-- JANET --
The day was in complete contrast to the look on the faces around me. Blue sky smiled warmly over the small group of mourners. I looked over at my friends as I watched the polished wood coffin being lowered into the ground. The anguish I saw etched on their faces was heartbreaking. Noticing a flash of moving colour in the corner of my eye, I glanced over. I almost gasped out loud when I recognised the woman's face, but controlled my expressions remarkably well, even if I do say so myself. What the hell is she doing here? What nerve! It's almost the penultimate up-yours. Of course, she'd never be reprimanded for her actions because her claims of self-defense could neither be confirmed nor denied, but we all know it's her fault we're here today. Suppressing a scowl, I glanced back at my friends. They were ignorant of her appearance, and I was sure as hell going to keep it that way. My mind drifted back to the woman. Her arrival at the SGC was effectively the beginning of today's end, but I suppose to explain it properly I need to go back further...
~*~
Several months earlier.
-- SAM --
"Have a good downtime?" Janet smiled at me as I walked into the infirmary.
"Great. I just came by to return this," I said as I produced a book I'd borrowed from her before the weekend.
"You read all this in 2 days?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"No reason. Nice ring by the way," she added.
"What?" I glanced down at my hands and noticed the silver band adorning the ring finger of my right hand. Damn. I'd forgotten to take it off. Now she'll interrogate me about it. I'd been wearing it last week, and had been debating with myself last night about whether or not to continue to wear the ring at work, but hadn't given it a thought since. Well it's not like I'm wearing an engagement ring or anything; it's just a ring. And on my right hand at that. Oh hell, who am I trying to convince? Myself? It's not *just* a ring - it's just not an engagement ring, that's all. But Janet doesn't need to know any of that. Not yet anyway.
"Nice ring. Where'd you get it? I've noticed it before - I just never got around to asking."
"Where'd I get it?" Oh shit. I can't tell her the truth... I'm not quite ready for that yet. "Um... my brother gave it to me." Lame, Sam, very lame.
"What?" she snorted, staring at me suspiciously. "Just like that? For no reason at all?"
"It's for my birthday," I lied, mentally crossing my fingers.
"You and I both know it's not even close to your birthday - the last one or the next one." Damn. "Come on, out with it. Who really gave it to you?"
"The truth?" There's no chance in hell she's going to get the truth out of me today.
"The truth." She stared at me intently while my mind searched for another excuse.
"Ok, I bought it." Yeah, I know. I might as well have hung a glowing neon sign from the roof that screamed *liar*.
"Right. So, you're going to play it like this? Ok, where'd you buy it?"
"Well... I don't remember." Oh good one Sam! You don't remember? Like she's ever going to believe that!
"Sam, that ring is new. *New* new! If you're trying to tell me you have a bad memory you know I won't believe it."
I squirmed under her relentless gaze. I wonder what it would take to get someone to walk in. I'll pray, I'll beg, I'll do anything. Please, oh, please let someone come in.
"Um... I..."
"Sam!" she blurted at me exasperatedly. "Where'd you really get it?"
"Where'd she get what?" I heard a familiar voice ask.
Damn it. I know I asked for someone to walk in but please couldn't it have been someone *else*! Anyone else! I'm not that fussy. Just someone else! I glared over my shoulder at the owner of the voice - Jack. He probably knew damn well what we were talking about.
"That ring," filled in Janet.
"Which ring would that be?" he asked looking at me innocently. Too innocently. Way too innocently. Janet was sure to smell a rat.
I held out my right hand towards Jack so he could 'inspect' the ring, at the same time sending him a look that clearly said 'I am *not* amused'.
After a moment Jack reiterated Janet's question. "So, where'd you get it?" Bastard.
"Well... I uh... " My eyes began to dart around the room, looking for a distraction, and ended exactly up where they had started - on Jack. "Did you want something?" I blurted out desperately.
He grinned at me. "Now what would make you think I would come looking for you here?" I shrugged weakly. "Actually I did come here looking for you, considering you weren't in your lab, your quarters, the control room, or anywhere else I can usually find you. We have a mission briefing."
I arched my eyebrow at him. We weren't supposed to be going off-world for another few days. "Since when?"
"Since now."
-- JACK --
I stood back and indicated to Sam that I'd follow her from the room. She gave me yet another disapproving glance as she passed by me and into the corridor. I don't know whether she thinks I can't read them, or if she's just *really* pissed off at something. Hmm, probably something I did or *didn't* do again. You know, life would be so much easier if I knew what I'd done *before* she started to chew me out. Maybe then I wouldn't have to scrounge for some form of defense.
"Don't wait up or anything, Carter," I called.
She stopped dead in front of me and it was all I could do not to run into her. Not that running into her was *bad*, because that constituted physical contact, and that was *good*. However, I didn't want to push my luck when I was obviously *not* in her good books. When she gets mad she can go all out, and I *really* didn't want to start my week like that. "You know, you *could* have acted just a *little* more ignorant. What are you trying to do anyway? Inform the *whole* base before lunch? I thought we..."
"We agreed to keep it quiet," I interrupted. "I know all that. I was part of that decision, remember? I was just playing along."
"Well you could have been a *little* more discreet, Jack. Janet's not stupid; she'll pick up on your innocent act."
"Ah, we're on base remember, *Carter*. You're the one who wanted to keep this under wraps. You *never* call me Jack, remember?" Uh oh. I mentally steeled myself for her reply. Wrong thing to say Jack old buddy.
"God, Jack. Do you have to be such an *asshole* all the time?" She turned swiftly on her heel and began to walk off.
I moved to keep up with her and put my hand on her shoulder, pulling her to face me. "Oh come on, Carter. Coming from you that hurts." I made an injured face and put forward my best effort of pouting at her.
She shrugged off my hand and started to walk again. "Grow up, Jack." This time she didn't even bother to turn around.
I rolled my eyes and followed her to the briefing room. It's gonna be a long day. I just hope like hell that Hammond doesn't send us off world until she's cooled off a little.
-- DANIEL --
I hate it when they fight. It just means that I have to play mediator not only inter-planentarily, but between them as well. I swear they do it to make my life difficult. Well, maybe that's not really the situation, but I'm sure Jack has thought about it at one time or another.
I watch them walk into the briefing room. Ok, *walk* may be wishful thinking. Sam stalks in and nods at Teal'c and I, while Jack just looks as though he's trying to keep up with her. I don't know what he did this time, but I'm betting it's not good. General Hammond sent him to look for Sam not five minutes ago and he's *already* in trouble. If we're going to be sent off-world those two are *so* not going to be fun to have around.
As if on command they both stop dead in front of the table. When we have mission briefings, we generally sit in the same places; Jack and Sam sit on one side of General Hammond with Teal'c and I on the other. It's kind of an unspoken agreement between us - a tradition, almost. But today they take a look at the arrangement and you can see the tension. Sam pauses for a moment, but shrugs and sits tentatively in the chair in front of her. Jack follows her lead. I glance over at General Hammond. He couldn't possibly have missed the obvious feeling of unease that settled over the room upon their entrance. Well, whatever he thought, he's not showing it, but I'm sure Jack will hear something about it later, being CO and all.
"Ok. Now that we're all here I'll begin." The General sat forward in his chair. "I called this briefing because of some data one of the probes sent back. I realise that you weren't due to go off-world for another few days, but this is pretty routine, and you probably all need an easy assignment. The UAV showed no Gou'ald presence, and there was evidence of ruins in the distance."
"So, just let me get the point here," Jack interrupted. "You want *us* to go through the Gate and..."
"Ooh, how very observant of you," cut in Sam. Wow. She must be really mad. It's not like her to cut people off like that. That remark is *not* going to appreciated by either Jack *or* the General. Sam must have realised the same thing because she immediately looked down at the table.
Jack turned around to face her as the General spoke. "Major..."
"Sir?" began Jack. "I'll take care of it." He looked questioningly at General Hammond as Sam continued her unfaltering examination of the tabletop.
"Very well," said the General.
Jack turned his attention back to Sam. "*Major* Carter, did you have something you wanted to add?"
Sam tore her gaze away from the table and onto Jack. "No."
"Sorry?"
Whoa. Cold.
Without so much as faltering or breaking eye contact, Sam amended her response. "No, *sir*."
"Good," Jack said, "because I wasn't finished." He broke the connection and looked at the General. "Sir I *was* saying that you wanted us to Gate there and what? Stand around while Daniel does his *thing*?"
My *thing*? What the hell's that supposed to mean. I looked towards the General to gauge his reaction, and caught him restraining a twitching lip. Great. It's nice to know you're appreciated.
"Something to that effect, yes. However if there's going to be a problem," he continued, looking between Sam and Jack, "I'd rather know about it *now*, than to deal with it after some kind of showdown. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," they both replied, Sam looking a little like a small child who *knew* they'd done something wrong and was waiting for the punishment to be meted out.
"Well, *is* there a problem?"
There was a double "No, sir".
"Good. Please keep it that way. I will see you in the Gate for departure at 1100 hours. I shall expect your return in forty-eight hours. Dismissed." I slowly let out a breath but it appeared General Hammond hadn't finished yet. "Doctor Jackson, I'd like you to remain behind for a moment, please."
I nodded vaguely at him and watched Sam, Jack and Teal'c rise. I looked up at Teal'c imploringly, hoping he'd keep an eye on them. He nodded slightly at me before exiting the room on Sam and Jack's tail.
I turned back to General Hammond. "General?"
"I was hoping you could fill me in on the problem."
"Umm... I don't actually know," I said.
"Well, keep an eye on them anyway."
I nodded slowly and he stood up and left the room. Sighing, I put my forehead down on the table. Why me?
-- TEAL'C --
Major Carter arrived at the locker room first. This gave me an opportunity to detain Colonel O'Neill. I do not know what his argument with Major Carter is about, nor do I know where blame should be laid. I do know General Hammond was displeased due to the aforementioned disagreement.
"O'Neill, you and Major Carter are in the midst of a large dispute," I noted to him.
"Ya think, Teal'c?"
After three years of serving alongside O'Neill I have begun to recognise sarcasm when I hear it. I believe a human expression for his statement is 'dripping with sarcasm'. However I do not understand how words can be wet.
"I do. Perhaps you need to apologise to her. Daniel Jackson told me that may assist you in remedying the situation."
"Daniel told you that *today*?"
"No. I do believe it was during a previous dispute."
O'Neill made no intelligible response. Sometimes he is extremely moody. I do believe now is one of those times.
I could not think of a statement that may help the current situation, so I seated myself on the floor beside O'Neill. We remained as such until Daniel Jackson ran around the corner.
"Uh, hi guys." Daniel Jackson paused to regain his composure. I believe the Tau'ri expression is to catch one's breath. The people of this world have many strange expressions which I may never fully comprehend. This is one of them.
I acknowledged his presence with a nod. "Daniel Jackson."
O'Neill remained silent.
Daniel Jackson gestured towards the closed locker room door. "Is Sam in... Right." He paused. "Teal'c, can I see you for a moment." I followed him several paces down the corridor before he turned to face me. "We need to keep them split up at least until we leave."
"I concur, Daniel Jackson."
"Well... how about you stay with Jack. He's, um, less likely to do anything... *irrational*... if you follow him like a shadow. I'll try and get some sense out of Sam."
"Very well. Daniel Jackson, what is the meaning of 'follow like a shadow'?"
"Um... I'll explain it to you later. Just stay with Jack."
I nodded and walked back to my position against the wall, next to O'Neill.
Daniel Jackson knocked on the locker room door. "Sam? Are you ok in there?"
The door burst open, knocking him sideways, and Major Carter walked past him. "God Daniel, stop treating me like a child. I *can* look after myself you know." Spinning around, Major Carter glimpsed O'Neill beside me on the floor. "Oh, just leave me alone." Daniel Jackson opened his mouth to say something but Major Carter stopped him. "No, Daniel. *No*. I'm not talking to *him*, or anyone else for that matter. Just get out of my *way*!" She marched past us, Daniel Jackson quickly following her.
"Teal'c!" he called to me as he reached to corner. "Just grab some of my stuff and take it with you."
I do believe it did not occur to him that I have no key for his locker. Perhaps he will remember later.
Sometimes he can be decidedly forgetful.
-- SAM --
Sometimes Daniel can be a blessing, other times a curse. This is *definitely* one of the latter. I mean, hasn't he ever *heard* of the idea that sometimes people need *space*. Right now would be one of those times. I don't know what he thinks he's going to accomplish by trailing me around the base. At this rate, all he's going to have when we Gate out are the clothes on his back.
