning to feel the cold, he turned and quietly left, walking back to the welcoming light and warmth of the cabin.
Jacob took off his coat, and observing that the fire in the hearth was getting low, selected two larger logs from the antique wooden box at the side and placed them carefully on the glowing embers. He sat on the edge of the sofa until he was satisfied that they were taking light before deciding that he really needed the bathroom. He couldn't help but notice that every corner of this small dwelling contained Sam's intimate possessions, ranging from the old photos and mementos that he remembered from long ago, to newer unrecognised ones that were still obviously hers and not his. He entered the kitchen in search of coffee, and was pleased to find a warm pot on the range. He added a couple of smaller logs to this fire as well and then started looking round for a clean cup.
He'd started thinking about what he was going to say to Sam and how his first assumption, encouraged by his son and Sam's erstwhile boyfriend, that she wouldn't take much persuading to go back to Colorado Springs, was so wrong. It was then that he noticed something on the draining board, partly hidden by an upturned dish, that sent his senses reeling to the point that he held on to the edge of the sink for a few moments recovering from the shock.
As his shadow moved away, the light of the oil lamp caught the ornate gold patterning and diamonds of a matching set of wedding and engagement rings. Hers.
"Told you so." said his symbiote.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 9 - Happy Families
It was past 2 am according to the antique clock on the mantelshelf when Jacob heard his daughter and her husband approaching the house. Now that was a surprise, the way that phrase had come straight to mind. He listened to the crunch of gravel and the murmur of their voices as they approached the porch. `She sounds happy.' he realised, almost grudgingly. He stood up from where he had been leaning back on the sofa, the dull red glow of the fire a testament to the fact that he hadn't been quite successful in staying awake during the last three hours. Surprising, really, since the hour up until midnight had been spent in intense internal debate with Selmak, his ever-present alter ego. He suspected that she had engineered his drowsiness after he had got her to promise not to interfere in what he knew was going to be a difficult conversation. He placed two more logs on the fire as they entered, the intense cold almost seeming to radiate from the briefly-open door.
"How is she?" he enquired, determined not to set off on the wrong foot.
"She's resting at last." replied Sam, taking off her scarf and coat, which Jack accepted and carried through to the back room with his own. "The first two were stillborn, but she's got three healthy pups. We covered them with blankets and we'll go back at dawn to check up." She walked over to the front of the sofa and stood with her back to the fire, letting the heat soak back into herself.
"Er, can I get the two of you some coffee?" asked Jacob. "I looked around for something stronger but I couldn't find anything. I can't believe Jack isn't equipped for special occasions."
"Like this, you mean?" said Jack, reappearing with a bottle of vintage cognac. "I have to hide it from Sam, you know." he added, grinning, and she pulled a face at him. He placed the bottle on the table and moments later returned from the kitchen with three crystal glasses that sparkled even in the soft light. He poured a round of generous measures and handed out the glasses. Raising his, he called "Here's to my two Sam's. Health and happiness to you both. And to you..... Dad." Jacob grimaced fleetingly at his choice of words but remained calm, raising his glass in reply.
After savouring the smooth but powerful liquor, Jack motioned father and daughter to sit down on the sofa, while he remained standing at the side of the hearth. "Look, if you two want to talk, I can go to bed now....." he started.
"No." said Sam firmly. Glancing at her father, she continued, "You know, don't you, Dad. I can see it in your eyes. Whatever's to be said is for both of us, Jack. We agreed that we'd face the family together, remember?"
"*Face the family together?*" repeated Jacob. "Am I really that much of an ordeal to you, Sam?"
"That depends on your next statement." she replied curtly, but then softened her expression, her shoulders sagging. "Look, can't you see that I'm happy? Isn't that enough for you?"
Her words hung in the air, the short silence as cold as the night outside. Jacob looked uncomfortable, but then said the words she was dreading. "No, Sam, I'm afraid it isn't. You're throwing away the rest of your life here. I'm surprised you can't see that."
"Well, you haven't exactly been around long enough to see where I'm coming from, have you?" she replied, a slight edge to her voice.
"How long?..... " Jacob's question lingered.
"Ten days ago." replied Jack. "Local church, local friends."
"Seven years ago." Sam corrected him. "When I knew deep down that being without him was something I could never face."
"But you could have had Mark's friend, who obviously still adores you!" replied Jacob. "You've thrown away a perfectly good, well-matched relationship for what? This hovel in the backwoods? Someone closer to my age than your own?"
Sam was speechless, while Jack's stoic expression looked as though it might fall apart any second. Jacob interpreted the silence as his cue to continue.
"Sam, you're needed back at the SGC! I've known people with battle-fatigue before, and there's folks who can help you get over it! You've so much to contribute."
"Folks or snakes, Jacob?" Jack asked. "Snakes posing as helpers seem to have their own agenda when it comes down to it."
"That's the kind of dumb statement I'd expect from you!" Jacob retorted. "This is Sam, *my* daughter we're talking about!"
"And that's *my* husband you're insulting!" Sam almost shouted at him. "You seem to think I'm still a teenager at times. As if I don't know my own mind. Maybe that's a result of spending so much time away from us all your life." she added, the malicious tone in her voice only too evident.
"Sam," said Jack softly, "don't go there." But his words could not dissipate the electricity building in the air.
"Well, your first choice of a husband, that Hansen fellow, was nothing to be proud of, was he?" Jacob almost shouted. "And now you're with someone whose track record is going to give me nightmares!" He paused for breath and continued in a slightly quieter tone. "Sam, look at me. You've been through a really bad time, something that few people could have got through even as far as you did in combat. Granted, Jack may be helping you face the world again by taking you away from things at a time when you're still down. But this has gone too far! Marriage? What's going to happen here when you start feeling up to facing the challenges again? You'll be losing out on so much, at least in science if not the military. Don't throw away your life on second best!"
"How dare you?" Sam screamed back at him. "You walk in here uninvited..... You heard me, *uninvited*..... And start to tell me how to run my life. No, that's *our* lives. Well let me tell you, these last four months have been the best I've ever had. You talk like he's been taking advantage of me when I didn't know my own mind. That's crap and you know it! You screwed up your own family and now you're trying to do it to mine!"
Jacob was visibly shocked and stood up, staring at her. In reaction Sam stood up as well, facing him down with an expression of defiance that Jack had never seen before. He realised what was coming next, and quickly put down his glass and rose himself.
"You hurtful, insolent....." shouted Jacob. But he didn't finish the insult, as in quick succession Sam raised her hand to slap his face, but before she could do so, Jack stepped quickly between them and gently but firmly grabbed her arm. She glared at him, her expression of hatred lasting only momentarily until it was replaced by a sudden grimace and a flood of tears. Her head went down onto his shoulder and she started sobbing. Jack's arms were round her and he moved her a couple of paces away from Jacob. Expecting further harsh words from him, he looked round in surprise at the unexpected silence just in time to see Jacob's facial expression change from anger to neutrality, and an unmistakable yellow glow pass through his eyes.
"O'Neill, Samantha." came the deeper voice of Selmak. "On behalf of Jacob, I am so sorry. I promised him not to intervene, but it became necessary."
"OK, just sit down a minute, will you?" said Jack, returning his attention to his wife's wracking sobs. "We're just going through to the back for a while, all right? Come on, Sam. Come with me a moment." She didn't resist as he walked her to the bedroom, still catching her breath.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Jack stood with Sam by the bed and simply held her, stroking her hair and squeezing her gently from time to time. After a few minutes she pulled her head away from him and looked up, kissing his cheek. He smiled back at her and gently wiped the tracks of her tears with his thumb. She still took an inward gasp from time to time, but the worst had passed.
"Why don't you get washed and ready for bed, while I go spend some quality time with Selmak, and hopefully Jacob as well." he whispered. She nodded her head in agreement. "We've got to be up for Sam 2 in less than four hours, OK?"
The reminder of their dog's predicament seemed to bring Sam back to normal quickly, so Jack left her and went back to the lounge. Jacob/Selmak was sitting still on the sofa, staring into the fire. Jack picked up the cognac bottle and topped up two glasses, offering one to him and then sitting down at the opposite end of the long seat.
"Never thought I'd be grateful to a snake again." said Jack with a sigh. "For what it's worth, thanks."
"Never thought there could be such a troublesome host." replied Selmak. "Thank you too for stepping in. His behaviour is quite unacceptable, even for a concerned father." He lifted the glass and tossed back the rich, fiery liquid in one go.
"Er, is that good for you or him?" asked Jack.
"For him, it is not." replied Selmak. "I intend to give him the worst hangover of his life in the morning. And I will not intervene to drive away the pain. It seems a pity to do this with such a fine vintage, though. Do you have any cheaper spirits here?"
Jack laughed. "Unfortunately not. But look, do you think I should try to talk to Jacob once more tonight before you blow him away? We can't leave things like this."
Sam had been listening to their conversation from the bathroom and reappeared in her pyjamas and dressing gown. "Wow, this is weird." she said, staring at Selmak.
"Samantha, I promise you that I will not rest until Jacob approaches this situation with a calmer disposition." said Selmak. "You should also know that I have observed your attraction to O'Neill, and his to you, for some years now. I chose not to make Jacob aware, believing that he should acknowledge the obvious for himself. Even over the lifetimes of several hosts, I have rarely seen two people whose lives are as complementary as yours. If it means anything to you, you have my congratulations and best wishes for the future."
"Why, thank you." she said. "It does mean a lot. But when will I be able to speak to my father again?"
"In a few hours time, when his former behaviour will be unable to emerge through the pain he will be experiencing." replied Selmak. Looking round at Jack, he said, "Why don't you comfort your wife in bed, Jack? I have some serious drinking to do in the meantime."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
As they lay in each others arms in the warmth of the quilt, Jack murmured, "Sam, you know I wouldn't stand in your way if you did want to go back, don't you? It would never work out between us if you can't do the things you really want to."
"When are you going to get it straight, Jack?" she whispered back. "I'm doing them. Now and always. You're stuck with me, like it or not."
"Like it."
"Good. That's settled then."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"If you're going to be sick, don't do it in the truck, otherwise you'll be walking. Got it?" said Sam to her father as they bounced down the road away from the cabin. His faint nod of the head and groan was all the acknowledgement she expected. Seizing the opportunity to make a point without opposition, she continued, "We both said some pretty nasty stuff last night, and I'm sorry. I don't want things to go on like this, but I'm telling you straight that I've got Jack for life, and I'm lucky to have even the chance. We'll get together again when you've calmed down a bit, OK?" Another groan was interpreted as acceptance.
They reached the motel and Jacob pointed out the door where their car was parked. "I guess they're at breakfast now." said Sam. "You going to join them?"
"Just for coffee." replied Jacob. "Are you coming in?"
"No, I don't think so." said Sam. "Maybe next time?"
"Yeah. So long then, kiddo. I'm...... I'm glad you're happy, you know. Very glad indeed." They kissed briefly and Sam climbed back into the cab and drove away.
Jacob entered the coffee shop and sat down next to Pete and Mark, wincing as he did so.
"Did she see sense?" asked Mark.
