Major Sam Carter stood in the control room and gave a small sigh as she watched the wormhole shut down. That had been harder than she had expected. Today was her first official day back at the SGC since she had transferred off of SG1 due to her health and she had just watched her old team, along with their third attempt at a replacement for her, head off on a mission. Behind her General Hammond saw her straighten her shoulders and turn to leave the room.
"Major, if you have time, I'm about to meet with Lt. Colonel Uterell. I would like to introduce you to him," he said, knowing that the best way to distract her was to keep her busy.
"Certainly, Sir. I am anxious to meet him," Sam replied as they headed up the stairs to the General's office.
While Sam had been sick, Colonel Tucker, Hammond's Chief of Staff, had retired. Although as a team field member, Sam had reported to her CO up through the XO (who both happened to be O'Neill) she had worked closely with Colonel Tucker, since all of her lab staff, and the tech sergeants and engineers she worked with reported up through him. After Major Samuels had left, Tucker's quiet sense of humor and southern charm had been a welcome relief. Both she and O'Neill had truly respected him as he was a good man who had run the SGC staff efficiently.
The new COS, Lt. Colonel Uterell, had started while she and Jack had been off at the cabin in Minnesota. When they had returned Jack had gone back to work, and one of the first orders of business had been a meeting between Hammond and his three command officers, O'Neill his XO, Fraiser the CMO, and Uterell the COS. Janet had reported back to Sam with the details.
"Sam, I swear. I don't know what you did to the man, although I can guess, but Colonel O'Neill sat there the whole meeting looking tan and relaxed, with this big grin on his face, cracking jokes. He drove Uterell crazy. And just when Uterell had written him off as a total goof-off, the Colonel rattled off a bunch of really good suggestions to resolve some of the issues we had been discussing and the meeting was over. Poor Uterell didn't know what had hit him. There isn't going to be any love lost between those two, I can tell you that," she had said.
Now it was time for Sam to meet her new CO, the man Jack O'Neill had christened 'Utterly Useless'. She was determined to keep an open mind, even if Janet had claimed that the Lt. Colonel needed a full physical to check for 'a stick up his butt'. As she entered Hammond's office through the briefing room door, there was a knock on the outer door. Hammond beckoned for the Lt. Colonel to enter, and then there was a brief awkward moment as Uterell stood at attention in front of the General, while Sam was obviously at ease.
"At ease, Colonel," Hammond commanded and then turned to Sam. "Colonel Uterell, this is Major Sam Carter, our Stargate expert," he continued.
Sam snapped to attention. "A pleasure to meet you, Sir," she intoned perfectly, then relaxed as her CO signaled for her to take a seat.
They spent the next hour discussing how the labs and research projects were currently organized. Uterell made a few comments and suggestions, none of which were anything new. Then he brought up the subject of time sheets. He thought each scientist, lab tech and engineer should be logging their time to projects so they could keep track of how much time was spent on each one. It was an idea that had been discussed in the past, and rejected. Sam explained to him that a portion of the staff, especially the lead researchers, were civilian. They all worked long hours, which the Air Force could not afford to pay them for. And they certainly could not have them cutting back on the overtime, which might occur if they suddenly were keeping track of their time. Hammond agreed with her. Then another thought made her chuckle.
"Besides, Sir, could you imagine the categories we would have to come up with? Try logging your time as 'Possessed by an alien entity', or 'Recovering from electrocution'," she noted with a grin.
"We would need to come up with some creative categories for you, if past experience is any indicator, Major," Hammond agreed smiling.
Sam glanced over at the Lt. Colonel and saw him frowning. He obviously didn't get the joke, so he must not have gotten very far into the mission reports that the Colonel had given him to read. At that point Hammond dismissed them, and Sam headed off to her labs with Uterell in tow.
"So you used to be on SG1," he commented.
"For six years," she acknowledged.
"I'll bet that you are glad to be out from under O'Neill's command. I can't believe you held out for six years," he said shaking his head in bewilderment.