I don't know whether Jack was intending to be downright *annoying* earlier, but at the moment I don't really want to *talk* to him so I can find out. I respect the fact that he probably thought he was being *funny* or something, and I can live with that, it's just that Janet can smell a rat faster than anyone I've ever known.
We've been able to keep our relationship under wraps for nearly a month now. Of course, that has to do with the fact that everyone on base has been unusually busy for the last two weeks, and as a result, we haven't had nearly as much time as usual to *socialise* with Daniel, Teal'c or Janet. That gave Jack and I some time and space to develop our relationship a little, which is something I think we needed. I've never been good with relationships and transitions, and I think we just needed to set our boundaries.
Boundaries. Hmm. We'd discussed boundaries over the weekend. SG-1 had been on downtime for the past five days and Jack and I had spent most of the weekend at his place, in bed. We'd, or perhaps *I'd* decided, to keep our relationship away from work, and, for the time being, *away* from Daniel, Teal'c and Janet. Oh, sure, we'll tell them eventually, but I think it's better this way. The fewer the people who know about *us*, the less the chance that someone would accidentally spill the beans.
Anyway, my problem with Jack is that sometimes he can say something and apparently not mean it. It's not like I asked him to maim, kill and destroy for me; nothing has changed from the past few weeks. But he couldn't just stick with that, could he now? No. He had to act *completely* over the top in front of Janet this morning. He *had* to practically announce with huge glowing letters that we were involved *against* protocol, against regulations.
I stormed into my quarters, habitually reached for the door and swung it shut. Well, almost. Today it just whacked Daniel square on the nose. Of course, being Daniel, he mumbled something as he stumbled backwards and fell over.
"Geez, Daniel, would you *stop* following me around? Now see what happened." I walked over to him and helped him up.
"Well it's not like you didn't know I was there." He adjusted his glasses and followed me successfully into my quarters.
"Would you *please* just go away? I have things to do and I *don't* want to talk to you."
Ignoring me completely, he stood stubbornly in the doorway. "Obviously there's a problem between you and Jack, and I'd prefer not to deal with it off-world. Surprisingly enough, I *don't* always find it fun to mediate when something goes wrong." He shrugged slightly. "Look, all I'm saying is maybe you should talk to him. You can't turn around and say there isn't a problem, because it's *very* out of character for you to... uh... speak out... as you did before. Well, particularly in front of General Hammond. I just think it's better to say something now, because you *will* have to at least talk to each other off-world..."
"Oh, for crying out loud, Daniel, would you just *go*!" Whoops. Did I just say what I think I did? And will he actually pick up on it?
Daniel frowned at me. "What did you just say?"
Uh oh, he noticed. "Um... go away?"
"No no no... before that. You said 'for crying out loud'."
Ok, time to play evasive female and *try* really, really hard to confuse him. Easier said than done sometimes. "Did I? Well, would you look at that, I've finally picked up bad habits from that *bastard* after three years here."
Daniel took a step backwards and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Oh... you're... you're not... are you?"
"What?"
"You're sleeping with him!" he accused.
-- DANIEL --
I *can't* believe they didn't tell us. The four of us are like a family, and Janet's her best friend, but nobody knew. Oh, sure, we'd all been betting on how long it would take them to get on with it, but we all thought we would just *know*. Either that or they would tell us. Boy were we wrong.
According to Sam, they'd been together for nearly a month now. A month! How could we have not picked up on it? How could Jack keep his mouth shut for that long? And why didn't they tell us?
"We just wanted to keep it quiet for a while, Daniel, that's all. It's not like I want *every* little detail of my private life being broadcast around the base."
"But we're your *friends*. How could you not tell us?" Ok, I *know* I sound a lot like a spoiled brat child right now, but I just can't believe it. I feel insignificant, unimportant. I feel like I'm back at school where I was *always* the last kid to find out *anything* worth knowing - the end of the grapevine, so to speak.
"It's my life, Daniel. I can make my own decisions about things and not tell you everything. Just leave it. You know now. Hell, you're the only one who knows, even though Janet probably suspects something after Jack's display earlier."
Jack's what earlier? What did Jack do earlier? Hmm, gossip. "What display earlier?"
Sam closed her eyes for a moment. Just spit it out Sam, I urged mentally, you can do it. She sighed and held up her right hand. "I went to see Janet earlier and she asked about this." Wow. Nice ring. I wonder if Jack managed to pick that out all by himself. "Jack came in," she continued, "and she asked him about it..."
"Wait a second, I thought you said she *didn't* know about you two?"
"She doesn't," Sam said exasperatedly. "He came in, she asked him about the ring, he played Mr I'm-So-Innocent-I-Know-Nothing, and then we left for the briefing before she could ask anything else."
Hold it. I'm still confused. "But that doesn't explain you being so mad at him?"
"I asked him about it on the way, he used the keeping-it-quiet excuse. He just joked about it, as if it didn't matter much. *That's* why I'm mad at him."
"Oh." All right, I know it was a stupid response, but it was all I could think of to say.
"Look, it doesn't matter right now. We have to go, remember?" Sam looked at her watch. "Shit, we're late. Come on." She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out the door.
-- JACK --
I hate it when people are late. We're due to leave at 1100 hours - exactly 3 minutes from now. I prefer my team to be fully prepared before we leave, and as a result, SG-1 has an unspoken rule that we meet in the Gate room 10 minutes before departure. Today, however, Teal'c is the only member of SG-1 present, and that's probably because he's been following *me*. I can understand Daniel being late, but as scatterbrained as he is, even he usually manages to be punctual for these meetings. Sam is another matter. She may do the absent-minded professor thing *very* occasionally, but she's never late. Never.
Or so I thought. I thought I knew her well. Very well, in fact. But today she has surprised me a couple of times already, and the day is still young. I can understand her reaction to me being what could only be described as my 'usual stupid self', but that would be about it. I didn't understand her outburst in the mission briefing earlier; it's certainly never something she's done before. And I don't understand her holding a grudge because she's never really done that either. Sam is usually the person who stops *me* from continually resenting past transgressions. Then there's this - the 'Miss Punctuality turned bad' act.
For about a month now we've been *involved* involved. Until now I thought that meant I knew her well. Really well. I was wrong. Go figure. So maybe I don't know every tiny eency-weency detail of her life starting with the moment of conception up until this exact second, but you would never have been able to convince me I *didn't* know her well. She's my friend, my colleague, my lover. My confidante, my confidence, and in a way, my savior.
"Shall I look for Major Carter and Daniel Jackson?"
What? I'm trying to think here. Oh, yeah. Teal'c. "Um, no just stay put. They'll turn up eventually." Or I'll be *really* pissed off. Scratch that. I already am.
"Very well."
Damn I hate it how he *never* gets worked up over anything. The guy's as solemn as a damn funeral director or something.
"Sorry we're late sir, we were, uh..."
I spun around to face my very tardy teammates. "Save it Carter," I snapped. "You're late, and we have to go." I looked up at General Hammond in the control room, and he nodded to the airman operating the computer.
I watched as the chevrons on the Gate engaged and locked. As the wormhole appeared I heard "SG-1 you have a go" from the General. Without looking back I strode up the platform and into the event horizon.
Later...
I hate sand just about as much as I hate people being late. Sand gets into *everything*. It sticks in your clothes, your hair, your weapons and food. How come all these planets are either forest or sand. It's repetitive, not to mention boring and, well, boring. I swear I've seen enough sand for a lifetime. Well, today I saw a little more, because courtesy of one of my *adorable* teammates, I've landed face first in it. Thanks guys. Thank you very much.
"Carter! What the *hell* are you doing?"
"Sorry sir. Daniel tripped and landed on me which..."
"Which means what? You can't manage to stand on your own two feet either?" I stood up and attempted to brush some of the sand off me. Damn stuff.
"Sir, I..."
"*What*, Carter?" I glared at her. All right, I was probably being childish and unreasonable, but she started it.
"Oh fuck you, sir." She turned on her heel and marched off.
"Dammit Carter. You get back here *right* now." Out of the corner of my eye I could see Teal'c raising his eyebrow and Daniel staring openly. She didn't even look back. If there's one thing I won't put up with it's disrespect. I will *not* have my authority undermined. "Carter. We are moving in the *other* direction. You can choose to participate in this mission and I may consider letting your behavior slide, or you can be reported once back on base. Do you understand me?"
She turned around and looked me in the eye. "Since when did I say I was *not* participating in this mission, sir?"
Hmm, women. "Fine. Just as long as we understand each other." I turned back to Daniel and Teal'c. I'll be damned if Daniel doesn't look like a dead fish right now. "Ok guys. Let's get moving."
Later...
"Look, Jack. I'm sure they're around here somewhere."
"Look, *Daniel*. We've been walking around for a couple of hours and we *haven't* found these mystical ruins you keep babbling about. If we *don't* find them very soon, we're not gonna keep looking. Kapeesh?"
Daniel frowned at me. "I realise that you and Sam are in the middle of some problem at the moment, but..."
"But what? Nothing. And you wanna know why? Two reasons, Daniel. One, it's none of your goddamn business. Two, I'm sick and tired of wandering around looking for something that isn't gonna be there!"
Sick of arguing with Daniel, I turned away from him and walked towards the crest of a nearby sand dune. I must admit I was a little surprised by what I saw, but the soldier in me won out. I dropped to the ground to help conceal my presence, and motioned to the others. Some... *something* had set up a nice *little* compound absolutely *swarming* with heavily armed Jaffa. This was *so* not in the brochure I was given.
"Goddamn it," I muttered as Carter and Teal'c readied their weapons. "This was supposed to be a quiet little stroll." I turned to Carter. "I thought there weren't any signs of Gou'ald activity on this planet." See, I can be civil.
"There weren't, sir." And apparently so can she.
"Well there's too many of them and not *nearly* enough of us, so I say we split." I slid down the dune and stood up. "Ok, Daniel. We're leaving. Now."
The four of us made our way back to the Gate with no problems and no sign that we'd been spotted or followed, but as Daniel began dialing the address I heard fire from behind me. Spinning around, I spotted the offender. What a surprise. Possibly a Jaffa from the compound. Surely there would be only one of those camps on this planet? I let out some retaliatory fire, and after a few exchanges he fell. Next to me, Teal'c had easily picked off a second adversary.
Upon hearing the wormhole engage, and satisfied that there were no more hostiles nearby, I turned around. What I saw was the crumpled bloodied form of Carter, face down in the sand.
-- GENERAL HAMMOND --
In a way I've gotten used to seeing SG-1 come home battered, bruised and broken. In a way I never will. There have been plenty of times when at least one of them have returned from a mission infected, infested or just plain injured, so to many people around here, the SG-1 iris code means alert the medical team. Today is no exception.
As soon as it was known that SG-1 were on their way home, Doctor Frasier and her team of medicos assembled in the Gate room. Three blobs appeared in the event horizon and deposited first Doctor Jackson, then Teal'c, and finally O'Neill carrying a crumpled Carter.
O'Neill's first action was to call and gesture for the aforementioned medical team. His face wore the same expression that mine wore the day that I found out my eldest daughter had had an accident in my car. Pure worry. Of course there's a difference between the two. My worry was for a child, O'Neill's over... well, it's hard to define their relationship. I do know one thing though - I swear people on this base think I'm blind. I'm as aware of the situation as the next person, it's just I *usually* have the common courtesy not to gossip. Sure, there have been the odd occasions when I've been 'filled in' by one of my subordinates, but it's *not* a regular occurrence.
But I digress. Jackson observed cautiously from the side of the ramp as Doctor Frasier led a trolley carrying Carter out of the room, closely followed by a frowning O'Neill. When the party had departed, Jackson glanced first to a stoical Teal'c, and then up to the window at which I stood. Deciding now would be as good a time as any to get their account of events, I moved towards the staircase leading into the embarkation room. Teal'c and Jackson met me at the bottom.
"Doctor Jackson, what in blazes happened out there?"
"Well, uh, we were looking for the ruins shown by the UAV, which according to the data seemed to have some kind of Mayan origin, possibly from a similar time as when..."
Irked by his ramblings I simply raised my eyebrows at him.
"Oh, sorry." He blushed slightly. "We, uh, wandered around for a while, no signs of the ruins, no signs of anything. The dunes were untracked, kind of as if we'd been preceded by a sandstorm. Then Jack said we were going back. I didn't exactly see what he saw, but I don't think it was good. He..."
"General Hammond," started Teal'c. "There was a large encampment of Jaffa beyond the dune - it appeared to be some kind of training camp. However, even should all those present be unskilled, they were still plentiful. It was not worth risking detection."
"Thank you, Teal'c. So what happened to Major Carter?"
Jackson started first. "Well, we made it the Stargate and Jack told me to dial home. There were weapons fired from somewhere behind me, and by the time I turned around, Sam was... uh... shot."