"Yeah, I think so." sighed Jacob. "She married him."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 10 - Reunion
Spring had been a long time coming but was now hinting at its arrival, with early morning mist on the lake and the suspicion of tiny green shoots if you looked carefully enough. Sam and Jack felt comfortably warm outdoors without overcoats on the days that the sun shone, and Sam 2 was happy enough to leave her offspring behind, locked safely in the barn just long enough for her to take her customary walks with her people.
The framed photographs of her carrying her pups from the barn into the cabin for the first time rested alongside their best wedding photo on the mantelshelf. A dog should be able to remind people of her proper place in the family, shouldn't she?
Work on the school building had re-commenced sporadically, as the weather allowed. More carpentry than brickwork, now that the walls were almost complete and the window and door frames were being installed. Sam was now a regular visitor alongside Jack, since she spent two or three days every week helping the science teacher. It hadn't been easy at first, as her natural enthusiasm for the subjects and depth of knowledge had quickly overwhelmed both pupils and teacher, and she had soon been within an ace of giving up in frustration. Unexpectedly, Jack had been the one to put her problem into perspective. He'd seen her brooding and insisted that they drive east to Eagle Mountain one Sunday morning. They left the truck and walked with Sam 2 to a sheltered spot well below the peak and sat, gazing over the silver-grey of Lake Superior in the cool but crystal-clear air.
"Carter," he had said, reverting to her old title as he did whenever he was trying to make a point, "what was your first car?"
"A Volkswagen Beetle." she recalled. "Dark red. I loved it...... I can't *not* watch one go past in the street when I hear that engine note! Dad threatened to have it crushed if I didn't start coming home before midnight."
"So, not a Chevy Camaro or an AC Cobra, then?"
"Heck, no. You couldn't start with such a powerful....... Ah! I get it. Start with the easy stuff, right?"
"Nearly, Sam. Easy, hard - it's all the same. You keep stretching them *just* beyond the limits of whatever the school syllabus calls for and they think they're capable of. You gotta make them see the rewards for getting there by making it interesting. The teacher's there to cram the facts into them. Your job is to make it sexy but not patronising."
With a look of consternation, she asked, "How? To me, all science is beautiful, and all I can hope for is that one or two of the kids will pick up on that and get involved."
"Well, that's just downright wrong." he answered with a sigh.
"What, loving science, just the way you love *fishing* or hockey is wrong?" Sam responded indignantly.
"No. You can love science, but you should love what it can do for you more. Not just the things you can make, the doohickeys and gizmos, but knowing the way it shapes the world - or in our case, the *worlds* around you. Beauty isn't just something that strikes you one minute and is forgotten the next. Understanding *why* something or somewhere or someone affects you that way is just the start. Coming to terms with the significance of it is more than half the battle."
She stared at him, mouth agape. `OK, this isn't one of his Ancients' dreams here.' she thought. `Where did I miss this side of him?' She found her voice again. "Excuse me? Is this the same Jack O'Neill who got bored with visiting planets and flying through space?"
"Yes, same old me." he mused. "Same old."
"But when did you ever take the time to practise what you preach?"
"Well, if you'd taken me up on one of the many offers to come here, you'd have seen it for yourself long ago."
"But when we were on missions, you were so *unaware* of the finer things around you. `Get on with it and let's get out of here' was the phrase I remember the most."
"And when you led SG-1, Sam? Did you get involved with the discoveries and gadgets the way you used to when you were my 2IC?"
"Of course not. The mission timetable and leader's responsibilities don't give you the time........" She was suddenly still and quiet. "Oh."
He stayed quiet too, and she became aware of his eyes roaming slowly over her profile. She turned to face him and was lost in the depth of his gaze.
"Sam, it's time to decide whether you want us to get a house around here or move back where your real science is. And before you ask, I've got everything I ever wanted since I met you. Whatever you decide is OK with me."
"Well, that's good, because I've already made up my mind." she smiled back at him. "I'll show you when we get back home."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The gathering at General Hammond's house in Colorado Springs was the first one for former SGC colleagues that he'd held since retirement. The invitations had been sent out by mail, and contained a phrase that at the very least, those who chose not to come would wonder what they were missing out on. "Your presence is urgently required...." in bold letters on the inside had the intended effect and the General was satisfied that the two biggest fish he'd wanted to net had announced their intention of coming, but he was getting worried that Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were the last ones still missing.
Current and former members of many SG teams, SGC support personnel and their partners filled his ground floor rooms with excited chatter accompanied by the clink of glasses, and the surprisingly warm April weather allowed some to stand and talk outside. A few children were laughing and raising the occasional scream as they played on the lawns.
"They're here!" cried an anonymous voice from the hall, causing George Hammond to make his apologies to the person he was talking to and find his way to the front door. He saw Jack moving his truck carefully between rows of cars parked on both sides of the street, searching in vain for a space, and waved at him to stop. As he walked forward, he removed the plastic traffic cones that marked an empty space in his drive and indicated that Jack should reverse in.
"Jack! Glad you made it!" he called. "Good to see you've got Major Carter with you as well! Can't have my overnight guests parking miles away, now can we?" As Jack pulled to a stop in the drive, Hammond was surprised by the appearance of a large dog at the rear cab window, with a smaller one jumping up in excitement to see out. "I see you finally got your dog, Jack. Couldn't stop at one, eh?"
Jack smiled and shook hands warmly with him. "George! Good to see you too. Sorry we're late. Had to walk the dogs half an hour ago outside town before I could leave them in the cab for a while. Full house, I see."
"Sam! Good to see you too!" said Hammond, as she walked round to join Jack. "I'm glad we managed to get in touch with the both of you. I had to ask Daniel to send your invites as we didn't know your current addresses. But you got here. A lot of old friends are waiting."
"Yes, Sir." replied Sam, sporting a huge smile. "How could we refuse with a request like that? What's the special occasion?" She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
"You'll see, you'll see." he replied as they re-entered the house. "Just be patient." The chorus of cheers, cat-calls and even some applause that greeted them on arrival in the lounge was heart-warming, and both were lost to each other as friends both close and distant engaged them in greetings, introductions to partners, questions and news. As the reunion was in full swing, Hammond's granddaughter suddenly appeared by the garden doors with an old-fashioned dinner gong, and at a sign from her grandfather, delighted in creating a crescendo of sound that brought silence within moments.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" cried the General. "And Jack." He waited until the laughter died away. "I'm going to ask you to wait another ninety minutes before I'll be making a special announcement of great significance to us all. So in the meantime, enjoy yourselves with whatever you want to eat and drink, but be ready in good time." The hubbub rose slowly again and people started moving around to get at the refreshments. Hammond saw Sam and Jack standing together and cornered them.
"So, Jack. I hear you moved up to Minnesota? For the fishing, I guess?" he asked.
"Yes, George. *That* big." replied Jack, holding his beer bottle about two feet from his left hand.
"And Sam, should I still be calling you Major Carter? Last I heard, you were moving to Denver and getting married." said George, glancing quickly at Jack as if to check his reaction. The broad grin that he received in response was not what he expected.
"Wrong location, Sir." she smiled back, holding up her left hand so that the General could inspect the rings he was so obviously trying to spot. "Try further north. In fact a lot further north."
"Holy Moses! You don't mean......" he stammered. "Are you.....? I mean, are the two of you.....?"
"Yup! Caught the big one!" said Jack, somehow unable to stop grinning like a fool. "Meet Dr. Samantha O'Neill, theoretical astrophysicist, honorary teacher's assistant, bricklayer and sometime author. George, you'll catch flies with your mouth open like that."
"Well, I'll be!" cried Hammond in delight, hugging both of them in turn. "Where's that gong?" Moments later a new sound salvo rang out. When everyone's attention had been gained, he started again.
"Well, I didn't know it, but I've actually got *two* special announcements for today." he proclaimed. "For all those of you who were acquainted with the former CO and 2IC of SG-1, the rumours were all true! May I present Colonel and Major O'Neill - Jack and Samantha. Married now for..... How long? Three months! Congratulations! A toast to the bride and groom!" Further words were drowned by cheers, whistles and applause, and once again the two of them were surrounded by well-wishers and the purely inquisitive.
Eventually they made their way into the garden, where they caught sight of Daniel Jackson across the lawn, who smiled and waved when he saw them approaching. He was accompanied by a tallish, black-haired woman who turned round to face them, revealing her beautiful round face and dark eyes. Sam realised that she looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place her for the moment. She walked across to embrace Daniel in greeting, while Jack stood back a little, exchanging a nervous stare with Daniel's companion.
"Daniel!" Sam sighed. "I see you kept our secret from everybody. Thank you! Is this the lady you'd just met when I was last here? The one you had `an extremely important meeting' with and couldn't see me?"
"Yes, Sam." Daniel laughed. "Let me introduce you." But he was put off his next words by the way his friend and Jack were so obviously fixing their eyes on each other, not a hint of a smile between them.
"So, Jack." she said, her Anglo-Indian accent a soft lilt. "I always assumed that the `Sam' you spoke about so often in your dreams was a male friend you'd lost. My mistake."
"Hello, Indira." said Jack, looking like a rabbit caught in car headlights.
The party suddenly seemed a long way distant for all four of them.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 11 - No More Secrets
The awkward silence seemed to stretch for minutes, although it wasn't more than a fraction of that. It was Indira that broke the spell by looking Sam in the eyes.
"Jack's a very lucky man, Samantha. I hope he appreciates that fact."
Before she could answer, Daniel's look of confusion was replaced with a frown. "Indira, how come you know Jack so well? When did you meet?"
"Oh, last year, just before he left Colorado Springs." she replied. Daniel's face flushed red and he reached for an adjacent chair, sitting down heavily in it. Sam meanwhile stood in silence, her heart racing and a lump in her throat as the shock took hold.
"Oh." said Daniel quietly. "That was you. Well, thank you very much, Jack." he added sarcastically.
"Hey, come on, Daniel!" Jack retorted. "It wasn't as if....."
"As if what, Jack?" Daniel replied testily. "As if you and Indira weren't really an item? That's not what I heard. I just never thought it could be the two of you."
"Well, it was Indira that ended it." exclaimed Jack, who then looked suddenly at Sam, realising the hole he was digging for himself. He knew that women's logic would not follow his own in these situations, scientists or no. The scowl she was wearing confirmed his suspicions.
"So, if she hadn't, you'd still be together I suppose?" asked Sam archly. "I just came along at a convenient time to pick up the pieces?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Sam." replied Jack. "You know it wasn't like that!"
"Do I?" she retorted. "How can I be sure of that now?"
"Oh for crying out loud, Sam! It wasn't me who conveniently forgot what we meant to each other in the past and went off with someone else without a word! I was a completely free agent when I met Indira, while you were playing happy families!"
The look of surprise and distaste on Sam's face brought Jack up short, and he realised he'd hurt her, but right at this moment he didn't care.
"Stop it, you two!" Indira hissed. "And Daniel, you can stop sulking too. Jack, you were very special to me at the time, but I wasn't going to destroy myself when you were so obviously hung up on someone else. Now I know who. Daniel, you are the one who's very special to me now, so stop glaring at Jack like that. What do you expect? Pistols for two, coffee for one?"