Sam stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. "Actually, I miss it already. I loved being on SG1, and the Colonel was the best CO I've ever had. If I ever get my own command, I'll owe my being ready to him," she stated simply.
Uterell looked at her in surprise. "You're kidding right? The man is sarcastic, has no respect for authority, and from what I read is a borderline head case. Plus, he doesn't understand any of the scientific aspects of gate travel. He must have driven you crazy when you tried to explain things to him," he exclaimed.
Sam smiled. So Jack had obviously given his patented hard ass Colonel routine and had completely snowed the man. So much for any people skills Uterell might have possessed. She remembered that Tucker had seen through O'Neill in about five minutes flat. She shook her head in dismay. She was really starting to dislike this man.
"Yes, Sir, You could say that he drove me crazy," was all she said in reply. After all it was the truth. Jack O'Neill had alternately exasperated, amused, and aroused her for the last six years. She was well and truly crazy about him.
They reached the elevator just as the door opened and Major Griff walked out.
"Sam, you're back!" he exclaimed with a huge grin. "You look good, too. Something must have agreed with you while you were away," he said with a wink.
"Thanks, Griff. Can't imagine what it could have been," she quipped.
"So where's Jack?" he asked.
"SG1 went through the gate an hour ago," she admitted sadly.
"Sorry, Sam. I know that's gotta hurt," he sympathized. "Hey, more lab time though! You were always griping about not having enough time to do research on all the things we found. And you should see the great doohickey we brought back for you this morning," he added.
"Really! Guess I'd better get to work then," she smiled as she and Uterell got onto the elevator.
"Welcome back, Major," Griff waved as he headed off.
On the way to her lab, Sam was greeted enthusiastically by half a dozen more of her colleges, including Sgt. Siler who was positively beaming to have her back. He had been trying to cope with all of the gate problems for the last several months, and was thrilled to have the expert back on site. (Although he had called her on her cell phone twice when he had been stumped). By the time she had reached her lab she was blushing slightly from all of the compliments. Then she walked into her lab and turned even redder. She had forgotten that her lab techs had decorated in honor of her return. Lt. Colonel Uterell looked around at the balloons and banners in disapproval.
"I'll clean it all up before I leave today, Sir," she commented.
"See that you do, Major. And there will be a memo out on appropriate workplace decorum. See that your staff all read and understand it," he ordered. Then he picked up a folder that was on her desk. "These are all of the important memos that have come out while you were gone, in date order. I wanted to make sure you didn't miss any of them as you go through your e-mail. Please get yourself up to date on everything in here as soon as possible," he added, and with that he turned and left the room. Sam couldn't help looking at his butt as he walked away to see if she could see the stick.
She sighed. Well, she'd had tough CO's before. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Of course she didn't realize that Uterell's dislike for her was going to grow once he figured out that she was involved with Jack O'Neill. He must not have listened to the base gossip, because he didn't figure it out until SG1 came back from their mission several days later.
Sam was in the control room when they arrived back, actually close to being on time. She paused the work that she was doing once Sgt. Davis announced SG1's code and stood by the window to watch her guys return. She glanced over her shoulder as Hammond walked behind her on his way to the stairs and smiled.
"They're on time? That's got to be a good sign," he commented on his way out of the room.
"I hope so," Sam murmured to no one in particular. She was hoping they would find a new teammate soon so that she could stop feeling guilty about abandoning the team, even if she hadn't really had much choice in the matter.
As soon as she saw the expression on Jack's face though, she knew that he wasn't happy. He barked out a few orders to the young Lt. Stahl and then turned to look up at the control room. He spotted Sam and rolled his eyes to signify his feelings. Then he turned to Hammond who had made his way down to greet them.
"Another one bites the dust. You're a tough act to follow, Major," Sgt. Davis said with a grin.
"What was the pool up to?" she asked.
"10-1 against him actually making it to a second mission," Davis informed her.
Neither of them had seen Lt. Colonel Uterell enter the room behind them.
"Major, Sergeant, I hope you are not suggesting that there is betting going on amongst my staff," he asked outraged.