"So you *didn't* see anything?"
"Uh, no."
I sighed. He could fill a novel with ramblings about nothing. "Teal'c?"
"There were two Jaffa, possibly belonging to the encampment we found earlier. Colonel O'Neill shot one; I shot the other. It was then we turned and noticed Major Carter. She appeared to have been wounded by both attackers."
"Thank you, Teal'c. You can both go clean up now. If either of you see Colonel O'Neill, would you inform him I'll need to see him later," I added.
"Um, yeah," murmured Jackson absently.
Teal'c tilted his head slightly. I can't understand how he never shows *any* emotion. There has to be *something* that will break him, surely. Of course, it *can* be a great advantage to have a warrior who doesn't let anything slip non-verbally.
After they left the Gate room I headed to my office. Contrary to popular belief, I am *not* completely hard-hearted and out to ruin every chance of happiness that my soldiers may find (thank you Doctor Jackson for that kind thought). I don't have too much of a problem turning a blind eye to certain situations should there be an exceedingly minimal effect on the way things around here operate. In fact I consider myself to be downright lenient at times. I don't have an issue with leniency, just when and how much is appropriate.
-- JACK --
I can't believe the bastards shot her. I can't believe she let herself get shot. And most of all, I can't believe that I allowed her to get shot.
I can't really blame anyone but myself. That argument this morning was my fault; I was trying to be *cute* and she didn't appreciate it. I think somewhere I knew that she didn't want any of the usual jokes about our relationship, at least not on base. In fact, I'm sure she probably told me that in no uncertain terms.
I guess all I can offer in my defense is a simple 'I can't help it'. I love her. Big statement, but true nonetheless. I love the fact that she's so smart. I love it that she overlooks the fact that I'm not. I love the fact that she'll always be there, whether it's to offer support or to cover my ass when I do something stupid. I love the light that shines in her eyes when she finds the solution to some insanely complex problem. I love the light that shines in her eyes when she laughs.
And that smile. Boy do I love that smile. Her smile could melt polar icecaps instantaneously. I love the fact that she tends to keep that smile just for those closest to her. It might sound corny, it might sound cliched, but that smile will light up your life and just make you forget everything that may be going to hell around you.
Well, today I haven't seen that smile once, and I sure as hell hope that she pulls through because I don't think I could stand to live without it. No, scratch that. I don't think I could live without *her*. All of her.
I saw the glances. The worry, the concern, the sorrow and fear, and most of it wasn't directed at Sam. Oh sure, there were those people who were more concerned about her, after all, she *is* the one injured here. But I think a lot of people, Hammond and Danny in particular, are a tad more concerned about how *I'm* gonna react. I swear they think I'm just gonna go over the edge or something.
Maybe I will if she doesn't wake the hell up. Out of all the things I'd regret if she died today, the biggest would be not telling her I love her. Sure, we've been sleeping together for about a month now, but that doesn't mean I *said* the words. I like to think that she just *knows*, but how the hell do I know that? The one thing I don't want is for her to die and not know.
To be fair, she's never said that she loved me either. Who knows, maybe she doesn't. I guess I could live with that. Just having her around can sometimes be enough.
Janet hasn't told me anything about her condition. She took a quick look at Sam's limp condition in my arms as we stepped onto the ramp and whisked her away to surgery. I've been taking that as a bad sign. I'm hoping Daniel won't find me; I don't feel like a heart to heart about the argument I had with Sam this morning. Of course, he wouldn't have any trouble discovering my location - I decided to wait in the infirmary so I can ambush Janet when she returns.
I can't handle the waiting. I think everyone who knows me knows that I can't just stay put and do nothing. Part of the reason is I don't like to be left alone with my thoughts for too long. Right now, I'd do anything as long as Sam's ok. As long as I have one more chance to put things right.
She once asked me if I'd regret anything if I died. I told her I'd regret dying. I lied to her then; I would have regretted not getting to know her better. Right now, I'd have to say to her that I'd regret *her* dying with so much left unsaid.
I slumped down against the wall and put my head in my hands. "Please let her be ok," I whispered.
-- DANIEL --
Sam's condition has been listed as critical. I watched discreetly from around the corner as Doc Frasier told Jack the news. He sat hunched on the infirmary floor, head in his hands. I feel sorry for him. It can't be easy waiting like that, with no idea of whether or not Sam will wake up. Don't get me wrong, it's hard for all of us, but I think more so for Jack at the moment.
It's not just that they've been seeing each other off base; I think I feel sorry for him more because of the argument this morning. I'm still confused over that argument, but it must make his situation more pitiable at present. It has to be hard to face the fact that Sam may not regain consciousness, and that the last words he spoke to her were in anger. That's a lot to deal with.
"Hey, Jack."
His head tilted slightly, just enough for me to see his left eye poke out from behind his hand. Wow. If I didn't know better, I'd say it looked like he'd been crying. Maybe he had been; who am I to judge? It was just something he did so rarely.
"Daniel," he muttered.
Seeing that Jack wasn't going to be forthcoming about anything I moved next to him and sat down. "Do you want to talk?"
Listening intently I made out his muffled reply. "No."
"You know she'll be ok, don't you?" I swung my gaze from the floor onto Jack's face. He looked more angry than worried. Uh oh. That can only mean he's blaming himself, and life around here's going to be hell until he forgives himself.
He lifted his head and stared at me, flames of what could only be described as anger and bitterness in his eyes. "You *don't* know that, Daniel. You can't *possibly* know that."
I suppressed a sigh. "Jack, she's a fighter. You know that. I know that. Hell, everyone who's ever met her knows that. So Janet called her condition critical. I'm sure she would have said something if she *didn't* expect Sam to pull through. She wouldn't just leave you here wondering."
He shook his head at me. "I was stupid. I... that argument was over me just being stupid. If I'd never said anything then..."
Was he *always* this absurdly stubborn? "What, Jack? If you guys hadn't argued this morning then she what? Wouldn't have been in the line of fire? Wouldn't have been the one they shot at first? You couldn't change that. Stop beating yourself up about it."
Jack looked resolutely at the floor. I looked at him; he seemed to be grappling for words. "I just don't want her to die without being able to tell her I love her."
I sat there uncomfortably for a moment, not really knowing what to say. I don't think it really mattered. Jack would have shot down any help or advice I tried to pass on, so perhaps silence was the best option.
That silence was broken, in time, by the sound of incoming footsteps. I looked up and saw Janet pause just inside the doorway, perhaps to think about what she had to say, then continue towards us. I don't know if Jack heard her come in; I don't know if he cared. I guess in a way her walk wasn't a cheery as usual, if you can describe a walk that way. Maybe he considered it to be an omen of some kind. Heaven knows he's not the world's greatest optimist at the best of times.
"How is she?" I didn't expect Jack to say anything, and I want to know as much as anyone if she'll be ok.
"Pretty much no change at the moment." Janet looked around the room for a moment, grabbed a chair, and sat down. She looked uncomfortable - was that to do with the furniture or the situation? Maybe both. "The shots that hit Sam were well placed - one to the left shoulder, which is currently affecting both her heart and lung, and one to the right side of her abdomen. I'd like to say that I *expect* her to wake up soon, but medically speaking I can't. It's possible, but I honestly can't tell you what to expect. She *could* wake up just about any time, but the longer it takes, the less optimistic I'd be."
Jack finally looked up. "So she might *not* wake up," he asked, his eyes pleading her to tell him he heard wrong.
Janet sighed. "Yeah, it's possible..."
Jack eyes flared with anguish. "I won't accept that," he said cutting in her prognosis.
"Is that because you think I'm wrong, or because you're in love with her?" she challenged. "Look, Colonel, I'm not saying the outlook is completely hopeless. We're just going to have to wait and see." She shifted in the chair. "I'm sure you guys want to see her, but I'm going to have to insist on one at a time." She stood up and motioned for us to follow her.
I practically had to pull Jack up off the floor. What's wrong with him? Janet just said he could see her, I would have expected him to be running out that door.
As we reached the door we were met by an orderly - I don't remember their name. Strange. I've spent a lot of time in here but still can't remember everyone.
"Excuse me, Doctor. Major Carter just regained consciousness."
I spun around to look at Jack. He still looked haggard, but I swear there's actually life in his eyes now. I smiled at him, then turned my head to look at Janet. "I think we should...uh..." I said motioning with my head towards Jack.
She nodded in response. "Ok, Colonel. I'll take you in. Daniel, can you just wait here? I'd prefer it if Sam only had one visitor at a time for the moment."
"I, uh....I'll go inform General Hammond of the situation. He said he'd be down later, but I think he'd like to know. Say hi for me."
I followed them out the door then stopped to watch them move down the corridor before continuing on my way. I found General Hammond, predictably, in his office. I knocked and waited for the standard 'come in' before entering.
"Doctor Jackson. What can I help you with?"
I shifted on my feet. "I came to tell you that Sam woke up."
Well, I have to say that he looks rather happy at that news. I guess most people on this base would be; Sam's well liked. Not finding anything else to say, I began to move towards the door.
"Before you go..."
Uh oh, here it comes. Why do I *always* end up playing messenger for everyone around here? Is it just me? Is it the... well, I don't know. Why? "Yes?"
"I assume you'll see Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c before I will, so could you please inform them that I'd like a briefing with SG-1, minus Major Carter, of course, in one hour."
"Uh...briefing?"
"Doctor, I can't have one of my primary contact teams out of commission for an unspecified length of time simply because one of it's members are injured, however severely. Major Carter will be taken off active duty until she is fully recovered, and I have organised for a replacement until she is ready for active duty again."
A replacement? For Sam? Who? When? *Why*? I *don't* get the way the military operates sometimes. I wanted to say 'it's Sam, you can't replace her', but seeing that General Hammond had *obviously* finished, I turned, left the room, and headed *back* to the infirmary.
-- SAM --
I don't remember much about what happened just after Daniel started to dial us home, but God it hurt. No surprise, it still does. I remember Jack telling Daniel to dial us out of there, and then there was a spattering of pain before a great expanse of nothing. Obviously I got shot; there's no other explanation. I'm just surprised that nothing registered in my memory.
At the end of the blank there's Jack. I know he hasn't been here the whole time I was out - there were only medical staff in with me when I woke up. Janet likes to keep a tight reign on visitors in her infirmary, particularly on patients like me - highly injured and heavily sedated. Right now I'm practically *living* on painkillers, and the damn things still don't appear to cut out too much. Not that I mind the aching, but I can only lie here and imagine exactly how accumulated the pain would be if it *wasn't* dampened by anything.
After first making sure I was actually awake, Jack started apologising profusely for the argument yesterday. Even if he hadn't have said all that he did, I would've still known he felt bad about it just by the look on his face. It wasn't really his fault - I was a little uptight to start with because of my aborted discussion with Janet, because I'd left the ring on... just because.
Not long after I assured him that the argument wasn't really all his fault, and that I don't really hate him, Daniel came in. His big news, was that I've been taken off active duty until I've recovered - no big surprise there - and that in the meantime Hammond's issuing a replacement. I have to admit that I feel a little, well, disappointed. I hate being left behind, particularly in matters relating to the Stargate, and now I have to sit here and watch my teammates go through without me. However, I can understand that they are needed, and that Hammond can't hold off indefinitely in putting them back out in the field. I guess I just wish that it wasn't going to happen straight away.
He didn't wait long. According to Daniel, Hammond called a meeting to *reassemble* SG-1, which is due to start in ten minutes time. Not long at all. I wonder how he managed to drum someone up at such short notice, unless he's pulled someone from another SG team, which is unlikely, because them he'd have to replace *them*, and so on. A waterfall effect, if you will.
I made some kind of attempt at a smile - difficult when every time you even think about moving every muscle and joint in your body aches without restraint - and Daniel left the room. Wincing slightly as I moved my head sideways, I looked in Jack's direction. "It's awfully soon for you to be Gating out again."
I closed my eyes as he reached up and ran his hand gently through my hair. "Yeah." He sighed. "I'd much rather stay here; I'll only be thinking about you anyway." We stayed like that for a moment, comfortable in the silence, until Jack spoke again. "You know, I was thinking..."
I opened one eye. "Thinking? You?" I said sarcastically.
"Ha ha, very funny." He scrunched up his forehead for a moment: his 'I-don't-know-how-to-say-this' face. "Look, I... uh..."
"You..." I prompted.
He looked over at the clock. "I... I... have to go," he practically spat out at me. Standing up and bending over, he kissed me. "I'll be back."
I watched him walk slowly towards the door.
"Love you." The words were so faint I thought I imagined them.
"What?"