Jack was still fuming, though, and suddenly placed his beer bottle back on the table. "I'll be back in time for George's announcement." he said, turning on his heel and disappearing quickly across the lawn. Sam made to go after him, but stopped when Indira caught her arm.
"Let him go, Sam. Things need to cool down for a while." They sat down with Daniel and a glum silence hung over them, to be broken by Sam after a few moments.
"I'm sorry, Indira. I didn't mean to be rude about you. But I can now see what Jack saw in you. You are a remarkable woman in every sense. I wouldn't have blamed him if......"
"Sam," replied Indira, "it was always you. He tried so hard to make me feel special, but his subconscious gave him away. And I'll say this in front of you, Daniel, so that we have no secrets either. I could easily have fallen for Jack, but I knew that he wasn't ever really mine. It took a while to get over him, but I did. You, Sam, can easily destroy him now - you very nearly did in the past. Just think about why you're upset now. Is it because you've met the real person he was with?"
"Yeah, I guess so." sighed Sam.
"And did Jack meet the person you started a relationship with? How did he behave towards him?" Indira continued. "If he did, knowing Jack, he probably kept a stone face and said nothing."
"Briefly." replied Sam. "Pete came to the cabin with my father and brother, hoping to convince me to get back with him. They didn't know that Jack and I were already married by then. They all said some pretty nasty things about him, and that got me mad. I showed them the door."
"Good for you, Sam." Daniel interjected, coming out of his doldrums. "But are you having second thoughts? It seems like you and he still have things to talk about."
"Me? Good God, no!" said Sam. "And you know how Jack is at talking about personal things. There's a thoughtful, surprisingly deep side of him I never knew about that comes out in flashes. He makes me think about things I'd taken for granted all my life. He's not always Homer Simpson." She smiled. "He makes me feel small and uncertain at times, but not in a bad way. He cares about folks a lot more than he ever lets on. If I'm honest, I fell in love with him all over again the first night I went to the cabin. I couldn't bear to lose him now."
"Does he know that?" asked Indira. "I mean, have you told him?"
"Not in so many words lately, I'll admit." Sam replied softly.
"Well, then." Indira smiled. She turned to her current *amour*. "Now what's your beef, Daniel? Have I been a naughty girl?"
After a moment's frown, his faced creased in smiles. "No, Indira, but I'm hoping that might change tonight." Sam and Indira burst into laughter.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
As Jack unlocked the cab to let the dogs out, he found himself surrounded by the Hammond grandchildren and other kids.
"Can we walk the dogs with you, Colonel O'Neill?" asked one, fussing over Sam 2 as she had her lead attached. The pup was more of a handful, bouncing up and down and getting its lead tied around several legs.
"OK, kids, but first you have to call me Jack, and then someone has to tell the General where you're all going with me. That'll be down to the park and back within thirty minutes, OK?" One of the detachment scooted off to pass on the vital information. When he returned, they all set off down the road, observed by General Hammond from the front window.
`Like a Pied Piper.' he mused.
The entourage, comprised of Jack surrounded by excited, chattering children, duly reappeared in the back garden after their walk. Sam 2 recognised Sam 1 across the lawn and pulled a surprised junior handler towards her at high speed. Her pup, attached to a second victim, followed in excitement. Sam reached down to make a fuss of both dogs to stop them leaping up at her.
Jack appeared, looking a little sheepish, but Sam took control of the situation by standing up and throwing her arms round his neck, smiling and kissing his surprised lips. "Sorry." she whispered to him. He looked back at her and squeezed her waist.
"Me too." he muttered.
"So, Sam," asked Daniel, "is this the *namesake* that you skinned a rabbit for?"
"Yup! The first of quite a few. And *this*...... Is `Teal'c', the last of her pups. We gave the other two to friends back home. We're keeping him." Sam explained as she held the excited young dog.
"Er, *Teal'c*?" queried Daniel.
"Yes!" said Sam. "The yellow spot above his eyes decided us." Indira looked on in puzzlement.
"Jack, have you named your other dogs after people you know, like *me* for example?" Daniel continued.
"No." said Jack tersely, his face deadpan. "Wrong breed." Sam spluttered and looked away quickly.
"Sam, what does he mean, `wrong breed'?" said Daniel, glaring suspiciously at her. She made as if to reply, but suddenly burst out laughing again.
"Sam!"
She brought herself under control, but noticed that Indira had started to laugh as well, having caught on quickly. "We haven't got a spaniel yet, Dan......" Sam almost finished, but failed to do so as her laughter took over.
"Homer's turning you into Marge, you know, Sam." sighed Daniel.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
At the appointed time, the sound of the gong brought everyone back to the house, where General Hammond stood on a footstool to be seen by all. When silence fell, he began in a firm voice.
"In twenty minutes time, the President will appear on all networks with a special announcement. Simultaneously, other world leaders will broadcast in their own countries to announce to the world the existence of the Stargate and the alien races we have encountered."
Gasps and a few shouts broke out spontaneously around the room. The General, well used to giving speeches, raised his voice and silenced them again.
"We felt it right to give you, the men and women of the SGC, an opportunity to explain it to your families and partners ahead of the TV programs. It will come as a considerable shock to many, and maybe also will confirm their suspicions that you have been doing something very significant to warrant all the secrecy of the past. We all know how hard it has been on them, and especially on the loved ones of our fallen comrades, who will now have the small consolation of knowing how the sacrifices were made."
He paused and looked round at the many familiar faces. "Naturally, the media folks will beat a path to your doors soon enough. You should expect your faces to become known around the world. I'll leave you now to start explaining it all to your guests. The TV program will be shown on a large screen in here, and will be recorded for anyone who wants to see it again."
As the noise of many conversations filled the air, people broke into family groups and started to react to the astounding news. Back in the garden, Indira had taken hold of Daniel's hand, requesting rather than demanding an explanation. Daniel's thoughts of Jack and her having spent time together were forgotten as he wondered how he was going to explain his own incredible circumstances.
Jack and Sam stood holding hands, watching their good friend starting out on the next stage of his life.
"Penny for them, Jack." said Sam, squeezing his hand.
"For crying out loud." he sighed. "I need this as much as a hole in the head. But I've already got that, haven't I? I just wonder what's in store when they find out."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 12 - Running the Gauntlet
By mid-evening the catering staff were clearing away the last of the tables, chairs and other paraphernalia that General Hammond had imported for his many guests, who had now departed - some quickly to tell their friends and families, others lingering, wondering what to do next. He sat with Sam and Jack in his front room, they being his only overnight guests. George was reclining in his favourite armchair, while the O'Neill's (`strange to be calling them that.' thought The General) sat side-by-side on the large sofa.
"Are you sure about this, George?" Jack asked. "We know that some people don't like having dogs in the house. It kinda restricts our circle of friends."
"What? And have the kids in open rebellion?" replied Hammond, chuckling. "The damage you've done will last long beyond today. They've already been on the phone to their parents demanding to have one of their own. To them, the Stargate news was nothing compared to the urgency of that request. You owe me, Jack, and you're no better, Major..... Sorry, *Sam*."
"Why, what did I do?" she asked in mock coyness.
"I overheard you asking them which breeds were most like some of the guests!" Hammond retorted. "And for the record, I am *not* like a bulldog!"
"I can't believe you did that!" said Jack to his wife in a tone so false that lie detectors in the next state should have been set buzzing. A thin, coy smile appeared momentarily on her face.
They savoured a few moments of silence before all their thoughts returned to the situation of the day, sipping occasionally from their glasses of fine malt whiskey. It was Jack who summed up their situation.
"At least the dogs will wake us up if any reporters come sneaking around in the night." he sighed. "With any luck, though, they'll hold off till morning and then it'll be the survival of the fittest."
"Yes, it's going to be a trial of wills, all right." said Hammond. "How little we can get away with saying until we're ready, while they'll want it all straight away. Are you really that worried about it, Jack? You've always handled the press easily enough in the past."
"It's not the initial contact I'm concerned about." replied Jack. "It's when someone spills the fact that I'm a walking encyclopaedia with no index and a lot of missing pages. If our own government doesn't get the men in white coats to link me up to the nearest supercomputer to try to extract what's left, I can think of a few others that would do it." He placed his empty glass back on the side-table. "I could use a few ideas right now, I'll admit."
"What about something like the Witness Protection Program?" asked Sam. "They could hide us away with new identities."
"No!" said Jack. "You've got too much to lose if we do that. And life certainly isn't too pleasant for people in that situation, Sam. No, I won't do anything that stops you getting the rewards and recognition for your efforts. If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be an operating Stargate. You're going to be famous."
"Even if I don't particularly want to be?" said Sam, much to the surprise of the other two. "We'll talk about this some more later, Jack. Whatever happens, we're in this together. Just bear that in mind."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
As the three of them lay in bed that night - yes, you know, Jack and his two Sam's - in the large guest bedroom, Jack hadn't said much at all. His elbow was planted firmly in the middle of his pillow to support his head and he lay facing his wife. She lay on her side facing him, her forehead resting on his chest. His free hand played softly with the hair behind her ear where he knew she revelled in his touch, while she plucked gently at the hairs on his chest.
"I've said before that I won't do anything to hold you back, Sam." he said in a low voice at last. "I want to stay with you more than anything in the world, but....."
"No!" she said firmly, pulling back a little and looking up at him. "You can cut that out right now! Read my lips, Jack. We're. In. This. Together. What did I just say?"
He sighed and mumbled something incomprehensible.
"What was that?" she insisted. "I didn't catch it."
"Undomesticated equines couldn't pull us apart." he said.
"That's right." she smiled. "Listen, before we got together, the fame and fortune bit would have meant a lot more to me. But don't you understand just how good you make me feel about my life and what we can do? I can still do some of the things I want to, important things to me anyway, but those I can't, well, I've got something better instead. I've got you for as long as you want me. I am so completely in love with you, Jack. Don't you dare take that away from me."
"That's a promise." he replied softly, feeling somewhat overwhelmed. He leaned over, pushing her head back onto the pillow, and they kissed gently, interrupted only by the canine grunts from the foot of the bed.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
As they had predicted, the media chorus was camped just outside Hammond's front gate soon after dawn. The first newsman to knock on the front door had been greeted by a snarling Sam 2 in full defence mode, and he leapt backwards from the doorbell as Jack opened the door. However, he quickly recovered.
"General Hammond?" enquired the reporter.
"No." replied Jack. "Get off his property. Now." He made as if to let go of his dog's collar and the newsman backed away quickly, as Jack shut the front door again.
"That's not going to work for long." said George Hammond. "I've called for a detachment of SF's to help control things. I'll go out to talk to them when they've got here and you've had a chance to get away."
"You sure?" asked Jack. "I don't want you to feel we're deserting you."
"I've handled worse in the Appropriations Committees." laughed Hammond. "Just you two get away safely, but be ready to come back in a week or so when we'll need you for the official press open day at the SGC."
Sam and Jack duly appeared out of the front door a short while later, throwing their overnight bag into the back of the truck and installing the dogs in the cab.