Sgt. Davis sent a panicked look towards Sam. She knew that he always got in on the pools. But she had not spent six years with O'Neill as a CO without learning how to bend the truth a bit.
"Of course not, Sir. The SG teams have several pools going though. It helps to relieve the stress," she informed him, giving him her best innocent look.
"And O'Neill allows this? I should report it to Hammond," Uterell threatened.
General Hammond chose that moment to ascend the stairs from the gate room.
"Report what to me, Colonel?" he inquired.
Uterell hesitated. He could use this as ammunition to hold over O'Neill's head if he played his cards right. Sam however had no fear of letting the General know about the betting. Heck, he probably had money in the pool.
"Colonel Uterell was concerned to learn that there was a bet on whether Lt. Stahl would continue on SG1 or not, Sir," she explained with a grin.
"Unfortunately, the Lieutenant has already indicated that he would prefer to transfer to another SG team. I should know better than to bet against O'Neill. Tell me, just how did you survive him those first few missions, Major?" Hammond asked shaking his head in confusion.
"I was good at blowing thing up, Sir," she chuckled.
"Oh, well," he sighed in resignation. "At least I can still win my money back on the big pool," he added.
"Which one is that, Sir?" Sam inquired curiously as she was usually up on the current betting.
"The one to guess your wedding date, Major. I have the first week in July," he commented, and laughing he left the Sergeant and Lt. Colonel to deal with the stunned Major.
Sam slowly turned to Sgt. Davis who was trying to look busy at the keyboard.
"Sergeant!" she snapped off in her best command voice. "Since when is there a pool on my wedding date?"
Davis started at his shoes unable to meet her eyes. "Since the pool on you and Colonel O'Neill getting together was settled, Major," he admitted waiting for the explosion.
She had actually known about that one. Janet had told her about it when they first become friends almost six years ago. Sam had been embarrassed, as at the time she was still trying hard to be one of the guys. But at the time she really hadn't thought of her CO in that way. Oh, she thought he was attractive and funny, but as far as she knew he was still married, so the pool had seemed a bit foolish. Later, she had wondered how many times they had rolled over the dates as the years went by. She'd been surprised that the pool had survived once the originators (Kawalsky and Ferretti) were both gone from the SGC.
"Who won by the way?" she asked, surprising the Sergeant who looked up to see her smiling.
"Major Griff," he answered. "And the odds on favorite for your wedding is the first week in August," he added, subtly letting her know that those were his dates in the pool.
"He hasn't asked," she confided quietly.
"He will," Davis confidently told her.
At this point Uterell finally made his presence known.
"If you two are finished gossiping, I recommend that you get back to work," he ordered, angry that they had virtually ignored him for the last several minutes.
Later, the Lt. Colonel tracked down Major Carter in her lab.
"So that's the reason that you left SG1? I'm surprised that Hammond let you two get away with it," he accused.
"I don't know what you mean, Sir," Sam stated trying to keep her cool.
"Having an affair with your CO is a good way to get court marshaled, Major," he advised.
"You are my CO, Sir, not Colonel O'Neill," Carter reminded him.
"Still, I bet a review board would have a field day with this one, Major," he threatened.
"We haven't done anything that wouldn't stand up to a full review, Sir. Now if you'll excuse me this simulation is at a critical point. I need to get back to work if you want those reports first thing tomorrow," she stated calmly.
Uterell was a bit taken aback by her attitude. He had figured that by threatening her with this he was going to get a hold over her, but she hadn't even blinked. He wasn't used to junior officers whom he couldn't completely control by making them fear him. Finally, as she continued to work quietly, he turned and left in frustration.
Carter fumed after he left. The man was an idiot. If he thought he could frighten her with a few misguided threats he obviously hadn't done his homework. She had stared down Goa'uld System Lords. One puny Lt. Colonel didn't stand a chance.