Jack pivoted slowly on his left heel. "I... love you," he reiterated.
I raised an eyebrow at him, started to sit up, and then fell back attempting to cover up the pain from moving. "Whoa. I, uh..." I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. "I... don't really know what to say," I admitted.
He made some kind of waving gesture at me which I didn't understand, and started backing up. "I..." He nodded towards the door. "I have to go." Without waiting for a response he turned and left.
I lay there for a moment before anything registered. Did he just say what I think he said? Wow. I really, truly don't know what to do with that. He looked so... lost... bewildered... bereft. Mentally I slapped myself. He was waiting for *me* to say something, to say that I loved him back. Instead I just mumbled something about nothing.
But do I love him? I think I do. Or should that be I think I might? I don't know. How do you know? How do I know if I love him, or if this is some kind of passing infatuation *thing* which is simply taking a while to pass?
-- JACK --
I said it. I didn't get the response I was hoping for, but at least it's out in the open. I don't really know *what* kind of response I was looking for, what kind of response I was expecting. Not the soppy hearts and violins type answer, but certainly not the 'how-did-I-get-myself-into-this-mess' one either.
I punched the wall as I turned the corner. So where does that leave us? Us, me her? Who the hell knows? I sure don't. And now Hammond's probably gonna send us off-world for whatever reason, so if there *is* a problem Sam's likely to flip.
I don't see *what*, if anything, I did wrong. Yeah, sure, yesterday was a little angsty - we both got on the wrong side of each other, but hell, I *apologised* for anything which *may* have been taken the wrong way. Somehow I don't think that was where I lost her. Actually, I *know* that wasn't where I lost her.
It was those three little words - I, love, and you. Quite harmless on their own when you think about it. But put them together, dammit, and just look what happens. Chances are someone's gonna run as far and a fast as they can, and around here you don't need to run: there's a whopping great transporter donut down the corridor. *That* will most definitely get you further than you ever imagined.
So what now? I kinda *needed* to say what I did, more for my sake than for anything else; guilty consciences are hell to live with. And Sam? Well, she didn't exactly look happy, a thought which hasn't actually left my mind since it happened. So now I... well I don't really know.
I mentally slapped myself back to reality as I walked into the briefing room. I don't *want* to go off-world, but maybe it's better than hanging around here. For the moment anyway.
"Colonel. Nice of you to join us."
I looked over a General Hammond and frowned. Sarcasm? Now *that* doesn't happen everyday. "Oh, you know me - can't resist a party."
Hammond sighed. "Hmmm. Well, if you'd like to sit down, I'm just waiting for your replacement for Major Carter."
Resisting the urge to say that she *can't* be *replaced*, I made my way over to a vacant chair. Before I could actually *sit* in it though, I heard a voice behind me say "Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Mackensie reporting for duty, sir."
I turned slowly, and took in the sight of my newest teammate. New in terms of this command anyway. As Hammond introduced everyone, I just stared in disbelief. Oh shit.
-- SAM --
Jack did come by to check on me later, but it was a brisk visit. His excuse: that he had a 'training run' with my fill-in. To be honest, he didn't look too happy about the prospect of spending a couple of days off-world breaking in a new member like you would a new shoe.
Personally, I don't think she *needs* breaking in, so to speak. Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Mackensie. She came in to meet me not long after Jack's return. Judging by that brief encounter, he has something against her, but it's impossible to ask him now until they get back. Anyway, Mackensie seems well trained and well balanced enough to be able to put up with any of Jack's shit, so I don't think any attitude he throws her way is going to prove a problem. I just wish I knew *why* he was so down on her.
We *chatted* briefly; there isn't much else I can do right now. In a couple of days I'm going to ask Janet if there's anyway she can just prop me in a wheelchair so at least I can get out of this room. I hate this feeling of helplessness and dependency; I prefer to look out for myself. Most of my life I've had to fend for myself. I've had to be strong, be determined, be better than everyone else. It's no secret I've worked hard to get where I am, but I had no option. My chosen career path in itself demands that I be on top of everything.
While Mackensie was still in with me, Teal'c came by to express his well-wishes. His words, as ever, were courteous and concise. His visit followed much the same style.
"Wow, that guy is massive!" Mackensie stated the absolute obvious - no doubt what most people think when they first meet Teal'c, only are too afraid to say. I grinned. She is *so* not going to have trouble dealing with Jack.
"He's a useful asset," I said, attempting to nod, but quitting without any success. I think it came out as more of a weak wiggle. "Listen, I noticed when you first came in that Jack didn't seem too... friendly... towards you. Can you shed some light on that for me?"
She sighed. "Jack. It's been a long time since we last met. Nearly ten years now." She shook her head. "It's not really up to me to tell you that story. Jack should be the one to tell you. I'm not blind, Major. I know that the two of you are, well, involved."
She *what*? How could she possibly *know* we're involved? She's been here all of five minutes and she *knows*? God. Does that mean that everyone else on base just plays along, or is she just extremely intuitive and *flukey*?
"And that in part may explain Jack's animosity towards me." She paused briefly. "He sees me as someone who is, perhaps in his eyes, stealing your post. Yes it's true that I wanted in on the Stargate project, but not by screwing everyone else over in the process. Anyway," she continued as she stood up and smoothed down the skirt of her dress uniform. "It's not my place to go dragging out any of my past with Jack. Besides, it's history - it should stay that way."
Mackensie nodded at me, and briskly strode from the room. I lay back, gave up trying to be comfortable, and closed my eyes. Past. She has a past with Jack. I don't know how I should take that. Past as in they met, or past as in *past*. I took a deep breath and sighed loudly. Perhaps it doesn't matter either way. After all, she did *almost* say she wasn't interested in dredging up any old memories. But the only way to find out what happened is to talk to Jack, and that is going to have to wait until he gets back.
-- DANIEL --
She's thinking again. It's amazing - if you spend enough time with people you can just *tell* things about them. Like right now for example. Sam's lying down, eyes closed, yet I can still tell she's thinking and not asleep. Well, to be accurate, I'd have to say the fact that she's chewing her bottom lip slightly is a dead giveaway. I can't quite own up to being psychic yet.
I stand in the doorway watching for a moment, debating whether to stay or go, when the decision is made for me. Sam sighs and abruptly opens her eyes.
"Hey, Daniel."
Wow. She sounds kind of down about something. "Hey, yourself. How are you going?" I walk in and sit in the chair next to her bed.
"Oh, you know. Nothing that the painkillers won't mute."
I roll my eyes. "Oh, yeah. Know *all* about that," I comment dryly.
She attempts to laugh and grimaces slightly instead.
"Hey there, those drugs aren't doing quite enough for you."
"No, I'm fine." She looks at me. "Really. I'll live. I told Janet I just wanted enough to take the edge off, but not enough to render me dopey." She glances over at the doorway for a moment before continuing. "How's Jack doing?"
"What?" I ask. "You're in here after being pummeled by a couple of staff blasts, and you're asking how *Jack's* doing?"
"He seemed a little out of it before," she elaborated.
"He's worried about you."
"He was in here a while ago and he was, I don't know, *different* to how he was before you guys went to that meeting. I got the feeling he wasn't too happy about something. Well, about *someone*..."
"I think," I began slowly, "you're alluding to Lieutenant Colonel Mackensie. Yeah, I got that impression too. You should have seen him in the briefing - his jaw just dropped when she came in. Does he know her from somewhere or something?"
"What makes you think *I* know anything?" She sighed again. "At least you can walk out of here and ask. Jack didn't say anything. Mackensie came in while he was here, and he practically stormed out. He seems to want to avoid her, but that sure as hell isn't about to happen. When do you leave?"
"In," I looked down at my watch, "an hour and a half. Do you want me to find Jack and send him back here?"
"No. If he wants to come back, he will. You know Jack, he won't talk unless he wants to. Mackensie said she knows him, but hasn't seen him in about ten years."
"Ten years? Gulf War direction?"
"Yeah. That's what I thought too."
"Well...I'll try and find out something for you." I leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You get better for us now. It'll snap Jack out of his foul mood." I stood up. "I have to go; he'll go ballistic if I'm late again," I said grinning at her. "I really just came by to see how you were, and to say goodbye. See you in a couple of days, ok? Don't get into any mischief now..."
"Yeah, right," Sam said dryly. "Janet's practically got me under lock and key. Don't have too much fun without me."
"Never." I walked away, but turned to wave as I reached the door. Sam attempted a half-smile and waved somberly back. I know she hates being cooped up, and I know she hates being left behind. And sometimes she hates being left alone with nothing but her thoughts, which is really all she'll have as company for the next few days.
-- SAM --
As promised, they came back. Early today I'd managed to persuade Janet, after three days of constant complaining, to prop me in a wheelchair and let me out of that damn infirmary room. She agreed on the conditions that I'd stop buzzing her staff every five minutes, stop bugging her in general, and that one of her nurses got to play wheelman.
I'd insisted on being wheeled into the Gateroom earlier this morning, and armed with paper, pen and calculator started work on some equations that needed solving. Janet had said that she didn't think I should be doing anything other than sitting, but I was bored. I needed entertainment. She argued that math was work, *not* entertainment. Can I help it if very few people around here find advanced calculus entertaining? Jeez, she needs to get out more.
Anyway, the *new* SG-1 arrived home on time, and physically they seemed fine. All except for Daniel. He looked battered and tired, neither of which come as a surprise to me. He's managed to turn injuries into an artform. And the way he was grinding that stick into his hand didn't exactly signal happy thoughts. Emotionally though, everyone looked highly strung, over-stressed and heading towards boiling point. Surprisingly even Teal'c appeared on edge, which suggests that the field trip wasn't the happy adjustment period Hammond had hoped for.
But you wouldn't have needed to be in the Gateroom to identify that SG-1 weren't happy campers. Hell, even if you were halfway up the mountain complex you would have *heard* the problems. The moment their forms appeared through the wormhole, Jack and Mackensie were at each others throats. No doubt the argument had erupted *before* they'd stepped through the Gate, and neither had bothered to stop shouting while stepping through.
"... hell'd you learn to use that thing anyway? Kindergarten?..."
"... better than you can. Typical! All your life you've been immature..."
"... might explain the itchy trigger finger. Jesus! You could've shot someone..."
"... like that wouldn't you..."
"... almost did..."
"... just another reason to can me in some hole for another ten years." Mackensie strode down the ramp and headed for the door. "Screw you!"
"Been there, done that."
I felt my jaw drop. Been there, done that? Been there? Done that? *Been* there! Done *that*! My brain slowly began to process what Jack had just said. I guess I can live with the fact that he slept with her, provided he's not talking about the last few days, but how could he not say? Surely it would have been the right time to tell me when he found *out* about Mackensie being assigned to SG-1 in my absence. Well at least now I understand what the hell she meant by *history* and *past*.
It took me a moment to realise that the Gateroom was silent. Of course! Most of the technicians and airmen *know* that I'm here, tucked away in a corner. I can see the Gate, but perhaps they *can't* see me. Oh, wait. Daniel can see me. His jaw, unlike mine, still hangs on the floor, and he's looking quickly between Jack and I.
I notice Jack begin to stalk down the ramp and towards the door Mackensie *didn't* leave from. Daniel must've noticed too, because he suddenly snaps out of his reverie and runs after Jack, practically pouncing on him in an attempt to tap him on the back.
"Uh... Jack?"
I tap my chauffeur, and motion towards the door. She gets the message and starts to push me in the same direction as Mackensie went.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Jack spin around. "What the hell is it, Daniel?" he says exasperatedly.
Daniel, obviously suffering from aftershock, manages to point in my direction.
Damn. Wasn't fast enough.
Jack squints for a moment before noticing me being wheeled away. He immediately breaks into a run and meets me at the doorway, effectively blocking my exit.
"Sam, honey..."
"Sam, honey?" I spit out at him. "I think we need to talk. Now," I added.
"Yeah, sure. I just want to get cleaned up first..."
"Dammit, Jack! You think you can just waltz in and out whenever the hell you feel like it and I'll just accept it? Now, dammit! I want to talk *now*!"
Jack makes a sweeping arc with his arm, and I nod at my driver to continue pushing.
We end up back in my little room at the back of the infirmary. The nurse Janet assigned to push me around scampers away as soon as she's able to, so I don't have to worry about actually *telling* her to go.
Jack paces around the room for a moment. "So what do you want me to say?" he asks. "Sorry I blew up in front of everyone? I can say it, but I damn well won't mean it."
"I want you to explain what the hell happened. I want you to tell me what happened way back when, I want you to tell me what happened off-world, and I want the whole fucking story this time, Jack. Not just snippets of what you feel you can dish out."
"Fine."
