Sara turned around to face her ex-husband and his new family. "Hello Jack." Jack scrambled to his feet, still holding Kathryn, while Sam's eyes darted from her commanding officer to his ex-wife, not knowing what to do. "I uh, Sara," he managed. "Uh, this is Captain Samantha Carter, and my... uh, our daughter Kathryn." Sara nodded politely at the seated captain, who smiled in return. "This is Edward Hawkins, a friend," she informed them, clinging onto his arm like a life preserver. "It's good to see you again Jack." "Likewise," Jack replied, thinking back to their disastrous meeting at the hospital, where an alien life form had taken the form of their deceased son. "Would you like to join us?" He tried to offer them a seat, but the child in his arms made it difficult for him to do much. Sam indicated that she was willing to take Kathryn, but Jack instead preferred to hold onto her much like a safety blanket. "No, we were just on our way out," Sara replied. "Thank you for the offer though. We'll have to get together though at some point. We've been through too much together to loose touch." "Yes we have," Jack replied, in an almost pensive tone. "I wasn't aware that you two were an item when we were at the hospital," Sara changed the subject smoothly, picking up on the sadness underlying her ex-husband's words. Sam spoke up as if to deny it, but Jack interrupted. "Well, we have to keep it hidden as much as possible when we're on duty," he replied, looking at Sam as if to tell her to play along with the charade. It wasn't as if they could tell Sara and her friend the truth about Kathryn, and as they weren't actually a couple, there was nothing that the Air Force could do about it, so there was no risk of a court martial. "It can be a bit hard at times, but we manage alright, don't we honey?" Sam managed to avoid raising her eyebrows at the term of endearment used by her CO as she replied "Yes, most of the base didn't suspect a thing until Kathryn's arrival." That was a lie. If anything Janet had told Sam was correct, half the base believed that they were lovers since they first knew each other. The other half of the base was now expecting them to become lovers within the next year at least, what with Kathryn's arrival. But what Janet hadn't told her, was that she was in the latter half of the base, along with both Daniel and Teal'c. Jack smiled proudly back at her, although he was in fact thankful that she didn't just leave him to cope with it himself. "Yes, well, she was a bit of a surprise," he grinned and Sam smiled at the truth of his words. Considering that Kathryn was the daughter of their alternate selves and was brought through to their universe by a quantum mirror after her parent's deaths, surprise was probably an understatement. Sara looked at him curiously, as the man she had married always planned major things in advance, and having a child was certainly in that category. Maybe this Samantha Carter was just what he needed to loosen up a bit. She couldn't remember the last time that she had seen him this content, although she had been surprised at the change in him when they met at the hospital. He had been nothing like the man who had stood beside her at their son's funeral, and she guessed that once again, Samantha Carter was the person to thank. She had obviously been able to be there for Jack, when Sara herself couldn't. "Well, it's been nice seeing you again Jack, Captain Carter," Sara told them, feeling uncomfortable just standing there. She felt as if the entire restaurant was looking at them, even though she knew that wasn't true. "I'll call you sometime." "Sure," Jack replied, trying to adjust Kathryn so he could shake her hand. Sam took pity on him and took the little girl, who just gurgled happily in her mother's arms. Sara smiled sadly at the child, thinking back to when Charlie had been that age, and so like... his stepsister. "Goodbye," she told the happy family, before steering Edward out of the restaurant. Once the doors had closed behind her, she slumped against the wall dejectedly. "Sara?" Edward questioned, looking at his friend in concern. "Are you all right?" She nodded. "I'm fine," she assured him. "I think it was just the shock of seeing him with another woman and their child. And then, I was watching Kathryn and she reminded me so much of Charlie, and all I could think of was that she's Charlie's stepsister. I don't know - I guess the last time I saw him, before the hospital I mean, Jack had just cut himself off from the world that I never really expected him to find someone else, much less have another child with them. But I am happy for him - really." Her companion smiled at her, as he offered his arm again. Sara took it with a small smile, and they headed off down the street, with her head resting against his shoulder. Inside the restaurant, Jack's face was pale as he sat back down, and the waitress put two plates of food in front