Not that he didn't try. Over the next couple of weeks he did everything he could to get under her skin. He had her things moved out of SG1's locker room, even though no new member had been permanently assigned. He set what he thought were impossible deadlines not realizing that Sam Carter routinely did the impossible before lunch. He established a whole set of new reports to be produced weekly for each lab project. Sam just set up a computer program that generated them automatically, so her staff wouldn't have to deal with them. Through it all Jack was there supporting her and giving her strength. When he found her in SG1's locker room staring at her empty cubicle, he had told her that she was welcome to join him in there anytime she wanted, making her laugh as he swept her up and took her into the shower with him. He made sure despite the deadlines she faced that she ate, and rested, and took time out to exercise so she could hopefully be declared fit for active duty again someday soon. Their relationship flourished and by the time she had been back at the SGC for a month they were living together. Jack was ready to take it a step further.
Sam had planned on spending Saturday morning in her lab, and then stopping by Janet's to spend a couple of hours with Cassie. The Fraisers had strict instructions to not let her leave their house until at least 17:30. When she arrived home, her first thought was the Jack must have broken something and he was expecting her to be mad. Huge bunches of roses were strategically placed around the house. Then she saw the dining room table, also adorned with roses, as well as candles and a bottle of champagne. Soft music was playing in the background. Even as she took in the whole atmosphere two strong arms encircled her from behind, and lips brushed up against her ear.
"What are you up to Jack O'Neill," she asked in amusement even as she leaned back into his embrace and tilted her head back against his shoulder so he could kiss her.
"What makes you think that I am up to something?" he asked innocently as his lips met hers.
After they finally broke apart, she raised an eyebrow and waited, refusing to be distracted. He just knew that she had learned that eyebrow thing from Teal'c. He sighed knowing she wasn't going to let it drop.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to be romantic," he confessed.
She turned in his arms to face him both eyebrows now raised in inquiry. "Is this a random act of romance, or is there an ulterior motive?" she asked.
"I wanted tonight to be special," he explained as he pulled a black velvet box from his pocket.
Her eyes widened in shock as he opened the box to reveal a diamond and sapphire ring that took her breath away. Then he was down on one knee and she realized that his man who hated cliches was acting out the ultimate one just for her. She wouldn't have thought it was possible, but she fell a bit more in love with him in that one moment.
"Sam. I'm really bad at expressing my feelings, but I love you. I never expected to feel this way again, but you breezed into my life six years ago and slowly knocked down all of the walls I had built to protect my heart. Before I even realized what was happening you had become as important to me as the air I breathe. I can't imagine my life without you. Will you marry me?" he asked holding her gaze so that she could see all of the love he felt for her.
She wanted to tell him that for someone who didn't do the 'talking about his feelings' thing that he had done an amazing job. She wanted to tell him that she felt the same way. But her heart was pounding and her brain refused to provide the words so she said the only thing that mattered at the moment.
"Yes."
Later that night Sam awoke in Jack's arms and thought back on the evening. They'd had a wonderful Italian dinner that Jack had ordered from one of their favorite restaurants, accompanied by the champagne, which they had finished while sitting out on his rooftop under the stars wrapped in blankets. Sam had finally managed to say all that had eluded her earlier. Then they had moved inside to the warmth and comfort of the bedroom to continue the activities started on the roof. It had definitely been a night to remember. Now Sam watched as her ring glinted in the moonlight in awe. Three months ago she had been sitting in Nirrti's prison cell waiting to die, regretting all of the things that she had not done. Telling Jack that she loved him had been number one on the list. Now, her whole life had turned around, and while she missed being on SG1, she wouldn't go back if she could. She smiled and snuggled into Jack's warm body as she drifted off into a contented sleep.
The next few days were a whirlwind of activity. When they finally got out of bed Sunday morning they had called around and gotten Jonas, Teal'c, Janet, Cassie, and General Hammond all to stop over for an impromptu celebration. After congratulations and hugs, the first question had been "When's the wedding?"
Sam and Jack had smiled. They knew that every one of their friends probably had money riding on this, but they had tried to pick a date with an open mind. As it turned out, they had selected August 2nd for a small family ceremony, and were planning a huge reception the next day for all of the SGC. Sam was pleased when she remembered that it was Sgt. Davis' week in the pool.