"Jonathan O'Neill?" yelled one reporter. "That's who the truck's registered to. Are you with the Stargate program?"
"One `l' or two?" Jack retorted. "I'm the other one."
"What do you do in the program, Jonathan?" yelled a woman newshound.
"I'm in charge of the Stationery Section." said Jack, his voice level and steady. "I'm rightly proud that no planet has been visited without the requisite forms, report pads and wormhole-resistant paper clips. And all done at minimum cost to the taxpayer!"
"What's a `wormhole-resistant paper clip, Jonathan?" cried another voice from the second row. "Are they de-classified yet?"
"That's `need to know', feller!" replied Jack.
"Are you with the Program as well, Ma'am?" shouted yet another voice.
"Why, yes!" said Sam, her accent mysteriously changed to that of a Southern drawl, much to Jack's surprise. "I was his secretary, y'all know? Until they caught us frat'nising in the stationery cupboard, that is. Downright unsportin' of `em to make me leave like that. I got my man, though." she said, wiggling her ring finger at them. Flashbulbs popped crazily.
Attention turned back to Jack. "Jonathan! Can you tell us if there are aliens amongst us now?"
"Not on this side of the fence!" he shouted back. "Say, does anyone want my manuscript for my autobiography?"
Cries of "Yes!" and "Over here, Jonathan!" came from several directions. The only sensible question came from a small man half-hidden by the hedge. "What's it called?" he asked.
"`Ten Years of Intergalactic Envelope Covers', or `The Twilight of a Mediocre Career'." said Jack, keeping a straight face. "Any takers? Listen, guys, the General is the person to speak to. If you'll just be patient, he be out shortly. Now clear a space to let us out, will you?"
The crowd moved reluctantly out of the way as Jack climbed into the passenger seat and Sam got in behind the wheel. She gunned the engine and they allowed the truck to pass, expending reels of film as it eased into the road. They hadn't gone far when it became apparent that one press car was following close behind them.
"Do you think you can lose him, Sam?" said Jack, looking out the back.
"No problem." replied Sam with a grin. "The tow bar on the back's firmly fixed, isn't it?"
"Sure is." Jack confirmed. "Just don't blitz him too much, OK?"
"Brace yourself." she stated, only moments before slamming on the brakes. The reporter's car stopped with a screech of tyres just behind them, but the driver's reactions were far too slow to avoid Sam suddenly reversing into his car, the ball joint on the tow bar piercing the radiator just enough to terminate the pursuit.
Sam leaned out of the driver's window, looking back.
"Bye, y'all!" she shouted, and accelerated away. It was an enjoyable respite from the trials to come.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 13 - The Breaking Storm
Sam drove for the first three hours on the long journey north, while Jack kept quiet for the most part, nevertheless managing to surprise her when she caught him smiling vaguely from time to time.
"Come on!" she chided him. "Care to share it?" He looked blankly back at her. "Well?"
"It occurred to me yesterday afternoon that somewhere along the line, I've handed over control of pretty much everything in my life to you, without realising when it happened." he replied at length.
"No, that can't be." she replied. "I've kinda been thinking the same thing about you."
"What? You mean we're still at the `Me Colonel, You Jane' stage, then?"
"In a pig's ear we are!"
"Well, a guy can dream....."
She was silent for a short while. "Does it worry you?" she asked, glancing over at him.
"Hell, no." he sighed. "I'm telling you, when Hammond announced us to the crowd as a couple, in front of all the people we knew - well, that was one of the best moments of my life. Period."
Her grin threatened to split her face, and she briefly took one hand off the steering wheel to reach over and squeeze his forearm. "Yeah, it was a moment, all right."
Jack stayed quiet a little longer, before saying in a soft voice, "I'm sorry I lit off at you when we were talking to Daniel and Indira."
"No." she started to respond. "I started it....." But he interrupted her.
"Wait, Sam. I want to say this right. I can't promise that I won't do or say dumb things again that'll upset you or other people. The fact that I'm telling you this is an example of what I meant about you controlling my life. I don't ever want this to end between us, OK?"
Sam was dumbstruck, and her eyes started misting as she tried to concentrate on the road ahead. The sudden sight of a large illuminated yellow `M' ahead determined her next actions, as she signalled a right turn and gently braked for the exit to the fast food restaurant. She drew into the parking lot and came to a stop in a marked bay at the rear of the building. Assuming that they were taking their first break on the journey, Jack started to unbuckle his seat belt and reached for the passenger door handle. He was surprised however to find that Sam had quickly freed herself from her belt and had moved across to throw her arms around him, pulling his head suddenly round and kissing him passionately on the lips. His seat belt buckle made a loud noise when it hit the door post as the belt retracted, startling the two canines in the back seat.
Well, what could the poor guy do except respond by leaning back into the kiss? But not for the first time, a close-by sniffing sound followed by the unmistakeable touch of a cold, wet nose in their rearward-facing ears reminded them both of the social order that prevailed in their household and they drew back, Sam smiling fit to bust. "Rule 2." she announced more to Sam 2 than Jack. "No passion before walks. I forgot for a moment there." The dogs appeared to agree.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Walked, watered, replenished and relaxed, the journey recommenced half an hour later with Jack behind the wheel. The relatively featureless highway was downright boring for long stretches, and as usual Jack had selected a music CD to help him keep alert. Sam had thought that she might doze a while after they had left the diner, but had found herself listening enraptured to Dvorak's `New World' symphony from beginning to end.
"Now that's an example of your influence on me." she said, as the strains of the music were still fresh in her mind. "I'd never paid much heed to classical music before. Now I don't listen to much else, given the choice."
"Glad to oblige." he replied. Then after a pause, he continued, "Sam, I've been thinking about what we should do next. It's only a matter of time before the press tracks us down to Minnesota and then we're going to have the neighbours and friends cursing at the plague we'll have sicked on them."
"Yes." she said, nodding in agreement. "I've been wondering about the same thing. I'll bet that realtor will tell them where our new house is as soon as he sees us on TV."
"Him or a dozen others." said Jack. "But what I was thinking: how about a pre-emptive strike against the media?"
"P90's or zats?" she laughed.
"I wish." he agreed. "No, here's the thing. The school has its own computer journal for the kids to compile, doesn't it? Publishes it on a web site, yes?"
"Yes!" Sam replied enthusiastically, seeing where this was going. "We give them a world exclusive interview with former SG-1 leaders; they copyright it and get a little bit of fame and hopefully some money for syndication rights!"
"We've got to move fast, though." Jack mused. "Tomorrow night. Can you get a call to the Principal? Tell him that we'll make a presentation followed by Q and A for the kids and parents. Nobody should tell the press if they want it to be an exclusive."
"Well, I help the group of kids who compile the school journal." said Sam. "We'll have the first copy on the web site within thirty minutes of the end of the meeting. I'll call him on my cell phone right now."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's time for questions at last." announced Sam to the packed school hall as she finished their talk about the new wonders. "Who's first?" A sea of arms waved and the noise level suddenly increased.
"Quiet, please!" shouted the Principal from his position on the stage beside Sam and Jack. "I think first that a round of applause for our distinguished guests and the honour they have done in giving us their stories is called for." He paused until silence reigned again, although it was noticeable that not all the parents seemed to be enthusiastic about what they had heard. "I will select the questioners. Parents, please be patient, I'm going to give the pupils the first go. You, Simpson!"
"How many planets have you been to?" asked the blond, spiky-haired youth inevitably nicknamed `Bart' by his pals.
"I lost count." said Jack. "Over a hundred, by my reckoning. Sam's been to a few more since she was in the program a while longer than me."
"What's it like having a Goa'uld inside your head?" came the next, surprisingly from a normally rather quiet girl.
"Truly hideous." replied Jack, and Sam nodded in agreement. "There's no hiding anything from them, not a single thought, and they can control you any time they want, make you do anything at all, even against your will."
"Do you get travel-sick in wormholes?" was the first question to make them smile.
"Yes, when you're not used to it." replied Sam. "It takes some nerve to step through the Stargate for the first time, knowing that you're going to be disassembled into an electronic version of matter, and then re-assembled at the other end. But it all seems to work out right. Well, most of the time anyway!"
"I'd like to visit the other worlds, but only if they have Burger Kings there. Do they?"
Jack waited until the laughter died down. "It won't be long, I'm sure. In fact, on some worlds it'd be a vast improvement over the local offerings!"
The children's questions continued, varying from the sensible and incisive to the truly youth-orientated. Sam and Jack's favourite was: "Do you think I could take my punk rock band on a Stargate tour to different planets, you know, make a real splash?" asked one adolescent.
"I'm sure the neighbours would welcome it." replied Jack, keeping a straight face, in contrast to Sam.
The parents' questions were of course of a more serious nature.
"Are we under threat of invasion by aliens now?" was the first.
"We always have been." Jack responded. "The only difference is, now we know the odds and a lot more detail of who our real and potential enemies are. Some will be frightened by that prospect, others will recognise after the initial shock has worn off that it's an opportunity to plan the best defence."
"Are we really so backward in technology compared to these other races?" asked another.
Sam of course replied to that one, describing her role in analysing the alien artefacts and building her own versions of the discoveries. She concluded: "It's most important that we educate people not only to understand and be able to make use of these new technologies, but more importantly, to learn how to make best use of them." She looked at Jack and said in a firm voice, "That's the biggest lesson I learned from Jack." He caught her eye and nodded his thanks almost imperceptibly.
"Do they share our religious beliefs on other worlds?"
"Insofar as most of the peoples we've come into contact with are humans like us, many seem to believe in a god-like figure or figures to a greater or lesser extent." said Jack. "But just like on Earth, there are many versions of religion. No-one can really claim to know the absolute truth, and yet they all think they do - just like here. But recognise this: we've met a few races who only vaguely resemble humans. I think it was the science writer Arthur C. Clarke who said, `The rash assertion that *God made man in His own image* is ticking like a time-bomb at the foundation of many faiths.' You can draw your own conclusions."
"Why did the Government keep it secret for so long?"
"Because that's what governments do. I can't answer that."
"Why did you both retire? Are you going to stay around here?"
"Sheer exhaustion in Jack's case and battle-fatigue in mine." said Sam. "And yes, we've just bought a house near here. We realise that the place is going to be swarming with reporters for a while, and that they could upset a few of you while they're here. We apologise for that - we need your support to survive the onslaught ourselves. We just hope it's a `Nine Days Wonder.'"
And so the session came to an end, closed by the Principal. Sam gathered her team of junior journalists, who set to work writing up their notes and transcribing the tape recording on unclear points. By 11:30 pm they were staring with pride at their web page, having made sure that all the pointers were in place to attract as many related search words as they could think of. By midnight, the hit counter on their home page was already in the hundreds, passing all previous school records.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam and Jack collected the dogs from their friend Jimmy and returned to their new house nearby in the village. `New' was a misnomer: the old wooden house was going to need quite some renovation work, but the roof didn't leak and after a winter in the cabin, they had the unaccustomed luxury of multiple rooms and electricity. Their furniture from Colorado Springs had been installed and Sam had already been planning the changes to make it `theirs'.
"How soon do you think the first reporter will be here?" said Sam, just before they dozed off for the night.