of them. Kathryn immediately grabbed a fry off Sam's plate and gnawed on it happily. "Sir?" Sam looked at her commanding officer, concern showing on her face. "Are you okay?" "It's Jack," he told her, toying with his food. "And I just didn't expect to run into Sara, and have to try to explain Kathryn to her. Thank you for backing me up by the way." Sam smiled. "That was no problem sir... Jack," she replied. "You're just going to have to be there when I explain to my brother that he's an uncle, and my dad that he's a grandfather again. And why I didn't tell them before now." She picked Kathryn up off her lap, and fastened her into the high chair by the table. Kathryn banged her fist on the tray, so Sam quickly pacified her with a few fries, and a bit of cut up chicken. Jack groaned as he cut up his steak. "I hadn't even thought about that," he confessed. "I've got a brother and a sister to inform as well as my parents. Although at least the hardest is over." "Sara," Sam confirmed, and Jack just nodded, as he chewed on his lunch. "She seemed to take it well I thought. I don't know - maybe you saw something I didn't." "She was too alright with it," Jack declared, shaking his head. "I wish I could have got the chance to tell her before she saw us with Kathryn. And as it is, we've got to explain to everyone why we waited until she was nine months old before we told them about her." Sam thought for a minute, her gaze returning to the giggling child beside them. "Maybe we could say that she was ill, and we didn't want everyone to know in case she didn't survive," she suggested. "I'm sure Janet can give us a convincing disease." "Do you think that would work?" Jack asked, leaning over the table and raising his eyebrows. Sam shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see why not," she replied. "It's worth a try." "Sweet," he declared, as they finished off their lunch. Jack insisted on paying the check despite Sam's protests, before claiming Kathryn as his own, with more objections from Sam. There was no time for them to do any more shopping; instead they had to drive straight back to Cheyenne Mountain to meet Senator Kinsey. They had managed to order some things in for Kathryn, as what they had wanted hadn't been in stock. Sam had accepted graciously that Kathryn would probably be better off staying at her father's for the time being, until the delivery was made. At the mountain, Sam took Kathryn down to Janet, while Jack changed into his dress blues. He was just pulling on his jacket when Sam waltzed into the locker room. "Excuse me Captain," he told her. "For all you knew, I could have been standing here with my trousers around my ankles." Sam blushed. "Sorry sir," she replied. As they were back on base, Jack didn't remind her that he had said to drop the sirs. "I thought you would have finished by now." "All but," he grinned back, showing that he didn't really care that she had walked in on him. He could only remember too well the last time that they had been in the locker room together, when she had been infected by the Touched virus. He was still amazed at the amount of self-control he had been able to exercise during that incident, especially when he thought back to the sensation of her pressing down on him and the feel of her soft skin beneath his hands. He realised that he was staring at her as he relieved those memories, and noticed a soft hue creep up onto her cheeks. She could obviously remember her actions too, or at least had some idea of what she did, and Jack was surprised that none of the comments he'd made had come under question so far. "Sir," Sam began hesitantly, as she began to unzip the suit bag that Jack had carried in from the car for her. "When I was infected by the Touched virus, and tried to mate with you..." Jack inhaled sharply, knowing where this was going and wishing that he hadn't been thinking about that time only moments previously. As much as he hated to admit it, there had been something about this young captain that had drawn him to her inexplicably from the very beginning, ever since she had walked into the briefing room. At first he had thought that it was just a physical attraction, for she was certainly a very attractive woman. But as he grew to know her, so did the feelings inside of him. He realised that he felt more comfortable in her company then he ever had with Sara, but had put that down to them both being military, and him not being forced to keep information from her. He had tried to ignore the fact that just seeing her could make his day better, or that he would do anything just so that she would smile at him. They were not suitable thoughts for him to be having about an officer under his command, and had tried to banish them. But when she had attacked him in the locker room, he had been shocked to find how close he had been to just giving into her and dealing with the consequences at a later date. "Yeah, what