The next day the entire SGC had heard the news within an hour of the two officers signing in. By lunch time just about everyone had stopped by to congratulate them. A sign was finally posted with the wedding date, and an official invitation to the reception to be held on the mountain to help stem the tide of well wishers. Uterell was furious. He had been threatening people all morning trying to get them back to work, but the engagement announcement had created a holiday atmosphere at the SGC that was not to be dampened. Eventually Hammond called him to his office. He really wasn't happy with the way that his COS was trying to rule with an iron fist. He was hoping to get him to see that this was an error.
"Colonel, the morale at the SGC is the best it has been in over a year. The hubbub will die down in a day or two, and then we will reap the rewards of teams that are happy and productive," he explained patiently.
Uterell didn't agree, but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut. He would bide his time. Eventually he would be able to discredit O'Neill and Carter and then he hoped Hammond would listen to some of his ideas. The opportunity to take Carter down a peg or two came a week later. It did not however turn out at all the way the Lt. Colonel had planned.
The Klaxon's sounded Friday morning as Hammond, O'Neill and Uterell were meeting in the General's office. Having no teams due back, the three men hurried down to the control room.
"It's the Tok'Ra, Sir," Davis announced.
"Open the iris," Hammond ordered as the three continued down to the gate room.
Hammond and O'Neill weren't surprised to see Jacob emerge from the gate. A message had been sent off earlier in the week asking him to stop by when he got a chance. Jack smiled as he saw Sam enter through the blast doors. Then Uterell shocked them all into silence.
"Major, I don't believe you were called to the gate room. Please go back to your own work," he stated crossly. Then as she paused he barked, "That's an order, Major!"
She could have just ignored him. She knew that Hammond would have backed her up. But she in a split second knew that Uterell had just made a fatal mistake, and given her a golden opportunity.
"Yes, Sir! Right away, Sir!" she replied and meekly turned on her heel and left the room.
When the blast doors closed behind her, she leaned up against the door and laughed. Gosh, what she wouldn't do to be a fly on the wall in there right now.
The stories of what occurred in the gate room that day were told for years. Most of the tales were highly exaggerated, but all agreed on the basic facts. Jacob had been furious. So furious that Selmak had taken over, and with glowing eyes and thundering voice had asked Uterell why 'Our daughter' had been ordered from the room. Within the hour by mutual agreement, Hammond had transferred Uterell back to Washington.
Jack had found Sam in her lab after the confrontation.
"You are truly evil," he commented. "Have I told you that I love that about you?"
Sam gave him a grin. "Was there bloodshed?"
"No, but even I was shaking in my boots. You're sure that your Dad and Selmak like me right?" he queried. "Because I'm not sure that I want to tell them our news in their current mood if there is the slightest chance that they won't approve."
"If I'm happy, then they're happy, promise," she assured him.
"Are you happy?" he asked.
She gave him one of her blinding smiles and nodded.
"Then let's go see Dad," he said as he waved her out the door.
They found Jacob in Hammond's office where the General was trying to calm him down.
"Colonel, Major. I've been assuring Jacob that Colonel Uterell has not been upsetting Sam on a regular basis. He and Selmak are worried about your health, Major," Hammond explained relieved to have the two officers there to finally sort all of this out. "I'll leave you to talk," he added as he beat a hasty exit from the room.
"Dad, you know I can take care of myself. But thanks for playing along," Sam said going over and giving her father a hug. "Besides, I've had much more important things on my mind than that idiot CO," she grinned.
Jacob looked from Sam to Jack and back again. "Is there something I should know?" he asked hopefully.
"Jacob, I've asked Sam to marry, me, and although I have no idea why, she said yes," Jack explained.
Jacob looked Sam over carefully. No longer thin and haunted looking, she appeared fit and healthy. And happy. That was good enough for him. He gathered her in for another hug.
"Congratulations, baby," he murmured. Then he stepped away to shake Jack's hand. "You've obviously been taking good care of her. Thanks, Jack. And I can think of a lot of reasons why she said yes. You're a good man, and you make her happy. As long as you keep making her happy, Selmak and I will not have to hurt you," he warned.