"Probably by mid-day, if we're lucky." Jack replied drowsily.
Unfortunately, it was a breakfast-time phone call from a friend that shattered the calm. "Turn to the Fox News channel." said the caller. Sam picked up the remote and found the station. They watched for a while as the presenters cycled through the news - mostly about the Stargate, of course, but with due prominence to the sports results.
Jack laughed. "I thought that was a British thing, you know?" He put on the awful accent that most Americans think is the right one. "Aliens invaded the world today. And now, here are the cricket match results."
But as the studio team reviewed the day's newspapers, they were suddenly horrified to see and hear the storyline in one national tabloid. `I was Stargate babe's hot lover, by Denver cop Pete Shannon. Our nights of passion in Colorado Springs love nest when she came back from missions. The unbearable stresses of an affair when one partner has to keep silent.'
Jack sat in silent shock, while Sam fled from the room, her face burning red and hot tears running down her cheeks.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 14 - Facing Demons
The last thing Sam expected was to see that Jack had been watching her silently from the doorway for at least a couple of minutes. The shock of the TV announcement had upset her in a way she had never felt before, and running from the room had also been a new experience.
She suddenly felt embarrassed, but didn't move from her position on the old sofa by the back room veranda windows. Neither did she let go of Teal'c, whom she had been holding close to her since the pup had jumped onto her lap almost the moment after she had thrown herself down onto the seat. Her tears had dried up quickly, and the feeling of shock and confusion had slowly given way to anger and resentment, backed up by a worry as to how Jack would react.
Jack walked slowly over to the sofa, and silently gestured for her to move over a little for him to sit down. The pup took this as an invitation to jump on him, and Jack wrestled gently with the squirming bundle of fur until the dog suddenly tired of the game and leapt down to play with something else. Jack reached over and took Sam's hand in his, while she stared down at their intertwined fingers.
"What did you tell me so forcefully the other day?" he said quietly. "Something about being in this together?" A fleeting smile passed across her face, and so he continued. "Sam, do you think anyone in real life would actually use those words in a conversation?" He mimicked the TV presenter's voice. "A *hot lover* in a *love nest*."
She smiled in spite of her black mood. "No, of course not."
"Well then," Jack continued, "I don't imagine your ex thought very much about how a journalist could twist his words. Those people only want to sell newspapers, or find `The Story That's Too Good to Check'."
"Then why would he do this?" she responded in a voice heavy with disgust.
"I'm guessing that he probably saw the TV clip of us leaving Hammond's house and our play-acting, and just came out with the fact that he knew who we really were. If he was with his buddies in a bar or something, the story could have escalated from there. I'll bet he loved showing you off when you were in Denver, just like I'm tempted to do sometimes when we're out among friends."
"That's a lot of assumptions." replied Sam. "And why are you being so..... So...... *charitable* about it? It's not like you." Without thinking, she placed her other hand over his, her thumb stroking his knuckles.
"Well, for a moment or two back there, I'll admit that I had him lined up in the sights." said Jack. "But things are going to fall apart rapidly if we're not prepared for the kind of questions we're going to get asked in the next few hours. Just after you left the room, they showed the clip again of us leaving Hammond's house, but they've cottoned on to our real roles in the SGC. We are now publicly `the two most highly-decorated officers to have led SG teams'. Although I will admit that *Stargate Babe* has a certain appeal." She glared at him, but he continued, "They've started dogging several of our friends and colleagues, so we're not alone by any means."
"Yeah, I guess." she sighed. "So what do you think we should do? Go for `plausible deniability'? Has the Air Force issued any statements yet on what's public knowledge and what's going to remain secret?"
He shook his head in response. "Seems pretty much everything is coming out into the open." said Jack. "Which leads to what I guess is going to be the biggest threat to us on a personal level."
"Your untapped memories?" she asked.
"That, and the fact that anyone who's carrying or has carried a Goa'uld at some time is gonna be treated like a lab rat by so-called *scientists* and any crackpot who thinks they've got a right to confront us."
"Or as *demons* by others." she added. "But it'll pass, right? I mean, when the news is a few days old, the media will go back to sport, disasters and politics for the most part, like they normally do. Although I grant you, this *is* the biggest event in modern history, so the focus should change fairly quickly from past ET contacts and personalities to live broadcasts from off-world and current players."
"Well, yes. Not everyone's like us, trying to avoid the limelight to a certain degree." said Jack. "Your friend Dr. McKay is already accepting the plaudits of being, and I quote, `The brains behind Earth's Stargate control programs'. He was on TV just now as well."
Sam sat up suddenly, her pensive expression replaced by a moment of fury that made her eyes sparkle fleetingly in the way that Jack loved. "What?!" she almost shouted. "That's...... I'll make him wish he *was* a pianist!" earning a puzzled expression from him. They sat in silence for a few moments, each lost to their own thoughts.
Jack glanced at his watch. "Let's walk the dogs while we can. Maybe we can plan a few responses to the inquisition while we're out."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The call the following day from General Hammond asking them to return to Colorado Springs for an officially-organised press conference at the SGC was a welcome relief. Cameramen, outside broadcast trucks, reporters, paparazzi and the uncontrollably curious had gathered outside their house day and night, the barrage of flashguns and video cameras at all possible locations ready to record their every move, real or imagined. Cameras on extendable poles peered into their upstairs windows, and even a fibre optic cable had been thrust through the keyhole in the back door at one stage.
At first, Jack and Sam had been polite and hospitable, answering questions, no matter how distorted or personal, in their front garden. The same questions came up time and time again, each TV reporter wanting to get their own voice or station identification in the sound clip. Sam was ill-prepared for the intrusive personal questions following on from the sensational newspaper story about her past affair with Pete, and had simply given up answering the reporters altogether. It had just gone on and on.
"Major Carter, were you upset by that story?"
"I'm Sam O'Neill, now. Yes, who wouldn't be?"
"Do you think you'll forgive him?"
"No comment."
"Was Jack upset about learning the details of your love-life?"
"What's that got to do with the Stargate?"
"Do you still care about him?"
"No. I married Colonel O'Neill three months ago. Doesn't that say everything?"
"What do you think of Detective Shannon's story?"
"I think he's got a powerful imagination - somewhat at odds with a job that requires impartial examination of evidence, I'd say."
"Will you pose for a `Stargate Babes' calendar?"
"No! Doesn't anyone have a sensible question here?"
But they didn't. And the remnants of the rabble showed no signs of leaving after their ranks thinned out a little after a few hours on the first day. The local police sent a squad car, but it was hardly a deterrent and soon disappeared to attend to more urgent matters. Persistent cold rain showers did little to disperse them either. During the evening, Jack opened the front door suddenly to reveal an operator trying to attach a microphone to the window. He let a snarling Sam 2 spring at the man, her teeth locking onto his sleeve before he could pull himself away and flee back to the road. Jack called the dog back and walked up to the front fence.
"Anyone else who sets foot on my land will be treated as an intruder and I will exercise my citizen's rights to defend my family and property." said Jack, using the voice that had terrified recruits in the past. "There will be no more public comments from my wife or me. You can contact the Air Force via the proper channels to set up any further interviews. That is all." He turned smartly round, leading his dog back to the house, ignoring the barrage of questions that arose from the unmoving mob.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The cold and damp members of the press cordon were stirred into life again early next morning when Sam and Jack's great friend Jimmy arrived. They reluctantly parted to let him walk up the drive and into the house, having been unable to draw a word out of him. They hadn't long to wait before the unmistakeable sound of a helicopter grew in volume to the point where they knew something was about to happen.
The aged Iroquois came to rest in the spacious back garden, touching the ground but with the rotor still turning. By rushing down the road and using long-focus lenses, they saw Sam and Jack throw a bag into the open door and climb in rapidly after it. The door closed and it disappeared rapidly, the thunderous noise fading.
Meanwhile, reporters approached the front door and rang the bell, hoping to get to talk to Jimmy. Holding on to Sam 2's collar, he opened the door and responded to their enquiries in his normal way, but they soon gave up trying when the severity of his speech impediment became apparent. As they left and he closed the door again, he smiled and said softly, in a much clearer voice, "Good girl, Sam. Good girl." stroking the dog's ears. The months of encouragement by Sam and Jack to help him resume his speech therapy training were beginning to pay off, but he wasn't going to let those *eejits* outside know it, and he smiled with satisfaction as the crowd began to disperse.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 15 - Forward to the Past
Sam's unexpected air sickness, both in the helicopter and the C-130 that had flown them to Colorado, had taken them both by surprise. Jack's initial reaction had been to fuss over her a little, until she made it quite clear that she would just prefer to be left alone. He gave her the space she wanted but kept a cautious watch. She recovered somewhat after landing and was grateful for having been transported slowly and gently by an Air Force driver to General Hammond's house and now she was beginning to feel normal again as she sat back on the sofa, nursing a cup of tea.
"I really don't understand it." she sighed again. "I mean, I know I haven't flown in the last twelve months, but I could take any amount of turbulence before that."
Jack raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing. He hadn't flown in nearly eighteen months but had felt no discomfort on the flight that hadn't been particularly rough anyway. Travelling in the hold of a military transport could be a far from comfortable experience, with the hours of noise, vibration and the unique smell that was a combination of aviation fuel and the long-accumulated almost metallic odour of people and heavy equipment. But Sam had been in the Air Force long enough to have grown used to it. A tiny pinprick of concern and wonder sparked in the corner of his mind, but his expression didn't falter.
"Probably the stress of the last few days." said Hammond. "I guess you've been under siege from the press the same as here. I have to admit that they nearly wore me down to the point of waving a gun at them, but thank God, they've gone for the most part now."
"You should get a dog, George." said Jack wryly. "Helped us."
"Well thanks to the two of you and your blatant encouragement of my grandkids here the other day," replied Hammond with a non-too serious expression, "that's quite likely to be happening soon. I must admit, Sam that I never had you down as a dog lover. Jack, yes - it was written all over him. What made up your mind?"
Sam smiled. "Well, if I'm honest it took me by surprise too. When I first saw Jack with his `Sam' up at the cabin, I just knew I'd never be able to separate him from her. They came as a kind of package deal, and I realised that having two comedians in the house was probably better than one."
"Hey!" Jack exclaimed, but stopped when the General laughed heartily at him. "Feeling a little better, are we *dear*?"
"Yes, thanks." mumbled Sam into her raised tea cup. They relaxed for a while before Hammond brought up the subject of the plans for the next day.
"Everyone who's been associated with the SGC and the Stargate program has been hounded." he said. "So, they've agreed with the TV companies and media that there will be a Press Day tomorrow. Pretty much the whole place will be on show, and past and present personnel will be on hand to answer questions. It's not compulsory that you two should be there, but it'll get the worst of it over and done with. They've agreed to lay off chasing people afterwards in return for in-depth interviews on site." He looked directly at Sam. "*Serious* interviews, that is."
A grim smile passed across her face. "I guess it's for the best, then." she sighed.
"I suppose they'll be shown the Stargate in operation?" asked Jack.