"Fine then."
"Yeah, we knew each other way back when, as you put it. We were in the same team back in the Gulf...."
"You were sleeping with her."
"Yeah," he said sourly, "I was.
"You were married to Sara then, right?"
"Yeah."
"So you had an affair?"
"Yeah." He stops pacing and looks straight at me. "Dammit, Sam. What do you want me to say?"
"I want you to tell me it won't happen again."
"What? With her?" he spat out incredulously.
"With her, with anyone, dammit!" I felt my blood begin to boil and hackles rise on the back of my neck. Jesus he could be a fucking prick!
"God damn it, Sam, this isn't why we're here..."
"Just say it," I shouted at him.
"It's not an issue, Sam. It won't happen again."
"I want you to mean it, Jack."
He rolled his eyes at me. "I do fucking mean it. How else do you want me to say it? How else can I possibly say it so that you'll believe it?"
I ignored him. "So tell me what you were going to say aside from the fact that you screwed around."
Jack shook his head before running his hands through his hair and taking a deep breath. "We *worked* together. There was an op. We had to secure a building. Basically the orders were to shoot anything that moved that wasn't one of us. I'd just gone through a room, cleared it, when I heard gunfire nearby. I backtracked and found *her*, machine gun still aimed at a bullet-riddled body on the ground. He wasn't a hostile. She shot one of us."
"Jack, that was ten years ago."
"He was one of my friends, ok? And we were out there today and she... we'd split up, and Daniel had wandered as per usual. She heard a noise, and fired. Next thing I knew Daniel stood up not far from where she'd aimed. The idiot had been digging around in the grass."
I have to admit that his story sounds reasonable, and given the circumstances, perhaps his reaction was even understandable.
"But that doesn't explain why you didn't tell me you knew Mackensie when you found out she was here. I found it out from *her*."
Jack moved towards me and kneeled in front of my chair. "I... I don't have an excuse for not telling you."
I bit my lip. "Look, Jack, I really just need to think right..."
"There you guys are. We've been looking for you."
Daniel. He has the most impeccable timing of anyone I know. But he'd been looking for us? Where? In his shoe? Just where does he think I'm going to go when I can't actually *do* anything by myself?
-- DANIEL --
Teal'c and I had waited for a few minutes before starting to look for Sam and Jack. We ran into Janet on the way, and she said that she'd told Sam she had to stay in the infirmary, excluding when she allowed her out and about in the chair for our return. Some welcome home that must've been.
We could hear them arguing when we were within about a hundred metres from the room Janet had allocated her. So we hung around in the corridor until the voices lowered, thereby deeming it safe to go in without having something thrown at us. At least that was my reasoning.
"There you guys are. We've been looking for you." Well it was sort of true. And wouldn't you know it, it looks as though I interrupted something. Jack is kneeling in front of Sam, probably pleading for forgiveness. Of course, I could just project more into that, but I don't really think this is the time or place.
"So..." I began, ignoring the blatant glaring looks from both Sam and Jack. Quick. What to say... "Do you guys have any plans now that we have downtime? No? Well... I guess Sam can't really *do* much of anything at the moment, but hey, Jack could help because you guys have been sleeping together... in the same place... oh, hell." Damn. Once I start babbling there's no stopping me. Of course, I'm only going to be in trouble because they *think* Teal'c doesn't know. Actually, now that I think about, I don't think he does. I'm sure he just thinks that they *will* eventually end up together.
Jack threw his hands in the air in a rather theatrical manner. "Thanks, Daniel. You wanna announce it to the *rest* of the base too? You know, you should have been a gossip columnist."
You're telling me. Actually I should have been a gossip columnist, bookie and punching bag rolled into one, but that's another story.
"He was going to find out eventually anyway, Jack." Thank you, Sam. Now I won't have to dig *myself* out of that hole.
"I do not understand, Daniel Jackson. What am I supposed to find out?" And thank you, Teal'c, for throwing me right back in.
"This was your idea, remember?" Jack reminded her, but Sam just nodded slightly at him, and then at Teal'c. "Uh... yeah... ok. Teal'c, Daniel was just shooting his mouth off again..."
Ok, so Jack's still a *little* peeved at me.
"... and, uh, well... the thing is..."
"Oh for heaven's sake, Jack!" I burst out. "Teal'c, " I said turning back around, "Sam and Jack have been, uh... sleeping tog... uh, *involved*, seeing each other, dating, whatever you want to call it, secretly for about a month or so now, and *that's* what Jack didn't want me to say." There. Finished. Said it.
Teal'c burst out laughing.
And it wasn't a tiny tinkering laugh, not that you'd expect that from a guy his size anyway. This was a bellowing roar of mammoth proportions. For the second time in about an hour I felt my jaw fall open, and I know that Sam and Jack were blatantly staring at Teal'c as though he'd gone mad. And maybe he had.
"What the *hell* is the matter with you?" Jack asked.
Teal'c took a moment to calm down, his face twitching before returning to it's traditional stoical form. "I am perfectly fine, O'Neill. There is nothing the matter with me."
"Then what was so funny?"
Teal'c arched his eyebrow at Jack. "I merely found amusing the concept that you believed your relationship with Major Carter to be secretive, O'Neill."
"Hold it. What? You knew? How? Why? Who? *How*?"
"O'Neill, I am not blind," Teal'c said with admonition.
"But... oh hell. Just tell me you didn't fill anyone else in on this."
"I do not gossip, O'Neill," he said indignantly. "Besides, there is a widespread theory that you and Major Carter are involved anyway."
"There's a what?" Sam spat out. "We're part of the rumour-mill?"
"A very significant part," Teal'c confirmed.
Ok... time to stop *that* line of questioning before they find out where the information comes from. Oh, and I don't really think Janet would appreciate Teal'c divulging the existence of the betting pool either.
"Um... Teal'c has... uh... had enough laughing for one day, I think we should probably go now." I grabbed Teal'c by the arm and *attempted* to pull him towards the door. I don't know why I bothered. I know my feet were moving, but I didn't actually progress anywhere.
Teal'c stared at me as though I was crazy. Perhaps I am. All I know is I've had enough excitement recently for one lifetime.
"Very well, Daniel Jackson. We shall leave now."
I didn't wait long enough to give either Sam or Jack a chance to question *me* any further; I practically ran from that room. No doubt they'll try to track me down later, hopefully by then I'll be long gone. That's the good thing about downtime. I can escape if I need to. And I think now might be a good time to do just that.
-- SAM --
Eventually the argument I'd had with Jack regarding *anything* and everything about Mackensie dissipated. It took us most of the week Jack had off on downtime to sort things out, but we got there. I can understand how he may have a problem working with her, and I still think he should have said something to *someone* about his misgivings before they went off-world, but he didn't, and I can't change that. Nor can I change the fact that he doesn't want to get along with her. I personally don't have a problem with Mackensie, just as long as there's no looping history between her and Jack.
And I have to say that I'm not overly worried about that happening. Jack waited on me hand and foot for that week, and I have to admit that I probably utilised his guilt a little in my favour. My excuse: *I* was the one who was injured, and *he* was the one who'd been keeping secrets.
Apparently things have settled down moderately well between Jack and Mackensie. He goes out of his way to be civil and polite when I'm around, but Daniel informs me that most other times he's 'rather blunt'. That I can believe.
I've talked to her quite a few times in the past month. She keeps insisting that I call her Melanie. I'm still in the thinking about it stage. I wouldn't say that we're buddy-buddy, but she's someone to talk to if the need arises.
I'm allowed to wheel myself around now and I've been doing so for the last week. I literally can't wait to get out of this infernal contraption and actually walk, run, jump, climb... you name it, I'll do it.
All in all, my being taken off active duty had several effects on SG-1 and it's various team members. I think the biggest effect would be that Jack and I no longer keep our relationship strictly behind closed doors, so to speak. While we both know that I will inevitably return to active duty and we would once again be CO and 2IC, it doesn't seem to matter. For the moment, we're just two people not *completely* linked by a chain of command. You know the saying, carpe diem: seize the day. So we're taking advantage of the situation, and as a result our relationship has intensified remarkably.
In three years we've gone from being reluctant co-workers to friends to best friends with a pleasant dash of flirtation and sexual tension, to most recently, secret lovers. But in the last month or so since the shooting, we've progressed so much that we're not afraid of what everyone else will think, and are almost openly parading our relationship around the base. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say we were acting decidedly like an old married couple. Scary. Very weird, totally out of character and very scary, but I wouldn't change a thing.
Sure, I know that sometime in the next month, or thereabouts, Janet will give me the ok to return to active duty, and then there may be a problem. For the moment, though, it appears that General Hammond is turning a partially blind eye, and for that I'm grateful. It's given us a chance to just be *us* and still interact with everyone on a day to day basis as though nothing has changed.
-- JACK --
I could probably write a timeline for my recent history with Sam. You know the things, brightly coloured box, a couple of arrows sticking out in meaningful places, maybe even a few pictures here and there to add interest. Well, ours would have those arrows at about three months ago, two months ago, one month ago, and, fingers crossed, today.
Three months ago. Well, three months ago, give or take the odd day, Sam and I went on our first official, 'under-wraps' date. I find that hard to believe. It seems like substantially longer. In fact, given my latest bright idea, three months is downright ludicrous.
Two months ago was that fateful mission. Two months ago because I was too busy trying to piss her off, I wasn't paying as much attention to my surroundings as I usually do, only to end up seeing Sam crumpled, and looking for all the world *dead* on the ground. There have only *ever* been two people in my life I have been that scared over, and one of them is dead. In that moment, I *knew* that my life just wouldn't be worth living if she weren't here with me. In that moment, I *knew* that I loved Samantha Carter.
I guess both of those moments fall into a different category than my next. Sam and I, as a couple, were doing well. She'd gradually accepted that I was a complete idiot about some things - read: anything I should have but did not *tell* her about Mackensie - and I felt like we were moving forwards. Anyway, one day we took a lunch break, and ended up back in my quarters. Nothing *seriously* heavy, but I'm glad there are doors in this facility. And I'll be damned if you can't get a minutes peace around here, because on cue, there was knocking on my door, before it promptly opened.
Expecting it to be Danny, Sam and I didn't make too much of an effort to move from out currently smoochey position. Smoochey? What the hell kind of a word is that anyway? And since *when* did I start to use it? But, back to the story. Expecting Danny to burst through that door proved to be an interesting error of judgement, because surprisingly it wasn't him. In fact, the person who walked through that door would have to be high on the list of people who I didn't want to see right then.
In stepped the bald-headed-from-Texas one himself. Well, you have *never* seen Sam and I jump apart so fast in our lives. Hammond just stood there for a moment, before silently stepping backwards out the door. He didn't so much as squeak rubber sole against floor he was so quiet. And when the door shut we just looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Basically, because I just couldn't believe that he'd decided to go with the 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil' thing and do absolutely *nothing*, it rates high in my books. Therefore, one month ago on my timeline there lies an 'I-didn't-see-anything' mark, courtesy of Hammond himself.
And today. What makes today so special that it deserves recognition? And so you may well ask. Right now I'm sitting in the dark confines of my office, fingers clasped around a small velvet covered box. Inside the box lies a simple diamond solitaire ring. An engagement ring, to be precise. It's not extravagant, and it's not capriciously decorated. It is, however, perfect.
I thought about *attempting* to collect some other kind of jewel-like rock from somewhere out there beyond the stars, considering that it would only be fitting. However, in some kind of cosmic randomness, our computers have been so generous as to spit out desert planet after desert planet for the last few weeks, and that royally screwed up my plans. So diamond it is.
I rotate the box in my hand a few times before placing it carefully in my jacket pocket. It's amazing just how heavy such a little box can be. Maybe it's just me; maybe I'm just a little paranoid, a little nervous. More than likely, I'd say.
Collecting my thoughts, and my nerves, I stand up and walk to the door, taking one last deep breath before opening it, and stepping out into the hallway. I know Sam will be in her lab at the moment; she's still in catch-up mode from when Janet told her she wasn't allowed near it.
When I reach the door I clutch at every bit of raw nerve and courage I have, and walk in.
"Hey."
She looks up and smiles. God I love that smile. "Hey, yourself. What brings you down here?"
"I'm not allowed to visit my favourite scientist?" I ask, feigning hurt. Deciding this childish act might be fun, I lean forward, make a kissy-face, and bat my eyelids at her.
She laughs, kisses me quickly, and then proceeds to wave at me. "You're in my light."
"Oh, well I wouldn't want to do anything like that now, would I?" I step around behind her and watch over her shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Suspicious to a fault - that's my Sam.
I grin. My Sam. Well, almost, anyway. Fingers crossed.