about it?" Jack asked, proud that his voice came out vaguely normally. "You said to me 'No, not like this,'" Sam remembered, and Jack just looked away, wishing that she could have just forgotten that bit. "What did you mean exactly by that?" Jack couldn't meet her eyes; instead he focused on his polished black dress shoes. "I'm not sure exactly," he confessed. "I think part of it was because I didn't want you to remember me taking advantage of you while you were clearly not yourself. Also, I didn't want to risk our friendship. And then..." He trailed off, not really wanting to tell her this part, yet at the same time knowing that she deserved to know the truth, and knowing that he had to tell her. "There was the part of me that wanted to make sure if we ever did end up there again, it was for the right reasons, and somewhere where we would both be comfortable. I don't want there to be any regrets, and I want you to be fully aware of your surroundings and in full possession of your faculties." Sam looked at him, amazed. "You want to have sex with me?" she asked in disbelief. Jack looked up, and took her hands in his. "No, I want to make love to you. I want to fall asleep with you besides me, and wake with you in my arms. I want to be able to curl up on the sofa with you at the end of a hard day, and just relax together," he told her sincerely. "Sam, I have feelings for you. I'm still trying to sort out what they are, but I've felt something for you ever since I met you. I've tried to hide them, even as they've grown stronger, but it's been so hard, what with you getting the Touched virus, or drinking that stuff on P3X-595..." Sam blushed, and tried to look away, but Jack still continued with his heartfelt speech. "Or when I thought I was going to die on that glacier. I wanted to tell Sara that I was sorry. I was sorry for killing our son, and I was sorry because I had feelings for someone else. God Sam, I don't know what it is about you, but I'm crazy about you." Realising that he was still holding onto her hands, he dropped them and turned away. "I'm sorry for dropping all that on you. I'll just let you get changed..." Sam's mouth meeting his made him forget the rest of his sentence, as he wrapped his arms around her body, and they shared their first real kiss. It was intoxicating, and passionate, and Jack realised that now he had her, he was never going to let her go. Sam pulled away and looked at him shyly. "I have feelings for you too," she said simply, looking him straight in the eye. That was all the invitation that Jack needed to envelop her in his arms once again, and kiss her until they were both dizzy with a lack of oxygen. "I think you better leave so I can get changed ready to meet the senator," Sam whispered, as they stood in each other's arms, with their foreheads resting together. "Okay," Jack whispered back, dropping a kiss on her forehead before leaving the locker room. Outside, he avoided the temptation to groan as he realised just how many of the fraternisation regulations they had just broken - and the fact that their whole exchange had been caught on camera. He had managed to confiscate all the tapes recorded during the Touched incident, including the ones showing him beating up Daniel, and realised that he'd have to do the same with the ones from the locker room from the last few minutes. He didn't know why he had told her all that, although he had to admit that it felt a lot better. Now they would have to discuss where they were going, although that could wait until after they had met with Kinsey. They could go back to his house, put Kathryn to bed, order a take out and talk, with Jack exercising more control than he had done that afternoon. "Ready?" Sam's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to see her step out of the locker room door, dressed immaculately in her dress uniform. He nodded, as he pushed back a stray strand of hair from her face. Her face initially showed surprise, before she smiled up at him. He smiled back, allowing himself to be lost briefly in her clear blue eyes, before indicating that they should go. They walked side by side in silence to the briefing room, where Daniel and Teal'c were already seated. Daniel had pulled out a suit from somewhere, although Teal'c was still in his standard BDUs. "Hey," Daniel acknowledged their arrival as they sat down opposite him and Teal'c, leaving spaces at the end of the table for the General, the senator and anyone else who may be present, such as Major Davis. "Hey," Jack and Sam replied synchronously. "Any idea if the senator's here or not?" Jack asked. "The General's bringing him down, so he should be here any minute now," Daniel replied, and Jack immediately checked his watch, which showed that the politician was right on time. They waited in silence for the next minute or so, until the Senator's voice cut through their thoughts. "And this must be the famed SG-1." Jumping