"Understood, Sir," Jack replied more than a bit relieved.
"I'm starved," Jacob announced. "Scaring the crap out of junior officers always gives me an appetite. Let's go get something to eat and you can fill me in on what's been going on since I last saw you."
Two hours later Jacob was ready to leave. He promised that he would try to get back for a visit at least once before the wedding, and he made Sam promise to call Mark and tell him the news. They saw him off in the gate room, and then headed back to Hammond's office where the General was waiting for them.
"Well, Major, it seems that I am in need of a new COS. I'd offer you the position, but I need you too much in the lab," Hammond complained. "And I don't think you would enjoy the job anyways."
"No, Sir. I hate paperwork almost as much as the Colonel does," she admitted.
"Hmph, well I'll request someone to be transferred in. Hopefully they will be a better fit than Colonel Uterell was. You two are dismissed. Go home, enjoy your week-end. You've caused enough chaos for one week," he ordered.
Later that night, Sam and Jack were relaxing after dinner when Jack grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. Sam turned to him with a questioning look.
"Have something in mind, Flyboy?" she asked grinning.
"I thought we could go over our wedding vows," he replied to her surprise.
"We have plenty of time, Jack," she said.
"I know, but there are some parts I think we should go over," he stated seriously.
She grew quiet and looked at him in concern. "I don't want to say the 'obey' part," she admitted.
He smiled. "That's fine. I certainly don't expect you to obey me anyway," he teased, earning himself a playful slap.
"Well the rest of the standard vows are fine with me unless you have something else in mind," she said.
"No, the standard vows are good. I mean we've had a lot of practice on some parts already. The whole 'In Sickness and In Health' part for example," he replied.
"And the 'For Better or For Worse' part. You've certainly seen me at my worst. Grumpy, covered in mud, no sleep. Not to mention the whole 'snake in my head'scenario. Plus you've dealt with my Dad. I promise that there is better than all of that," she chuckled.
"Yeah, you've put up with way more bad stuff from me than I could ever expect you to. Plus you haven't even met my family yet. That's a treat you will want to avoid," he grimaced.
"No, I really want to meet them. If you're going to put up with Dad and Selmak, not to mention Mark and his anti-military rants, then I think I can put up with a few non-alien in-laws," she protested.
"We'll see," he said as he started to distract her by kissing her neck. "Then there is the 'For Richer or Poorer' part. Sorry, Angel, but there is no family fortune hidden away," he admitted with a sigh that sent shivers through her as his warm breath wafted across her skin.
"That just leaves the 'Til Death do us Part' thing. I think we should skip that. It's too much like tempting fate," she said as her hands started to roam over his back.
"You missed the part I wanted to work on," he complained as his hands worked their way under the hem of her shirt.
She felt his fingers creeping upwards as she asked on a moan, "What's that?"
"To Have and to Hold," he whispered as he gathered her in for a passionate kiss.
The end
(To be continued in "For Better or For Worse")
Story Notes: Note: This is NOT part of the In Demand Series (I'm not abandoning ship – honest… just got inspired elsewhere!)
Sequel to: In Sickness and in Health
Author's Notes: Well, this is another story that is threatening to become a series. There will be at least one more part, my muse insists. (For Better or For Worse… huh, she has a title so she must know what she is doing this time) I have to thank (or is that blame) everyone who took part in the discussion on base command structure a few weeks ago. The discussion inspired this part of the story, which then inspired the next part… so I guess I really need to place some blame here (points frantically at Robert, Teresa and Shootem). As a matter of reference I went with this command structure simply because it worked for the story.
Sequel to: In Sickness and in Health
Author's Notes: Well, this is another story that is threatening to become a series. There will be at least one more part, my muse insists. (For Better or For Worse… huh, she has a title so she must know what she is doing this time) I have to thank (or is that blame) everyone who took part in the discussion on base command structure a few weeks ago. The discussion inspired this part of the story, which then inspired the next part… so I guess I really need to place some blame here (points frantically at Robert, Teresa and Shootem). As a matter of reference I went with this command structure simply because it worked for the story.
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 ]