"Nothing." I answer innocently. Yet.
"Oh yeah? So why are you grinning?"
How...? Oh, never mind.
"Close your eyes," I murmur quietly.
"What?"
"Just close them," I repeat.
"Ok..." she says warily.
"Are they shut?" I ask, peeking over her shoulder.
"Jack! They're shut! What did you want?"
Ignoring her last statement, I begin to manoeuver my right arm around her. "Good. Then you won't mind if I do this." I lift my hand so that it covers her eyes.
"Why..." she begins.
"Shhh..." I murmur soothingly.
We stayed like that, standing silent in the centre of the room, for about a minute, until Sam obviously couldn't stand it any longer.
"Jack," she said, quietly but admonishingly. "If you're not going to *do* something, do you think you could, uh, *stop*, because I have all this work I should be doing, and..."
"Marry me," I whisper in her ear.
-- JACK --
Underneath my hand I could feel her eyes swing open.
"What?"
I let my hand slide away from her eyes as I bent down onto one knee behind her. She turned around slowly, her eyes wide and crystal blue. I proffered the box from my jacket pocket, flipped the lid, and held it out towards her, my eyes searching for, and finding hers.
"Marry me," I repeated.
"I...Jack...I *really* don't know what to say."
That wasn't a good start.
"I...we've only been together for three months, and..."
"No, we haven't," I contradicted.
"What? Jack, it's been three months."
"No," I insisted. I rose back to standing height again. "We may have been dating for three months, but we've sort of been *together* for longer. Maybe not in terms of what everyone else may see, or think, but...oh, hell. Sam, you know me better than absolutely anyone. You have done for nearly three years now, and you *know* that I love you, and you *know* in your heart that we belong together, you just need to admit that to yourself."
She took a deep breath. "I think...I just need to think it over for a while."
I nodded, conceding that there's no way I could ever push her into anything, that I wouldn't *want* to make her do something she wasn't ready for. "If you need to talk, you'll know where to find me."
She nodded at me, smiling slightly, but I could tell she was already lost in thought.
"I want you to hold onto this," I added, holding out the small box. She stared at me for a moment, and a confused look flashed across her eyes. "Please," I implored.
Sam reached out and gingerly grasped the box lying in the palm of my hand. Closing her hand around it, and consequentially pulling back, she looked at me. "I'll find you."
"I'll be waiting."
With a heart that felt somewhat dejected, I turned and walked slowly from the room. I couldn't tell where I walked on the way back to my quarters, even if I had passed through those corridors hundreds of times before. I was operating purely on autopilot.
I guess I should have expected that Sam would be extremely likely to weigh up all of her options in the most logical fashion possible. Here she has two choices: yes or no. I can't say for certain what an emotionally driven Sam would choose, I can only hope for yes. I *can* tell you that the most likely decision coming from a rational, logic driven Sam would be no. She said it herself, we'd only been *dating* for three months. Three. And she's a math genius, a number person. She does math in her sleep, for crying out loud. I should know; I've heard her muttering equations in the still of the night. She's gonna recognise that 'three' is a *really* small number in the grand scheme of things.
"Jack!"
Great! Just wonderful! Now I'm just broken hearted *and* delusional.
"Jack! Wait!"
Unless... she *is* actually behind me. I turn to find Sam jogging to catch up with me.
"Hey."
"Hey, yourself," I reply. Whoa. Deja vu. This is how we started earlier. I frown and dig my hand into my pocket. Nope. This is *definitely* the aftermath, because Sam still has the ring.
"Are you ok?"
Say what? "Oh, yeah, fine," I splutter out. Wow, Jack. Way to go on those language skills.
Sam nods at me, and I can see her mentally shrug at me. "Anyway... I was, uh, thinking... and... yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes!"
The information slowly begins to sink in, and I see her smiling at me. Well, her grin is contagious, and before I know it we're standing in the middle of the hallway grinning like a pair of fools.
And I suppose that's exactly what we are.
But hell, I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks of me at the moment; she said yes, and that's the most important thing to me. Well, actually *she* is, but you get the picture.
I reach out and caress her cheek gently with my hand, before slowly leaning over and kissing her tenderly on the mouth.
When we break apart I whisper softly to her. "I love you."
"I love you."
And the image of her smiling at me, eyes shining, is the last thing that registers before I kiss her again and my mind surrenders to the beautiful woman in my arms.
-- SAM --
We told General Hammond the next morning. He smiled and ran through his congratulatory speech. In fact, he did the whole 'proud father' routine, kind of how I hope Dad will react to the engagement, only he was a little less 'Dad' and a little more 'George'. Despite the generally cheerful exterior, no pun intended, I thought I caught a glimpse of disappointment. I might have been wrong, but I thought it was there. Perhaps he was thinking about separating SG-1. I hope not. I don't think our engagement will change our team harmonics at all. Maybe that's just what I want to believe, but I guess only time will tell.
The General added something about having to examine our team structure for 'official purposes', but he said he wouldn't be too worried about anyone transferring to another team unless there were 'major cracks in the team foundations'. I don't know where he comes up with these phrases, I don't think I want to know. I'm just glad not to have to think about any kind of reprimand or transfer just at the moment.
"You know," I commented to Jack as we walked away, "he is *seriously* beginning to scare me. What happened to his reactions?"
"Maybe he *is* actually ok with the situation, happy about it even."
I laughed. It wasn't as though the idea was completely foreign to me. "But he *does* have a job to do, rules to follow, *regulations* to uphold."
"And his job, and his rules, have always been, have always *had* be slightly more flexible and accepting than the expected norm. Take a look around; take a look at where we work." Jack waved his arms around, and did a full three-sixty degree spin.
"You know, sometimes you can make an inkling of sense."
He bowed graciously. "Why, thank you, ma'am."
"Nevertheless," I continued, rolling my eyes. "I'm just waiting for the bomb to drop. There isn't such a thing as a fairytale ending."
"Skeptic."
We walked into the infirmary, and I waved at Janet. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Jack pull some kind of face. Janet, with due cause, just stared at us.
"I'll, uh, be with you guys in a minute."
"Clock's ticking," quipped Jack. "Seriously though, I need to use your phone."
"You know where it is."
I waited just inside the doorway as Jack trudged over to the phone in the corner of the room, and Janet finished her notes. When done, she stood up and walked briskly over to meet me.
"So, how are you feeling?"
I folded my arms behind my back and leant against the wall. "Great. Now, can you *please* tell Hammond it's ok to return me to active duty? I'm going crazy just sitting around here all day."
"But I thought you liked lab work?" she teased.
"I do, but part of me likes to get out there and get my hands dirty."
"That part of you wouldn't just happen to be over using the phone, would it?"
I've said it before, and I've no doubt I'll say it again, but damn she is cluey.
"Well... no."
"*Well* no?"
"Just no," I amended.
"I'll think about it, but Sam, it wouldn't do you any harm to just stay on-world a little longer, catch up on some work and some rest."
"That's all I've been doing, Janet. Please. I'm just going to end up driving everyone around her crazy with me," I pleaded.
"I'll think about it, but no promises."
"You're cruel."
"And don't I enjoy it," she replied with a grin. "So, other than begging, what brings you guys down here?"
"Group discussion."
Janet looked at me suspiciously, her eyes narrowing. "Group discussion? Do you care to elaborate on that?"
I grinned and shook my head. "Nope."
"You know, I can always think up some kind of tortuous procedure to use you as a guinea pig for..."
"You and I both know that you wouldn't do that, so your threat is as good as useless." I saw Jack hang up the phone and head over towards us. "You know what they say, patience is a virtue."
"And I'm the tooth fairy." Janet frowned at me. "Fine. I'll ask around." She turned to scan the essentially empty infirmary. "Damn. No people. Well then, I suppose Colonel O'Neill will just have to do."
"Colonel O'Neill will just have to do what?" he inquired as he joined the discussion.
"Tell me *why* you guys are *here* - and don't use the phone excuse, there are plenty of them all over this base."
"Well, I..."
I reached out with my right hand and jabbed him in the side.
"Ow! Alright already," he said glaring at me. "Sorry, doc, no can do. Otherwise I'll just end up with a longer stay in here than I'd intended."
"Just wait a moment," I promised. "I'm just waiting for..."
There was a thud from the hallway. "Damn." And was followed by the sound of scurrying and the shuffling of paper.
"...Daniel," I continued.
We listened as the shuffling continued, only to be drowned by the sound of heavy footsteps. "Oh, great, Teal'c. Could you just, uh, hold this for a sec."
"And Teal'c," I finished.
And in a moment they appeared in the doorway. Daniel carrying a large, muddled pile of papers and books - no doubt what he'd dropped a moment earlier - and Teal'c carrying a rather unsteaming mug of what looked and smelled suspiciously like coffee.
"Hey guys," said Daniel, wrestling ungracefully with his uncoordinated pile. "I don't suppose it matters if I just dump these for a second." He turned away and walked across to a nearby vacant bed. "So, what did you guys want?"
"My question exactly," commented Janet caustically.
"We're getting married," blurted out Jack. I *swear* I have no idea how he's survived as long as he has in this line of work. I rolled my eyes at him. "What?" he muttered defensively. "They asked, and you said I only had to wait 'til they were all here."
We turned simultaneously as another thud came from Daniel's direction. "Oh, crap," he sighed staring at the floor.
I heard Jack whisper beside me. "Three, two, one."
Daniel spun around. "Wait, I didn't mean you guys! Wow, married! That's great!" He stepped over and joined the circle beside Janet.
"You guys owe me fifty apiece," she announced triumphantly.
"Wait a second," frowned Jack. "You were *betting* on us?"
"Not only that, I cleaned up a good hundred from Hammond himself," she replied, holding out her hand towards Daniel. "Come on coffee man, pay up."
"Hammond bet on us?" I asked incredulously. Janet nodded at me. "Well, I guess that explains part of his reaction," I said to Jack.
"How many other people were in on this?" asked Jack, still frowning.
"A great many, O'Neill," confirmed Teal'c.
"Great!" Jack threw his hands on his head and looked at the ceiling. "Just wonderful!"
"It doesn't matter," I said soothingly.
"Oh, yeah? How do you figure *that*?"
"Well, they're going to find out anyway..." I reached up and pulled his hands down, and held them between us. "What does it matter that most of them actually *lost* money to Janet?"
"You know," interjected Daniel. "I think this is rigged. She *ran* the whole thing - how are we supposed to know that you didn't arrange this or something."
"Oh you are *such* a bad loser, Daniel," Janet declared.
I tuned them out, turned around to face Jack, and grinned at him. "Maybe we should let them argue this one out in peace," I suggested.
He held out his arm. "So... in place of this spectacular debate, how about we take a walk?"
"Sounds good."
So we left them there - Daniel and Janet exchanging accusations and insults, and Teal'c a slightly more passive participant - and walked out arm in arm to enjoy a rare unassigned moment out in the sunshine.
-- DANIEL --
Time passed. A few months after Sam and Jack announced their engagement we all found ourselves preparing for a wedding.
Life around the SGC seemed to be progressing smoothly. Sam had just been cleared for *full* active duty again, Jack and Melanie were generally civil to each other, usually because Sam and I didn't let them *start* bitching to each other in the first place, and even General Hammond seemed downright cheery.
Jacob and, by default, Selmac had been issued invitations to the wedding, as had several other of our off-world acquaintances. Most had purely sent well-wishings and regrets at being unable to attend due to other circumstances, a reason we all accepted gracefully, however a small contingent of Tok'ra had seen fit to accept. Apparently the prospect of a party was swallowed nicely in that part of the... well... universe.
Jack had been walking around the mountain facility, and all of our off-world visits, with a permanently attached smile. Half the adversaries he shot over the past month or so didn't know what hit them. And when the Tok'ra clan arrived the other day he was actually... *nice*... cheery, even *pleasant* to Martouf. Most decidedly eerie.
General Hammond seemed to have very few problems with the impending marriage, although he did make it perfectly clear to *all* of us, that should *anyone* spot any problems, we were to inform him, and he would take appropriate actions. I asked whether 'appropriate action' meant a split, or something more *serious*. The General cryptically ignored me. I have *no* idea how to take that, and no-one wants to talk about it, so I'm pretending not to be interested.
Janet and I are performing the maid of honour and best man duties respectively. Currently I'm trying to find a tie I *know* has to be somewhere in my apartment. Either that or it's back at the SGC. Hopefully the latter because I've been digging around my place now since I woke up this morning and I still can't find it. That was four hours ago. Maybe Jack has a spare... no, that would be a bad idea. Better not let him think I lost it.