up from their seats, they stood smartly until the Senator was seated, when they retook their seats. The meeting with Kinsey lasted for what seemed like hours, with him having an opinion on every mission they had been on, and everyone they had met. Jack had nearly taken the man by his suit lapels and shook him stupid when he had stated his belief that the Goa'uld were not such a formidable adversary as those at the SGC believed. "After all, your team has fought them a number of times and you are all still here, aren't you Colonel." "With all due respect sir," Jack began, trying to keep the venom out of his voice. "We have died at the hands of the Goa'uld, but were fortunately revived by the Nox. And other SG teams haven't been as fortunate." "Ah, Major Kawalsky," Kinsey picked up on a particular example. "Infected by one of these parasites if I'm not mistaken. Something that would never have happened if the gate hadn't been dug up and put into action, costing the United States government over $7.4 billion a year. I think I've seen enough here. After a year in operation, the SGC has brought back no new technologies that we can use. The Goa'uld are no threat to us once we've buried the gate again like the Ancient Egyptians did." "You're crazy!" Daniel suddenly exploded. "You have no idea what it's like out there. The Goa'uld are planning an attack on Earth, and I was given the co-ordinates as to where they're coming from." Kinsey looked at the anthropologist with a mixture of pity and amusement on his face. "If we bury the gate, then any attack they launch through the Stargate won't be a problem." "They're not coming through the gate - they're coming in ships," Daniel explained. "They'll wipe out all the major cities from orbit, then launch ground troops to take over the gate. I've seen it happen." The Senator was now staring at Daniel in disbelief, and Jack knew that he was going to be less likely to believe him once Daniel started to explain about alternate universes. They were going to have to use their only proof that these universes did exist, although Jack had been hopeful to avoid introducing his daughter to such evil for another few years. He caught the General's eye, and made a brief motion to be excused. "Where's Colonel O'Neill going?" he heard Kinsey demand as he made his way to the nearest phone. "Infirmary please," he told the man who picked up. "Doctor Frasier - Janet, could you bring Kathryn up to the briefing room immediately please. Thanks." Placing the phone back on the receiver, he slipped back into his seat, where Sam was busy informing the Senator of the physics behind alternate realities, proving with science that they could, and did exist. Jack could see the headache that Kinsey was getting, as he recognised the look of puzzlement on the older man's face. "Colonel O'Neill?" Janet's voice from the entrance to the briefing room prevented Kinsey from formulating a response to Sam's physics lecture as all eyes turned to look at the petite doctor, standing uncomfortably there with a child in her arms. "You allow children to be bought on base?" Kinsey exclaimed in horror. Jack retrieved his daughter from the CMO, telling her that she was welcome to stay if she wanted. But Janet preferred the safety of her infirmary as opposed to spending any more time in the company of the irritable Senator, who was probably going to explode when he learnt about Kathryn. Even General Hammond had the ghost of a smile on his face when Jack sat back down with Kathryn, all the time talking softly to her. "Not children Senator," he replied, hoping that Kathryn was going to be enough to prevent the SGC from being shut down. "Kathryn is special." "Because she's the colonel's daughter?" Kinsey questioned. "I suppose her mother is the woman who brought her in." Jack looked horrified at the thought as he turned to Sam, who had to try and hide her giggles, as she tickled Kathryn. Kathryn however giggled, and Kinsey studied the bond between the girl and the woman. "You're not telling me that Captain Carter is her mother," he exclaimed. "Surely that's breaking every fraternisation rule in the book if she and Colonel O'Neill are involved. I ought to have the both of them court martialled, and you too General for allowing that to happen." Hammond held up his hand. "If you'll just hear us out Senator," he replied. "Kathryn isn't the daughter of Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter, although DNA tests will prove otherwise. My officer's relationship is purely professional, and medical tests will prove that Captain Carter has never given birth, much less nine months ago." Kinsey looked confused. "But you said that DNA tests say that she's their daughter," he protested. "And she's certainly familiar with the both of them." "Kathryn's the daughter of an alternate Jack and Sam," Daniel explained, managing to have calmed down slightly since his initial outburst. "I