It was the General's turn for a grim smile. "Oh, somewhat more than that. A few SG Teams and scientists past and present will gate to P4D-134 accompanying selected journalists. There you'll meet up with a few Tok'ra and maybe the Asgard, and Teal'c will join you there as the representative of the free Jaffa. Then after a photo-shoot, you'll all gate back to the SGC and be filmed arriving back through the Event Horizon for a group photo-session as a kind of TV finale."
The looks of shock and surprise on Sam and Jack's faces could not be adequately described even by a fiction writer.
"Where we'll be greeted by Jerry Springer, I suppose?" Jack suggested, his voice laced with irony.
"Oh, if only it were." said Hammond. "No. It'll be someone who's used to handling the press and saw this chance way before we did. Jack, it pains me to tell you that it's Senator Kinsey."
"Is that the point where I get to demonstrate how a Zat gun works, then?" said Jack, reaching for his beer.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
That evening, Sam made the long-overdue phone call to her brother. She'd been surprised that Mark hadn't called her the minute the story had broken, but guessed that their strained relations after his visit to Minnesota in January had a lot to do with it.
"Well, you really kept that to yourself, didn't you?" he said. "I saw this evening's news broadcast where you and Jack were identified as high-ranking officers. Couldn't you have trusted even your own family? What did dad have to say about it?"
Sam realised that her father's true identity was still unknown to him. "I'll ask him to talk to you about it when I see him." she replied, knowing that this fact would have an even bigger impact on him than her involvement in the SGC. "He knew about the program because he's in the Air Force too, but you must realise, Mark, that nobody could tell their friends or families on the outside anything at all. I'm sorry."
"Did Pete Shannon know?" her brother persisted.
"No, he didn't, even though he tried hard to find out." said Sam. "At first, I couldn't tell him, and then after a while I didn't want to. He's in my past now, Mark. Please don't keep bringing him up. I've got enough hassle from the gutter press thanks to him."
"Are you happy with Jack, then? I haven't heard anything from you. I guess that's partly my fault, but when Dad came back with the news that morning that you'd married him, I couldn't believe it at first. I wanted to go back and make sure you were really yourself, you know, but Dad explained how he'd suspected that the two of you had ended up where you wanted to be for some time. It's funny, Dad seemed to be a completely different person that morning, despite his hangover."
"As I said, I'll get Dad to explain his part in all this. It's much more than you might think." said Sam quickly. "And yes, I'm very happy with Jack. We've just bought a house in Minnesota near to the cabin, and I'm taking up an offer to lecture part-time at the University of Minnesota in their Space Sciences faculty. We're going to buy a small apartment in St. Paul for stopovers when I'm working there. You must bring the family up to the house as soon as we've knocked it into shape a little."
"Yes, I'd like that. And..... You must bring Jack to stay with us in San Diego. I think I owe him an apology at least, since he's making you so happy."
"Thanks, Mark. I'd really like that too. Oh, and watch out for the TV special tomorrow. You should see us on that too. Just don't mind the fixed smiles on our faces. It's going to be hell."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
They arrived at Cheyenne Mountain early the next morning and underwent the strange yet familiar experience of being checked in at the gate and then descending to the SGC. Old friends greeted them, while many newer staff knew them by reputation and were equally as keen to say hello. There were two hours or so to spare before the media contingent was due for the first organised meetings, and Sam could not be kept away from her old laboratory, while Jack linked up with his buddies to discuss important matters such as hockey team performances and results, and to get updates on the outcome of several of the long-running SGC betting pools on events both significant and trivial.
The slight tension in the pit of Sam's stomach as she approached her former lab dissipated the moment she saw the current occupant, who simultaneously spied her coming.
His broad grin was threatening to split Rodney McKay's face. "Well, if it isn't Blondie the Stargate Babe!" he cried in welcome. "I knew you wouldn't be able to keep away. Welcome to *my* laboratory."
"Well, I can tell it's not mine any more." said Sam in a steely voice. "We never used to let parasites in here before. Now they run the place apparently."
"Professional jealousy, Dr. Carter?" he responded, the grin only lessening slightly. "How unlike you. But this isn't a day for petty insults. I'm very glad you came to see me."
"First wrong assumption." she replied. "I'm just looking around."
"Well, let me show you some of my work." he responded, moving towards her as if to put an arm round her shoulders on an escorted walk. The glare radiating from her deterred him from completing the manoeuvre and he gestured over to the storage area. "First and foremost, the new, improved mobile naquadah generator. So much more reliable and powerful than the old models from your time."
"What took you so long?" she responded. "That design was on the drawing board over a year ago. Couldn't follow instructions, I suppose?"
"Well, if that's your attitude, I don't think I'm predisposed to show you any more. I heard your star was fading before you retired, so I wouldn't want to overload your brain with some of the newer stuff." he added before turning to face her, finding to his surprise that she was much closer to him than he thought. His delight lasted only a fleeting moment, however, as the pressure of her boot heel on his instep suddenly built up to an intolerable level.
"God, Samantha, that really hurts!" he gasped, but he found that he couldn't draw his crushed foot away.
"You know, I used to like you from time to time in some strange way." Sam said in a steady voice. "You were brilliant enough in your own areas of specialisation and I respected that."
"Please, Carter! It really, really hurts!" he moaned.
"But what really pisses me off," she continued, the downward pressure unrelenting, "is when someone tries to take sole credit for work that other people originated, now matter how well that someone supported them."
"Carter! Samantha!" he whimpered.
"So it might be a good idea if that same someone were to be a little more, shall we say..... Magnanimous - yes, that's the word, magnanimous about the contributions of other workers to the Stargate program. Don't you agree?"
"Agh! Yes, yes! Magnanimity is my middle name!" he screeched as stars danced before his eyes.
They were interrupted by the sound of her husband's voice from the doorway.
"Having trouble, Carter?" asked Jack nonchalantly.
"Just a quick piano lesson." replied Sam. "Making sure that we're all reading from the same music score. Right, McKay?"
"Yes!" he squeaked, suddenly gasping with relief as she stepped away.
"Good." she finished. "Just so long as we all understand the facts." As she entered the corridor, she smiled at Jack. "Come on, let's go find Daniel."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 16 - Contact
"Daniel will be having the time of his life with all the archaeologists who thought he'd flipped back when." mused Jack as they walked along the corridor to their friend's laboratory. "You know, when he claimed that extra-terrestrials were responsible for the pyramids."
"Not all of them." replied Sam. "There are still people who don't believe that men walked on the moon in 1969, despite the evidence." She glanced across at Jack, who had started rubbing his temples in a motion she knew so well - the one that signified one of his oncoming headaches. "Are you starting to feel bad?" she asked, a note of concern in her voice.
"Ah, yes, if I'm honest." he said. "It just started a few moments ago when we arrived on this level. But the headaches don't usually start this quickly. Daniel's bound to have a pot of coffee on. I'll take some pain-killers when we get there."
They walked in to the familiar office to find it in an unusual state of neatness, with Daniel finishing the task of re-stacking books and manuscripts back onto the shelves. He looked round briefly as his visitors entered.
"Hey, guys! Glad you made it." he greeted them. "Let me guess. They've agreed to lay off the two of you if you give them interviews and photo-opportunities today, right?" Seeing their nods of agreement, he continued, "So, as the only remaining SGC member from the original SG-1, what can I show you since you left?"
"Where's the coffee?" said Sam. Daniel gestured towards the far corner and Sam walked over to pour cups for herself and Jack, noticing that Daniel already had a nearly-full mug on his desk. She handed one to her husband and watched him detach two tablets from a strip and throw them into his mouth with practised ease.
"What's up, Jack?" asked Daniel. "Are you *still* getting those pains? I thought they'd go away after the Asgard cleaned you up again."
"Uh, yes." grunted Jack, looking around his friend's home-from-home. Although Daniel had obviously tried to make the room look presentable for the TV tour, it still conjured up the image in Jack's mind of an absent-minded wizard's den. Even though the military demanded its customary thoroughness for filing, indexing and crating everything, somehow over the years of his membership of the SGC, Daniel had defied the system and was really the only person who could rapidly locate any given item in the room. During the year he had been `absent', Jonas Quinn had started out on an attempt to bring order to this treasury, but had abandoned it after a few months when his natural curiosity for anything and everything had side-tracked him into investigating those same subjects.
Sam was looking around at the contents of the shelves and recalled Jack's comment during that time. `Jonas is like a bloodhound with too many scent trails to follow,' he had said, `whereas you, Carter, are the Saluki that can't stop investigating and gnawing at every bone you come across.' Sam had been ready with an indignant reply, but had been shocked into silence by Teal'c's immediate response of `Indeed, O'Neill. A complementary arrangement, do you not think?' Sam had bridled at the comment at first, but afterwards had felt oddly amused and pleased at being compared to such a fine, elegant animal - but not before she'd compared Jack to every type of mutt, cross-breed and stray that she could think of. In fact, the game of matching people with dogs that she'd started with the children at General Hammond's house a few days previously had stemmed from those original comments, and she smiled when she remembered the first sight she'd had of Jack and Sam 2 together.
Her reverie was interrupted by Jack's voice. He was staring, no..... squinting at something on the end of a shelf to her right. "Daniel, what's that thing over there with the fuzzy glow around it?" he said, pointing in that direction.
"Er, where, Jack?" replied Daniel. "I can't see anything glowing, can you, Sam?"
"No." she replied. "Where do you mean, Jack?"
"That blue thing that looks like an outsized computer mouse." he replied. He got up and started to walk towards it, but his face screwed up in pain before he was half-way there and he stopped, his hand moving involuntarily to his forehead.
"This item, you mean?" said Daniel, picking it up. He walked towards them holding it in his right hand, but was surprised to see Jack stumbling backwards in an effort to keep his distance from the object. Daniel stopped, exchanging glances between Jack and the blue ovoid in his hand. He stepped back a few paces and noticed the relief on Jack's face.
"We don't know what it is yet." Daniel continued. "It was found a few weeks ago in the ruins of where the Ancients' library used to be. We haven't been able to translate the inlaid hieroglyphics yet, though. Can you still see a glow around it?"
"Yes, of course I can!" replied Jack irritably. "It's brighter than it was on the shelf."
Sam walked over to inspect the object at close quarters. "Do you know anything at all about what it does, Daniel?" she asked, taking it from his hand. She turned it over to see that the underside was concave, with a fine pattern of hexagons embedded into the otherwise smooth metal. Flipping it back over, she ran her fingers over the surface and could feel, but not quite see, small indentations that seemed to match exactly the pattern of her outstretched fingertips. She was further surprised to feel that with her fingers spread thus, the device attached itself gently to her and she could hold it quite comfortably with one hand.
"Be careful, Sam." said Jack. "It's just stopped glowing. Funny, the pain in my head's just disappeared too."
Sam glanced at him with concern, and pulled the object away from her right hand. Immediately Jack winced again and stepped away. She quickly replaced her fingers onto the back of the convex surface, and saw Jack relax. "Feel OK again?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah. I think so." he replied.
"Tell me if you start to feel anything." Sam continued. "I'm going to walk towards you, but I'll stop if anything happens, OK? I won't let go of it again near you." She saw him nod in reply, and slowly stepped towards him. They were both relieved that he showed no reaction even when she was standing right in front of him.