I lift up a cushion from my sofa and peer underneath. Spying a pile of paper, I reached down. So that's where my notes on the Carthaginians battle with the Romans went. I've been looking for those for months. Well... there's definitely no tie under here.
I stand fully, scrunch my face into a frown, and glare at the room, daring the AWOL tie to mysteriously appear from its hiding place. No such luck. Sighing, I reach for the phone and punch in a series of numbers.
"Hey, Jack... I, uh, have this *slight* problem..."
-- JANET --
"Ta da," I announced as I stepped through the doorway wearing a simple powder blue dress. "Just so you know, I wouldn't wear anything this garish in public for anyone else."
"Garish?" Sam laughed. "You picked it."
"Must've been an oversight," I teased. "Speaking of garish, I just heard from Daniel, and he lost his tie."
"He what?" she shook her head. "Typical. But what's that got to do with garish?"
"Well," I said with a mischievous grin. "The guys came up with a solution - create a new one. Teal'c gets to do the artwork."
"They're *colouring* a tie?" she asked incredulously.
"Uh huh. You ready to go?"
Sam stood up and twirled. She wore a simple white strappy dress, and her hair had been crowned with a light spattering of baby's breath. In short, she was faultless. "Perfect. You look perfect," I announce. I grabbed two bouquets off the nearby table, and we headed for the door.
-- SAM --
We met my Dad outside the tiny church where the ceremony was to be performed.
"You look beautiful, Sammy," he beamed as we stepped out into the brisk sunshine.
"Hey, Dad. Selmac," I acknowledged courteously. "Martouf," I added, glancing over at him, hovering not too far away.
"You do indeed look beautiful, Samantha. Dazzling, if you will allow me to say as much." He bowed his head slightly, and I could tell he was a trifle sad, but refusing to show it.
"Thank you for coming, Martouf. I'm very glad that you did. I know it must be somewhat...*difficult* for you," I said slowly.
He gave a sad smile. "I would not have missed it."
-- JANET --
The wedding proceeded as smoothly as pure handspun silk. There were smiles all round, even from the admittedly morose Martouf, and predictably, Daniel's tragedy of a hand-coloured tie was the only forgettable detail.
Surprisingly, Jack O'Neill cried. Just a tear or two, and I have no doubt he would vehemently deny it if word ever got around. It was a little tacky and just a tad too soppy, but the romantic in me *has* to admit that it was also kind of sweet.
-- SAM --
Jack spent the entire remainder of the day permanently attached to my side, except when Dad, Hammond, Daniel, Teal'c, Martouf and several others *insisted* I dance with them. Personally I think he was a little shocked at just how many people requested my company, but on the up side, kind of proud that I'd 'chosen' him.
We're not planning on taking time off for a honeymoon. I'm sick of 'relaxing' for the moment; I've been doing the grand equivalent of nothing around here for the last few months. An *upgraded* SG-1 - Jack, Daniel, Teal'c, Mackensie and I - will be leaving on our first such mission in a few days time, and I literally can't wait to get back 'on the job'.
And no doubt life out in the field will be a little easier with another person to carry some of the load.
-- SAM --
Oh I've *missed* this. I missed the exhilarating rush of travelling through the Gate. I missed gawking at and dissecting any new technology we may stumble across. Hell, I've even missed the exceedingly unsatisfying, unappetizing field rations.
"Withdrawals, Major?"
I snap out of my reverie and turn to face Jack. "Oh yeah," I grin.
We stand there on the slightly raised platform this Gate sits on and wait for the others to be deposited in front of us. Sure enough, they appear: Daniel, Mackensie, and Teal'c bringing up the rear.
"Ok, folks," Jack announces, "shall we move on out?" He doesn't wait for an answer. "Carter, which way did that UAV show the townsite?"
I point towards a seemingly endless clump of rocks and trees over on my left. "That way... about 5 miles."
"Ok, that way it is." With that, he pulls down the front of his cap a little further over his eyes and heads off.
About one hundred feet from the Gate we come across what first appeared to be a large clump of rocks, but is in fact a rocky cave network. The structure fans around a bend, so it's hard to say if it actually ever *ends*. Consequentially we decide that our best course of action is to traverse our way through.
Not much appears to have changed while I was off duty; Daniel chats to Mackensie instead of continually wandering mentally and physically, but Jack and I still do our conversation time thing, and Teal'c still covers our tails. Thus arranged, we wind out way through the rocky passages somewhat cautiously. There are plenty of crevices and corridors, and it seems likely they perhaps housed some kind of storage facility or acted as temporary housing. It's easy enough to navigate our way around because of the light pouring in through slits, but this would be almost like a death trap at night. There are plenty of places that could provide enemy cover, and I don't doubt that it would be easy to get lost in here. As a result there's a small amount of tension in the air.
After navigating the rocks we amble into the trees. As far as forests go, this one is pretty much a piece of cake. It's fairly sparse, and there's a well-worn path, however it has generally been our experience that such a path most likely indicates off-world travelers, as opposed to a local trade route.
In time we find ourselves on the edge of a clearing. Maybe 'clearing' isn't exactly the best description. It is, aside from a large open space, more of a shallow cauldron. Jack and I reach the edge of the basin first and pause, staring across at a tall, solid mud or brick city wall. At a guess, the basin would easily be two miles across the diameter. The trees, which act as minimal cover for us, extend about halfway around the circumference - a little over one and a half miles on either side of us according to my quick mental calculations.
"So...what do you think?" Jack asked, turning to me. "Around the edge, or straight through?"
"Edge offers more cover," I suggest. "At least for a while."
"And it's further," muttered Daniel.
"The lady has a point, Daniel," sided Jack.
Daniel merely rolled his eyes in jest at me and grinned. "Bad case of teacher's pet if I ever saw one."
"Well, we could go along the edge until we reach the extent of the tree-line, and then cut across in a kind of chord which should only be a little over one and a half miles..."
"Carter, please. Leave the calculations alone. You're geometry's making my brain hurt." Jack turned to the others. "Well... shall we continue?"
We did, and presently we found ourselves in front of a solid mud-brick wall, which at a guess stood about two to three storeys high. We continued along the edge of the city, and found ourselves at a gate, a large imposing structure made of latticed wood and - I tapped it - possibly iron.
A head poked out and two eyebrows raised their silent question.
"We, uh..." began Daniel, "we... are distant travellers, and would like to enter your city for shelter, and to, uh... meet with your people."
"Very eloquent there, Danny," teased Jack.
The face frowned at us before disappearing, and Daniel shrugged. "Maybe they didn't understand what..."
The gate swung ajar slightly.
"And maybe they did," finished Jack as he walked into the city.
-- JACK --
I have to admit that these people are just plain *weird*. Yeah, sure, they let us in and all, and we're sitting here just inside the gates, in front of a bonfire eating some kind of meat, but they *so* aren't a talkative bunch.
Danny wandered off a while ago muttering something about some kind of building. Who knows? Even when *everything* is dead and boring, he manages to get excited about something.
I lean over and offer some of this meat-stuff to Sam, who promptly shakes her head at me.
"Full," she announces. "And who knows *what* it is exactly?"
"I was trying to ignore that part," I admitted. "So... having fun?"
"Right back in the swing of it," she grins.
"Oh, that's too bad. Cos I was thinking that we could..."
Someone screamed.
"Dammit," I muttered as we both stood, weapons at the ready.
Daniel came jogging around the corner.
I frowned. "That... tell me that *wasn't* you screaming like that."
"What? Oh... no, that wasn't me. That was Gildeesha. She just got a little upset about..."
"And *please* tell me you haven't been hitting on the natives," I added, shaking my head.
"Hitting on... no! She just didn't want me touching the stuff in that temple-like structure back there."
"She screamed because you were playing with their stuff?" I asked feeling a little bewildered.
"Um... something like that... maybe..." he trailed off.
From around the same corner strutted an old man in long robes, a priest perhaps, and when he saw us he pointed. "Valdeer metz!"
"Valdeer metz?" I asked Daniel.
"Um... I don't know."
"Well think about it, cos he doesn't sound too damn happy," I told him.
The gates swung open allowing us a perfect view of the inky blackness beyond the walls. The priest, or whoever he was, pointed first at us, then to the now-open gates. "Valdeer metz! Kresh! Kresh!"
"Danny... translation would be good."
"Valdeer metz... kresh... kresh..."
Once more the priest pointed to the gates and shouted. "Kresh!"
"Kresh..." muttered Daniel. "Go! I think he wants us to go," he announced.
I rolled my eyes and turned to face him. "And the other part would be what? Have a nice day?"
"Valdeer metz... I read it somewhere back there..."
"Danny, today would be good," I pressed.
"Uh, sir?" Carter tugged at my arm and I turned to face her.
"Yeah?"
"Outside."
Looking back at the gates, I saw a glow permeating from around the edge of the basin-like clearing between the city and the cover of the tree line. I frowned. "Fire?"
"Apparently," she confirmed.
"Something is really not right here..."
"Maze!" shouted Daniel. "Something about enduring a maze, surviving a maze."
"He wants us to go and survive a maze?" asked Carter.
"I don't see any maze," I said doubtfully.
"Kresh!" demanded the priest.
"Pushy guy..." I muttered under my breath.
"Maybe we should just go," suggested Carter. "After all, there was that cave network back towards the... the caves! That's the maze." She turned to me. "Remember. They were kind of bizarre for caves."
"How can a cave be *bizarre*?" I countered. "And if they want us to go there in the dead of night for some kind of *survival* test," I glared at Danny, "then I don't think it's such a great idea." I felt the tip of something sharp press into the small of my back. "Or," I amended looking sideways, and noticing the spear tips being pointed at everyone else, "we could go."
I walked over to the gates. Outside, the entire rim of the basin from the gates to what I estimated to be the tree line was lit with glowing fires held by locals, soldiers perhaps, if those nearest me were any example. "I'm *so* not getting a good feeling about this," I said to Carter.
"They don't look like friendly escorts," she agreed.
"Kresh!" came the shout from the *really* annoying priest guy.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the fire-carriers begin to jog towards us as we walked down the incline and into the basin. "Shit! That doesn't look good. How about we speed this up a little?" I asked rhetorically, realising we were in a good position to be closed in if we walked.
So the five of us - Danny, Teal'c, Mackensie, Carter and I - kick into a brisk jog, which increases to a run as the fires move faster and closer in response.
We make it past, with not nearly enough room to classify it as easy, but our hunters continue to follow us. We stumble through the expanse of trees we had walked through earlier in the day, and tired and armed with only what we were carrying, we make it to the edge of the rocky outcrop.
"Around or through?" I ask, taking a moment to catch my breath.
"Around has to be easier," pants Daniel.
"I don't think there *is* an around," Carter points out. "At least not without back-tracking."
"Over?"
We all looked up at the sheer rock-face in front of us. "Not from here, anyway."
We all turn at the sound of rustling, only to find *more* fires appearing through the trees behind us.
"Or perhaps through would be better," Daniel reconsiders.
One by one we enter a small chasm that leads into the rock. This entrance looks nothing like anything I saw earlier today, and leads into a much darker tunnel. The path inside, if it can be called a path, is narrow and mildly claustrophobic, not to mention difficult to move though and not weapon friendly. You *so* wouldn't want to have to turn in a hurry.
I glance over my shoulder and find at least one of the fire-stick men have followed us in. "Carter!" I yell. "Do you think you could speed this up a tad. I'm kinda being followed here."
"There's a cavern," she calls back. "Five different paths," she continues after a pause, "not including the one we came from."
I clamber through close on Danny's heels. "Uh... I don't want to say this, and I *really* don't want to do it, but it's gotta be faster to move if we split up."
"Uh... Jack?" starts Daniel.
I turn and see a fire-like glow wobble down the corridor, and consequently a figure emerge from within it. I open fire and he falls, but there's still another faint glow further down. "Go!" I order. "Pick a path and go. We'll meet up back at the Stargate."
They follow without question.
Jogging to the corridor left vacant, I twist sideways and step in. There's no light, which I take as a good sign, but it also means I can't see a damn thing. I bump and feel my way along until a slight opening in the 'roof', not nearly big enough to admit a person, showers in some light.
I round a corner cautiously. Damn if it wasn't easy to get lost in here.
*Crack*
I spin quickly around, weapon at the ready, but find nothing.
Somewhat disconcerted, I turn and continue trying to find my way out. It's eerie in here, damn eerie. There's weird-ass shadows on the 'roof' thanks to the small amount of light, and I can't pick what's dropping them, or even where they're coming from.
*Crunch*
Goddammit! Gotta start looking where you're walking, Jack. I round another corner and my eyes widen.
*Click... bang*
Oh shit.
-- SAM --
*Bang*
What was...? Gunfire?