brought her back from their universe, after her parents were killed in the attack by the Goa'uld that is going to come here." It was clear that even with Kathryn as evidence that alternate universes did exist, the Senator still didn't believe them. All the arguments had failed, and the SGC program was to be closed down. Jack couldn't believe it when Kinsey said that the gate was only to be used to allow the three off-world teams to come back to Earth; Teal'c wasn't even allowed to use the gate to go back home to be with his family. Instead, he was to be stranded on Earth, where he had nowhere to go, or nothing to do as he was unable to fit in with the rest of the population due to the prim'ta he carried in his stomach. "General, with the closure of the program, I'd like to announce my retirement," Jack announced, trying to look as official as possible with a child in his arms. "You're not the only one son," Hammond replied, slightly deflated at the fact that the SGC was being closed. If nothing else, they had rescued two children - Cassandra and Kathryn, and as far as he was concerned, that was enough to keep the whole project open. Daniel was sitting dejectedly in his chair; he hadn't moved since the senator had left. Sha're was forever lost to him now, and he was going to have to try and claw his way back into the academic world he had left behind him, all the time knowing that his theories were true. Even though he had been back on Earth for a year now, he had little or no life outside of the SGC. All his friends worked alongside him, and as most of them were military, by the end of the week they would all be scattered across the world. He wondered what Janet Frasier was going to do, as her daughter Cassandra had been rescued by SG-1, and was very close to Jack and Sam especially. Chances were, the two women were going to be posted far away from each other, and from Jack, who would probably remain in Colorado Springs. As a civilian, Daniel would hopefully have more of a choice where he could live, so there was the possibility that he could find work near to where Sam or Janet were posted, just so they could have a friendly face nearby. He expected that if he did follow anyone, it would probably be Janet and Cassandra, to help the young girl further acclimatise to life on Earth, while he did exactly the same. Sam was worrying about what she could do. She knew that it was likely that the Air Force would transfer her back to Washington, but knew that Jack would never leave Colorado Springs. There was no reason for the military to keep her in Colorado without the Stargate, but she knew that she could try and appeal for a nearby posting due to family circumstances. Maybe she should try for NASA, her original dream, but surely going to the moon or a space station and back would be mundane after everything she had seen and lived by stepping through the Stargate. With Kathryn, and possibly Jack, now in her life, Sam knew that she had to re-evaluate her career plan. She didn't want Jack to have to bring up the little girl on his own, nor did she want to rob Kathryn of her mother. Loosing her own mother at fourteen made her acutely aware that there was the chance that the little girl could loose one or both of her parents at any time, and she wanted to ensure that Kathryn would at least get a chance to know her mother. Sam knew that she also had the option of resigning open to her, and figured that she should be able to get employment in Colorado Springs, what with it's aerospace industries, or she could teach physics at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. There should be a large number of options open to her and her PhD in the private sector, which would allow her to remain close to her new daughter, and to Jack. She had achieved her childhood dream of travelling to new planets every time she stepped through the Stargate. Now maybe it was time to put all that behind her, and concentrate on being a mother and a woman.
* * *
The end
Feedback to little_miss_likes_to_fight@hotmail.com
Copyright Vicki Pryke June 2002
Story Notes: little_miss_likes_to_fight@hotmail.com
SPOILERS: "The Enemy Within" "The Broca Divide" "Emancipation" "Solitudes" "Singularity," "There But For the Grace of God," "Politics," "Cold Lazarus," my stories "Legacy" and "Adjustments"
SEASON/SEQUEL: Season 1; Sequel to "Adjustments" Part 3 in the "Legacy" series
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Archive: SJ yes, Heliopolis yes. All others ask first
SPOILERS: "The Enemy Within" "The Broca Divide" "Emancipation" "Solitudes" "Singularity," "There But For the Grace of God," "Politics," "Cold Lazarus," my stories "Legacy" and "Adjustments"
SEASON/SEQUEL: Season 1; Sequel to "Adjustments" Part 3 in the "Legacy" series
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Archive: SJ yes, Heliopolis yes. All others ask first
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 ]