"Sam, can you feel anything?" asked Daniel, fascinated by the events.
"A slight tingling sensation in my hand, but otherwise, no." said Sam. "Jack, if you're OK with it, I'm going to place this against your head. The underside looks to have about the same radius of curvature."
"Well, I'm not so sure." replied Jack hesitantly. "Oh, what the hell. Are you sure it matches my head and not some other part of my anatomy?" He paused as Sam rolled her eyes. "If it cures the headaches it'll be worth the risk. But if it turns me into your obedient unthinking love-slave, I demand a minimum number of sessions per week."
Sam smiled. "Idiot!" she said gently. Slowly she moved her hand towards his head until the faintest contact had been established. The sensations that instantly flowed through both of their minds and bodies would take weeks for them to understand and master. But to Daniel, it merely seemed as though the two were standing together, lost to the outside world as they stared into each other's eyes. After a few seconds Sam removed the object from Jack's head, but they continued to stare at each other for a while longer.
"Guys! Are you OK?" said Daniel, moving towards them.
"Yes thanks, Daniel." said Sam. "Jack, why don't you take the elevator up to the next level while I find a way to store the Inducton safely."
"Good idea." said Jack, touching her arm affectionately, then turning on his heel and walking smartly down the corridor.
"Sam?" said Daniel, interrupting her gaze. "What happened? Are you OK?"
"Oh yes, Daniel." she smiled back at him. "Very much so." She pulled the device away from her fingers and handed it back to him. "The Asgard told us that they had downloaded the Ancients' Library from Jack's mind, didn't they? Jack's been thinking that they left a few remnants of information there and that's why he keeps getting these dreams and headaches. But they were a little economical with the truth, as it turns out."
"In what way?"
"It's mostly still there, Daniel. They put a block in Jack's subconscious mind to stop him being incapacitated by information overload. His side-effects are the minimum they could get away with for the time being. When I touched Jack's head, it was like being tapped into an indexing computer set up for a library search. I only had to think of, oh, `keywords', as it were, and I was kind of receiving the data back almost instantly. The device is called an `Inducton' and it's several thousand years old. It's triggered only by the proximity of someone or something carrying the Ancients' data classification system."
"Why, that's terrific, Sam. Now we'll be able to......"
"No!" she responded vehemently. "Don't you see, it will put Jack exactly in the place he doesn't want to be - a trapped animal being used by anyone who wants to extract information from him. I'm not going to let that happen to him. Anyway, that's only one scary aspect - the other one affects me just as much."
"How?"
"I said that the device was several thousand years old. Yet it is uniquely coded to match the physical form of my hand, down to fingerprint detail level, and also to my DNA patterns. Explain that to me, Daniel, because frankly I'm scared."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 17 - And Now, The Stargate Show!
Jack didn't know how much longer he would be able to keep the seat next to him vacant for Sam's arrival. The briefing room was filled with TV people milling around, fussing with their equipment at one end, while current and former Generals, SG team leaders and members sat waiting at the other. He breathed a sigh of relief when she finally appeared, entering the room to a chorus of smiles and greetings from her former colleagues. Jack raised his eyebrow at the sight of her right hand, which was wrapped in a chunky white bandage. Others too looked on in concern.
"I scalded myself with some hot coffee in Daniel's lab." she explained. "The dressing will do for now. I'll get it checked out again later." But as Sam sat down, she briefly brushed the bandage against Jack's hand as it rested on the arm of the chair and he instantly felt the hard object she had concealed in her grasp. She settled in the chair and kept her hand out of sight below the table, and to her relief it dropped from everyone's attention - except Jack's, of course. He silently marvelled at his wife's acting talents as she concentrated on paying attention and responding to other people.
The major networks each had a senior presenter asking questions, and to the relief of all SGC members, the questions and discussions about the Earth's sudden awareness of other species and the incredible possibilities of the Stargate network took a welcome turn to the sane and the relevant. After two hours of sometimes quite intense questions and answers - lightened only by short breaks every fifteen minutes for the broadcast of advertisements - there was a general sense of relief amongst the military personnel that the ordeal was over.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
During the buffet lunch, Jack was never far from his wife's side, particularly as her apparent incapacity meant that he had to carry both their sandwiches and snacks on his plate. They waited for a moment of relative privacy before he broached the inevitable subject.
"So, what's with the subterfuge?" he asked quietly.
She leaned towards him as though they were sharing an intimate moment in the way that newlyweds do. "I can smuggle it out through the Stargate this afternoon but not out of the SGC when we go home later." she whispered. "The security scanners at the exit would pick it up. We'll get Teal'c or somebody on P4D-134 to deliver it back to us at home by alternative transport."
"But won't they notice it's gone?" asked Jack.
"From Daniel's lab? Are you kidding?" she smiled. "It'll take them a month of Sundays to locate where it should be. Anyway, Daniel switched the identity classification tag to something else, so it'll probably go down as a misfile." A large smile suddenly appeared on her face and she looked over Jack's shoulder as a familiar face approached. "Dr. Felger, good to see you again!"
"Oh, Major Carter, you don't know how much I've..... Er, we've missed you here." he gushed. "I was away on some God-awful planet - saving their asses, of course - until yesterday and I only just found out you were here. If you can spare the time this afternoon, I'd love to show you my latest masterpiece. It's software to die for, I can tell you."
"Just like before, eh, Felger?" said Jack in an acid tone.
"Please, Colonel, this is a whole new level of sophistication. Absolutely unbreakable code!" the self-styled genius insisted. "I'm sure that Major Carter would just love to....."
"Dr. Felger." said Sam firmly. "Jay. Slow down. First, I'm not a Major any more, second I'm not Carter any more, and third, we're accompanying some journalists through the Stargate this afternoon as part of the TV show. I'm sure your code is everything you say it is, or at least it will be one day, but save it for now, OK?"
"But it's such a breakthrough!" he continued enthusiastically. "Even Chloe thinks it's...... What did you say? What do you mean, not `Carter' any more? Oh no! You haven't? Really, tell me you haven't......." He paused and studied her left hand, not even noticing the currently much more prominent right. "Oh. Oh. Well, who have you gone and thrown away your life on? He'll never be good enough for you, you know."
"That would be me, Felger." said Jack in a quiet voice with an unmistakeable undertone of Schwarzenegger-style menace. "And that's a highly judgemental statement you've just made. Care to qualify it?"
"Er, well..... Oh, my! Just look at the time!" the scientist stuttered. "Well, good to see you, Colonel, Major Car..... Samantha..... Major O'Neill, no wait a minute, Mrs......"
"Goodbye, Jay." said Sam, putting him out of his misery by signalling the moment to leave.
"Any more of your past conquests or fan club left to fend off?" sighed Jack as he watched the genius moving away.
"Well, you never know." replied Sam, a note of amusement in her voice. "We've yet to deal with the off-worlders."
"Humph!" was his response. "Maybe you should get a bigger nametag." he added, gesturing towards the plastic card attached to her lapel.
"Seriously though, Jack." she continued. "Have you been in touch with your ex-wife since the news broke? I think you owe her an explanation."
"No, we lost contact quite a while back. But you're right; I should make the effort - if she wants to hear it, that is."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Now remember, ladies and gentlemen of the press, what we've told you about the effects of wormhole travel for your first time." said the SGC guide to the assembled party in the Gate Room. "It's nothing to be ashamed of to feel a little nauseous on arrival at the destination gate, and for those of you who do experience this momentary discomfort, just remember to move off to the right when you get there, and you'll be out of camera shot."
They were only half-listening, of course, being still in awe of the Gate activation process and the sight of the shimmering Event Horizon. Groups began to move forward, each media person being closely accompanied by a military one. On a premonition, Jack walked just behind Sam, slightly to her left as they ushered the representative of The New York Times up the ramp. The man hesitated nervously just before the Event Horizon, and Sam reassured him with a smile, extending her hand into the blue ripples so that it disappeared from view.
"Nothing to worry about now." she said. "These gates have been transporting people for tens of thousands of years, as far as we can tell. Just step forward." She held his elbow firmly and they walked forward together, with Jack only half a pace behind.
Neither had forgotten the experience of wormhole travel since their retirements, but nonetheless the element of surprise and wonder was still there. As they emerged onto the sumptuous landscape of P4D-134, known to the locals as `Haven', the NYT journalist laughed in astonishment at the unexpected sight, and also the fact that he felt quite well. Sam on the other hand was equally astonished at her sudden dizziness and wave of nausea, and did not resist as Jack instantly steered her towards a group of people out of camera shot who were obviously similarly afflicted. As she leaned forward, breathing heavily, he rubbed her back until she started to feel steady again.
"Oh, God. I'm sorry." she wheezed. "I really don't know why this is happening now."
"S'ok, dear." said Jack. "As soon as we find some time to ourselves, we need to talk about it."
"Why?" she asked. "It's just a temporary bout of travel-sickness. I'll get over it."
"If you say so. Hey! Look who's here to greet us." he said, gesturing towards two groups of people who'd been waiting for the circus to arrive.
Sam looked up, an expression of sheer delight appearing as she recognised Teal'c amongst the Jaffa party. They walked over, the cameras on them once more, and Jack grasped his great friend's outstretched forearm in the traditional greeting. They unashamedly embraced, but Jack stood back quickly so that Sam could give a more Earth-like greeting of a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, Teal'c!" she sighed. "How I've missed you! SG-1 was never the same after you went off to lead the free Jaffa. Is your son well?"
"He is a credit to me and all of our cause, MajorCarter." he replied with pride. "And I am pleased to see you looking so content. Is your hand badly injured, though?" Sam shook her head and carried on smiling at him, and so he continued, "I was truly upset to hear of your leaving the SGC. I trust you are now fit to face the challenges of our lives, and that your partner is proving worthy of you."
"I said you should get a bigger nametag, Carter." said Jack in exasperation. He waited for Teal'c to discover the item and held a steady expression as the Jaffa's face lost its traditional composure. Sam allowed herself to be hugged again, smiling at her friend's seeming inability to speak for the moment.
Teal'c moved back and held her shoulders at arms length, before looking to Jack and shaking his hand again. "No false God brought this to be." he said. "I am overwhelmed with happiness at your joining. It is long overdue. Is your firstborn's time of arrival known yet?"
"Teal'c!" said Sam in shock. "We're being filmed! That's not the kind of question to ask at a time like this. We haven't even decided what to do about that yet, even if it does prove possible, have we, Jack?"
"Er, no, not really." Jack mumbled, suddenly finding interest in anything that might be around them. To his instant relief, a familiar figure was nearing them, but his gratification lessened as he remembered Jacob Carter's last words to them months before at the cabin.
"Hi, Sammie." he said joyfully, embracing her. "Jack! It's good to see you too." he added, shaking his hand warmly. "And before you say anything, I owe both of you a sincere apology for our last meeting. I'm truly happy for you both, really. What have you done to your hand, Sam?"