I crouch down, back to the wall, and try to estimate which direction the shot came from. Or *shots*, I have to admit to myself. It's no easy task to identify anything in this rocky labyrinth. Sounds reverberate off the oddly slanted walls, and around the numerous caverns, making a conclusive count impossible. I have two options: continue to the left, or head back in the direction I came from.
I choose left.
Rounding a corner, I follow a narrow path and find myself at a crossroad. Hmm... Left, right, or straight ahead? Perhaps it's better to keep to the left for the time being, that way I might be able to find my way out should I end up in trouble. To be perfectly honest, I hadn't heard or seen anything remotely threatening since we split up, and until I heard the gunfire I was beginning to wonder if it was all some kind of ruse.
Moving away from the wall I hear a noise opposite me. I duck back slightly behind a jutting out piece of rock, and keep my weapon aimed at the opening.
A shaky arm appears.
"Daniel," I whisper, motioning to him. His shoulders visibly sag with some relief.
"Hey... I heard the gunshot... where...?"
"I'm not sure," I throw out to his half unspoken question. "Just keep with me."
He nods; understanding, agreement, and no small amount of relief showing in his eyes.
Satisfied that there is no one else in the vicinity, I do a quick visual check before stepping out into the next corridor. We creep noiselessly through the narrow and somewhat suffocating slits until we find ourselves at a another junction.
Our choices are few: continue on our current path, or veer back to the right. Opting for continuity, I check briefly for any other beings, hostile or otherwise, and satisfied that we are effectively alone and untracked, I continue.
In time our tight pathway juts open and reveals a cavern. A rather oddly shaped cavern, but a cavern nonetheless. From my vantage point, I can only see a portion, and it appears to be empty. The burrow seems to curve around a rocky outcrop, kind of in a jellybean shape. Like all the other openings I've seen, this one casts eerily dancing shadows. Unlike all the others, these don't appear to be completely random or harmless.
Holding my hand up, I motion for Daniel to come to a halt and be silent. He complies. Listening intently I can make out the sound of breathing. More than one person, I deduce, separating thin raspy swallows, from more fluid expirations. Suddenly a whispery voice, faint and unintelligible, joins the congregation.
Frowning, I attempt to shut out any background ambience, however limited, and focus on the sound.
"Oh God oh God oh God oh God..."
Without warning, Daniel jabs me in the shoulder. "Look," he hisses, pointing in the direction of the bend.
I refocus my gaze. Squinting momentarily I make out two dark blobs jutting out from behind the similarly shaded wall. Boots, I recognise. Standard military issue...
"Shit."
Throwing away any shred of caution, I break out of the confines of my hiding place and move towards the boots. Dammit! I recognise those feet. And the voice, I mentally chide myself.
I raise my weapon and round the corner. "Drop it," I announce, refusing to look down.
Mackensie just stares blankly at the ground, gun aimed at the body between us.
"Drop it!"
She jerks her head towards me. "I... I didn't... he..."
"Drop the weapon, dammit!" I scream at her.
Her hands wobble, and there's a sharp and distinct clatter as metal meets jagged rock. As I lean over and collect the weapon, mine trained on her, I hear footsteps behind me.
"Oh my..." Daniel whispers.
Steeling myself, I look down. There was no need, I would realise afterwards; I knew the moment Daniel had identified the boots.
Jack. Bleeding. Silent.
"God, please don't be dead," I prayed. "Please..." I reach down and feel for a pulse, tears collecting in and surging across my eyes, making sight no longer a viable option. "Dammit, Jack, wake up!" I plead. "Wake up... I can't feel anything, Daniel," I cry despairingly, knowing full well I look and sound desperate, but feeling incapable of change. "I can't feel a damn thing... and it's too fucking *dark* to do anything here..."
"Hey... take it easy," Daniel soothed as I broke down and fell onto Jack's body, mine racking with sobs. I could feel Daniel shift me sideways, his hand searching for a pulse, something to announce that Jack was still alive and with us.
I also knew he wouldn't find anything.
Good friend that he was, he let my sit there and bawl for a while. When my cries subsided, he reached out and patted me on the shoulder. "Sam, I need you to stick with me just a while longer, ok?" he asked hesitantly.
I sniffed slightly and looked at him, almost feeling the need to laugh at what Daniel obviously thought was a successful attempt at 'covering' me. "We need to get back," I said, somehow knowing his train of thought.
"Yeah," he said gently. "Are you gonna be ok for the moment?"
I shook my head. "But I'm gonna have to be." I looked around. Mackensie was bunched up against a far wall. "Where's Teal'c," I asked belatedly.
Daniel shrugged. "Maybe he got out. At any rate, that's what we need to do."
I leaned back and disentangled myself from the weapons in my lap. I hook the straps over alternate shoulders. "Yeah," I murmured, standing shakily. "We should go. What about..." I let myself trail off, staring at Jack's limp form.
"We can't leave him here," he said, and I felt partly relieved. Daniel struggled for a moment, but managed to awkwardly lift Jack from the ground. I head towards the narrow corridor which Daniel and I hadn't come from and ploughed in, not caring what happened to Mackensie, and not bothering to check that she followed.
I honestly have no idea how long we wandered in those passages, or how we managed to make it out. All I know is that eventually I saw open night instead of rock, and standing proud in the distance, the Stargate. Automatically, I walked towards it.
I found Teal'c on the platform, standing watch. Noticing our sorry expressions and struggling archaeologist, he moved towards Daniel to relieve him of his burden as I angrily punched in the glyphs for Earth. I sent the GDO code as the sequence engaged and stormed the platform. Daniel came up behind me, arguing with Teal'c and panting under the weight of the body he'd refused to hand over, and met me in front of the Gate. He nodded at me sadly, and we both stepped through.
I shudder to think what Hammond thought when he saw us emerge from the liquid surface; Major Rambo, guns at the ready, an exhausted weighed-down archaeologist, and one dead CO. I didn't see anything. I stood long enough to know that Daniel fell from exhaustion and shock, before succumbing myself.
-- DANIEL --
I found her tucked away in a darkened corner of her lab, her gaze firmly fixed on the piece of paper in her hands. I watched silently as she flipped it and continued reading, her expression unintelligible. While I stood in the doorway she turned the page back and re-read the first side. When she flipped it over again, I decided to make my presence known.
"Important document?"
Sam looked up at me, her eyes showing a combination of sorrow and anger. "Not really."
"Are you ready to go? Janet said she'd meet us here in a few minutes."
Her bottom lip quivered slightly, but I could see her mentally regroup herself to present the steely exterior she'd been wearing around base for the few days since our return. Slowly, she extended her arm towards me, motioning that I take the piece of paper she'd been scrutinising. "I found this here when I came in."
"Well, you shouldn't be here anyway," I reminded her while reaching for the sheet of paper. I glanced at the neat handwriting in front of me, and skim-read the first few lines. "Oh... that's nice. She wrote you a condolence letter." My eyes skipped over the rest of the letter. "And sort of an apology as well." I looked over at Sam, not understanding her problem. Her eyes looked anything but consoled. "It's not good?"
"I don't want her pity, Daniel," she stated, reaching for the letter, scrunching it up and throwing it as hard as she could towards her bin. "She killed him. Shot him. And I'm supposed to just accept that she never meant it to happen and move on? Move on to where? To what? She seems to think that one little note will just solve everything!"
I knelt down in front of her and pulled her into my embrace. "I think maybe you just need to talk with her... you know, resolve a few things and see where it goes..."
Sam pulled back abruptly. "No!" She shook her head resolutely. "No way. I don't want to talk to her... I don't want to ever *see* her again!"
"Sam..."
I turned towards the doorway at the sound of Mackensie's voice, and glanced quickly between the two of them. "I think maybe..."
Sam pushed her way out in front of me, a slightly crazed look in her eyes. "Get out!" Upon reaching the nearest workbench she clutched for the first object she saw - a hole puncher - and threw it angrily towards the doorway. "Get out!" The hole puncher scraped past the door frame and skidded its way across the hall, stopping only when it collided with the far concrete wall. As it did so, I saw Sam collapse into a crumpled, sobbing heap on the floor. "Just leave me alone."
Sighing gently, I moved towards her and pulled her into another hug. "Shhh... it'll be ok... eventually." Hearing a slight cough to my left, I looked up to find Janet in the doorway. I motioned slightly for her to take my place. "I have something to do - I'll meet you there," I offered by way of explanation before standing and jogging from the room.
I found Mackensie standing in the control room, staring vacantly at the inactivated Gate. "I think you need to give her a little more time."
She spun around quickly and stared silently at me for a brief moment, before returning her gaze to the Stargate. "I know they were married, but she seems to think it gives her the right to be the only person upset about this."
"They were close."
"I'm not disputing that. But so were you and he. Hell, the whole team was close. What gives her the right to be so different from everyone else around here?"
"I, uh... I don't know. I can't explain it. They've been through a lot together." I shrugged. "They loved each other. And when she saw him... saw that you'd..."
"That's right. I shot him. Go ahead and say it, Daniel. This whole situation is my fault."
"No..."
"But can't she see that maybe I feel bad enough about this without her throwing it in my face?" She shook her head and turned to face me. "Just go, Daniel. Go say goodbye or whatever the hell it is you need to do."
"You should stop by."
Mackensie laughed acidly. "And what? Start a scene? No, he deserves better than that. He might be stubborn, and he might be a pain in the ass, but he still deserves better."
-- JANET --
I saw Mackensie merge into the background and vanish. The coffin hit rock bottom. Beside me, Sam broke down in tears, and turned to find some comfort in Daniel's arms. He, I have to admit, wasn't any more stable than she was. Understandable really. Hell, everyone here was at least a little teary, even the usually stoical Teal'c.
In the end, there were six of us: Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, Hammond and myself, and watching obliquely from the trees not too far away, Sara O'Neill. Sam had felt it only right to invite the woman, and I think it said a lot that she came.
Sam reached out and threw a single white rose haphazardly on the newly dug soil that had submerged and covered the coffin, and I heard her whisper softly.
"I love you."
=====
The End
Story Notes: SPOILERS: FiaD. Solitudes. POV. WARNING: **** CHARACTER DEATH ****
FEEDBACK: Absolutely! :)
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This fic is based on some challenges: 1999 Profiler Challenge (must include the lines Jack-"I won't accept that." and Other-"Is that because you think I'm wrong or because you're in love with her?"); 1999 Ring Challenge (SJR story, the ring shown in FiaD must be from Jack, SJ kiss, angst); 1999 New Member Challenge (SandJ together, new member assigned to team who knows Jack from previous work, snide comments between Jack and new member, Sam gets angry at Jack for upsetting new person); 1999 Teal'c Challenge (Teal'c must laugh, someone says "That guy is massive!" about Teal'c, Teal'c finds out about SandJ relationship)
DEDICATION: To Sare for her nagging encouragement, Amelie for putting up with my incessant ramblings, and last but not least, a big hug and thank-you to the genius that is Doc. Kate.
Just a special reminder for some of my favourite characters: "Hold on, hold on to yourself For this is gonna hurt like hell" ~ "Hold On", Sarah McLachlan (used without permission)
Copyright (c) 2000 Nicole K
FEEDBACK: Absolutely! :)
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This fic is based on some challenges: 1999 Profiler Challenge (must include the lines Jack-"I won't accept that." and Other-"Is that because you think I'm wrong or because you're in love with her?"); 1999 Ring Challenge (SJR story, the ring shown in FiaD must be from Jack, SJ kiss, angst); 1999 New Member Challenge (SandJ together, new member assigned to team who knows Jack from previous work, snide comments between Jack and new member, Sam gets angry at Jack for upsetting new person); 1999 Teal'c Challenge (Teal'c must laugh, someone says "That guy is massive!" about Teal'c, Teal'c finds out about SandJ relationship)
DEDICATION: To Sare for her nagging encouragement, Amelie for putting up with my incessant ramblings, and last but not least, a big hug and thank-you to the genius that is Doc. Kate.
Just a special reminder for some of my favourite characters: "Hold on, hold on to yourself For this is gonna hurt like hell" ~ "Hold On", Sarah McLachlan (used without permission)
Copyright (c) 2000 Nicole K
End Notes: "I don't mind a few dents. But change the radio station and you're a dead man." ~ Amy ("I Don't", Daria)
"I'm always an optimist, except when I choose to be a pessimist." ~ Nicole
ICQ: 62482342 AIM:nicolek228 http://www.geocities.com/nicolek_oz
"I'm always an optimist, except when I choose to be a pessimist." ~ Nicole
ICQ: 62482342 AIM:nicolek228 http://www.geocities.com/nicolek_oz
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]