"Just remember that Mark doesn't know about you yet." she whispered into her father's ear. Be careful how you phrase it."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The media were in ecstasy at the sight and sound of Earthmen and aliens meeting like old friends. However commentators as usual refused to allow the viewers back on Earth to hear the actual conversations taking place, and filled the ether with their own verbosity.
"Now these people are *not* Goo-ar-oold." announced one. "The Tow-kra are our allies, carrying rebel symbiotes and fighting alongside our brave troops."
"...... the Jaffa are a noble warrior race, somewhat old-fashioned in their outlook by our standards....." said another.
"...... visible alien support for us is bound to have a positive effect on bond prices, especially tech stocks....." stated the man from The Wall Street Journal.
"...... and who knows what kind of athletes from other worlds could be signed up for the next NFL draft...." drawled the USA Today correspondent.
"We told you so years ago!" cried the National Enquirer editor and chief compositor. "They didn't believe us then......"
"..... and a hush falls as we await the arrival of the Asgard, the `little grey men' of Roswell fame. They are reported to be so technologically advanced that it's difficult to believe that they should choose to communicate with humankind at all." droned the CNN reporter. "We know that they have a high respect for former Colonel Jack O'Neill in particular, and regard him as a kind of ambassador for Earth. Ah! We've been told to expect them to *beam down* like they do in Star Trek, and ladies and gentlemen! Here they are now! Stand by for the official greetings from both sides."
The cameras showed three Asgard appearing in the midst of the melee in a burst of white light. Silence followed as the front figure spoke.
"Greetings, O'Neill and Major Car...... O'Neill." said Thor, his limpid gaze taking in everything and captivating all the first-timers. He noticed Sam's bandaged hand and his eyes opened even wider.
"Thor, old buddy, you rat!" said Jack. "How about we demonstrate the Asgard transport system one more time for everyone? Like right now?"
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Chapter 18 - Knowledge
A simple glance from Thor was enough to signal to the other two Asgard that they should continue with the greeting ceremony. How well they carried that off was unknown to Sam and Jack, whose next awareness of reality was the fading of the white light that had engulfed them. The grey familiarity of the deck of an Asgard cruiser had replaced the lush scenery of the planet, and the spectacular view from orbit through the wall-sized portal momentarily took their attention away from their host. Sam felt pleased with the fact that at least this form of transportation was not accompanied by motion sickness.
"You have discovered your Inducton." said Thor in a steady voice. "It is unfortunate that your actions have preceded our plans to advise you on its existence and use."
Jack noticed Sam's clumsy attempts to undo the bandage with her free hand and moved to assist her. "Unfortunate?" he said harshly. "I'll tell you what other *unfortunate* things keep happening. I thought I could trust you......"
"Jack!" Sam interrupted in the wifely voice that she knew would stop him in his tracks. "Shut up and let me explain." The meaningful glare that she gave him took his breath away, and he remained silent. She turned to their alien friend as the bandage fell to the floor, revealing the instrument in her grasp.
"You led Jack to believe that the Ancients' knowledge had been mostly removed from his mind, didn't you?" she continued. "Whereas in reality the majority of the data is still intact."
Thor responded with a nod. "Yes." he stated simply. "We could find no way of preserving his human sanity and identity otherwise. We placed a neuronal block in the synapses that control his subconscious self-awareness so that he could continue to function as a man. This can never be removed."
"Well, I got news for you." said Jack. "It leaks. And at fairly regular intervals, it hurts as well. A lot."
"O'Neill, I am truly sorry for your condition." replied Thor. "We may be able to alleviate the pain a little, but we cannot further alter your brain without severe consequences. It is beyond our capabilities to do so."
"This instrument." stated Sam, raising her hand slightly. "If I let go of it now, Jack will collapse merely from its proximity. Can you stop that?"
"That is easy to do." replied Thor, extending his hand towards hers. Jack involuntarily stepped back as the instrument passed from her hand to his, but was surprised when nothing untoward happened to him. "We will teach you to use it with precision while you are here, Samantha O'Neill."
"Just call me `Sam'" she smiled. "But I need to know above all - why is something thousands of years old attuned to me at the fingerprint and DNA level, and contoured to fit Jack's skull so closely?"
"I've guessed that one!" said Jack, looking at the alien. "You took our personal details during one of our visits on board an Asgard ship and programmed the doohickey to our profiles. Then you pulled one of your time-travel tricks to send it back in history to The Ancients, right?"
Thor stared at him for a few moments. "An ingenious theory, O'Neill." he said softly. "And unfortunately, quite wrong. The Asgard have never manufactured nor programmed such a device. They were in existence before the beginnings of our recorded history, which as you know is extensive. We cannot explain this, except to speculate along the lines of closed-loop space-time or predestiny."
Sam stared open-mouthed at him, and unconsciously reached for her husband's hand. Jack struggled for a reply appropriate to his situation as the world's most unwittingly knowledgeable man.
"D'oh!" he uttered at last.
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Some two and a half hours later in Earth elapsed time, Senator Kinsey was in his element, shaking hands with each SGC member and media presenter as they reappeared through the Stargate on level 28. His politician's synthetic smile never wavered the whole time that the cameras were running, except when Jaffa and the Tok'ra delegations merely bowed in greeting, their solemn faces being suddenly matched by his. TV viewers might have noticed a glimmer of uncertainty in his expression when the two Asgard emerged, but as usual he carried off the occasion.
The wormhole flickered shut, to be replaced almost instantly by a white sparkling light that deposited Thor and the O'Neill's at the top of the ramp. "Wow! Beam me up, Scotty! Was that a great broadcasting moment or what?" cried the CBS correspondent, demonstrating yet again that decorum had never been high on the list of media study subjects.
The Senator tensed as the three approached him, but was surprised and relieved when Jack simply shook his hand and moved on, while Sam briefly showed him her bandaged right hand and similarly walked past. They both seemed to have far-away looks on their faces. He couldn't tell from Thor's impassive face exactly what the alien was thinking, but smiled anyway as the Asgard leader moved on to join the throng in the Gate Room.
As the Senator's speech to the assembly and the world droned on, Sam and Jack unobtrusively worked their way to the exit and disappeared from the Gate Room without being noticed, except by Jacob Carter and the sentry at the door. Jack nodded briefly to him, recognising the Marine sergeant from years past. The faintest of movements of the man's eyelid in response was a sign of respect between the two of them.
The O'Neill's found their way back to Daniel's lab, where the good Doctor was immersed in a strange script on the monitor. He looked up briefly as they entered, his glance going immediately to Sam's still-bandaged hand.
"Mission accomplished." she smiled at him. "It's amazing, the people who do home deliveries these days."
"Good." replied Daniel. "Er, did you find out about the DNA match as well?"
"Yes and no." said Sam. "The fact that the Asgard didn't have a hand in it is spooky, to say the least. We'll let you know as soon as we get more background from actually using it."
"So, do you plan to start as soon as you get home, then?" asked Daniel, his curiosity peaking.
"All in good time, Daniel. All in good time." said Jack quietly. "There are a few things Sam and I need to discuss first."
"But......"
"But nothing, Daniel" Jack insisted, overriding his wife's desire to say something. "I can't consciously access the data without blowing an overload fuse, and I'm going to make damned sure that you don't go the same way, Sam. And don't look at me like that. I know what you're like with bits of new technology."
Jack's favourite expression from `The Simpsons' rolled through her mind, but Sam couldn't quite bring herself to say it out loud - well, not just yet, anyway.
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She was glad that they'd decided to take a rental car and travel back to Minnesota by road the next day, despite the length of the journey. Another bout of air sickness was the last thing she wanted. They had both fallen asleep like logs in General Hammond's guest room last night despite, or perhaps because of the day's revelations.
Jack had been unusually quiet on the journey back, not participating in her speculations about their new abilities, except to insist that they should carry out their original intentions of disseminating information slowly to the world at large, just as if she were still recording his dreams and taking notes from them. Sam had argued that the world shouldn't be kept waiting, but found that he was implacable on the subject. She couldn't understand why he kept telling her to wait until they got home before discussing it in more detail.
It was nearly midnight when they finally pulled into the drive of their `new' house, parking behind the truck. Their friend Jimmy opened the door to them when he saw who was getting out of the strange car, but neither made more than a few steps towards the house before two ecstatic dogs launched themselves in greeting. They stooped to make a fuss of the barking and whining animals and eventually made it through the front door.
Jimmy refused the offer of staying in the guest room for another night, so Jack drove him home while Sam unpacked their travel bag and carried on making a fuss of their besotted animals. She had fresh coffee waiting for him when he returned - neither seemed to be affected in their sleeping habits by late-night caffeine consumption.
They finally sat down together in the centre of the large sofa in the lounge, each with a dog beside them already curling up to sleep - after checking that biscuits were not available, of course.
"So?" asked Sam. The familiarity and multiple meanings of that word between the two of them eliminated the need for explanations of the next topic. Jack finished sipping his coffee and put it down on the small table in front of them, taking her cup and placing it alongside his. He leaned back, his left arm reaching round her shoulders and his free hand taking her now-unbandaged right.
"I don't want you to overdo the contact with my head for two reasons." he started. "One, because I wouldn't know what to do if you overdosed on data and suffered as a result, like I did before the Asgard *fixed* me."
"I promise to go carefully." Sam replied. "Nothing's without risk, though. But I will take care. What's the other reason?"
"Well, you know what Thor said about `nurturing future genetic matter' before your expanded mental state starts to affect your health and behaviour......" Jack continued carefully.
"And I told him that we hadn't even discussed having children yet, even if it proves possible." she responded, nodding her head.
Jack took a deep breath and squeezed her hand. "We've already started, Sam."
"What?"
"You're pregnant."
"What?!"
"Expecting. Heavy with child. In the pudding club. Up the spout. Got a bun in the oven. Eating for two. Up the duff......"
"But I can't be! How do you know anyway?"
"Just a feeling. Plus I noticed the same signs in you that I did when Sara was first expecting Charlie. You've been more easily upset than is normal for you, despite what we've been through these last few days, not to mention the travel sickness."
"That's hardly scientific proof! I'll need to get a test done."
"By all means."
The realisation began to sink in. Sam couldn't help looking down at her stomach, and suddenly the significance of their joined hands struck her. Confusion; concern; fright; hope; joy - all ran through her psyche simultaneously. She looked up to find Jack grinning stupidly at her. She couldn't resist smiling and then grinning back at him, and turned to embrace him. How long they stayed like that, she couldn't remember afterwards. But she did recall spending a long time staring at herself in the mirror before getting into bed, and holding on to Jack long after he had fallen asleep beside her.
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Late spring became early summer, and the warmer weather found the world's two most encyclopaedic people strolling along the lakeshore near their cabin. Her waistline was beginning to fill her new, looser clothes, while his hair seemed a little lighter than last year. They talked and laughed and worried and discussed and laughed some more, and worried again. Anyone watching would have noticed how close a couple they were, but would never have realised just how transcendental that closeness was.
Two dogs ran through the trees and the undergrowth, frequently returning to check on their humans. They played and investigated and played some more, confident of the reality that the two people they loved would feed them and love them in return throughout their whole canine lives.
And who was to say which was the more intelligent species? Not me.
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