General Jack O’Neill stood in one of the corridors that made up the maze of the SGC and composed himself for the coming conversation. He pushed the sleeves to his black tee, further up his arms, blew out the breath he had been holding and strode the three paces through the door as if he had never paused.
“Carter!” He waved his arms as if to announce his arrival.
Colonel Samantha Carter beamed at his dramatic entrance, “Hey Sir”.
Jack inwardly groaned, desperately hoping that she would never refer to him as that following his departure from her lab.
Sam raised her eyebrows at her commanding officer, “Did you need me for something, Sir?”
He jolted, aware that he had been standing and staring, unsure of how to begin.
She furrowed her brow and chewed the corner of her bottom lip, “Are you okay, General?”
“Oh, Yeah… No, sort of…” He mumbled as her face took on a look of deep concern.
He blew out a sigh and rested on his elbows on her bench, absent mindedly picking up a slim remote control for something and twirling it between his fingers.
“Sir…?” She prompted again.
He paused for a beat before responding. “I’ve handed in my resignation…” Jack had expected the weight to lift from his shoulders, but it only served to burden him more; he focused all of his attention on the object in his hands.
“You’ve what?” Her eyes rounded and appeared to stand clear from her skull, but he didn’t look at her. She reached over to grab the remote from him, forcing him to meet her stare. “Have you told Daniel and Teal’c?”
“Not yet. They’re still organizing a council on Dakara” he admitted.
Sam felt a solid lump forming in her throat, but couldn’t prevent it. “Why?” It was barely a whisper, but she felt like she was bellowing.
“Oh Carter, I’m not needed-“
She opened her mouth to retort, but he held up a finger “Ah! Let me finish. It’s stopped being fun and started to feel like… Work. And, you know how I feel about work. I miss going off-world with you guys, and I just think it’s time to, ya know, move on… Greener pastures and all that”
Sam held her breath taking it all in. “Are you asking me to persuade you to reconsider?”
“Oh! Hell, no!”
They were silent for a moment and he could see the hundreds of questions and scenarios running through her mind. He waited for the onslaught of enquiries.
“When do you leave?”
Jack brought his wrist towards his face, standing as he did so. “Ooh, about six hours”
“Six hours! And you’ve only just mentioned this?”
“Hey, I only just got the call to say that the new guy is around and willing to start earlier”
Sam closed her eyes and inhaled “I’m sorry Sir, this is just a lot to take in”
Jack nodded slowly, “Still with the ‘Sir’, huh?”
“Yeah, for the next six hours”
“Really?”
“Yes Sir”
He could hear the bitterness creeping into her voice and it stung. “Anyway, telling you isn’t the sole reason I’m here”
She raised her eyebrows at him and he knew she would find his timing massively inappropriate, but had made a pact with himself not to leave without asking. He took another deep breath and gazed at the objects on her bench. He heard her clear her throat and he knew she was becoming increasingly annoyed with him. Now was the time, he couldn’t delay any longer or he might not get the opportunity again.
“Actually, I was wondering if you had any plans tonight and… whether or not, ya know… you might like to have dinner… with me” He cleared his throat and looked up from the bench to meet her gaze.
Her eyes had softened slightly, but he could see that she was still annoyed with him for not informing her of his decision sooner.
She clenched her jaw and sucked air in between her teeth, “Actually, Sir, I uh-“
Jack felt as though he had been dealt a physical blow, he took a couple of steps backwards from the desk towards the door, “It’s okay, Carter”. He raised his hands, ”I understand”. As he turned to leave, she called him back.
“Sir!”
He closed his eyes and turned on the balls of his feet to face her slowly. Hell, he wasn’t a very observant person, but even he could tell this conversation was going badly. He pursed his lips and awaited a repeat conversation about ‘keeping it in the room’.
“I can’t make tonight, but I am free tomorrow” she explained.
Jack couldn’t prevent the smile tug at the corners of his mouth, and felt the drumming in his chest pick up it’s pace.
“You see, I’m taking Cassie out tonight” She continued
He nodded, worried that if he opened his mouth he would be unable to form a coherent string of words.
“Shouldn’t you be packing, Sir?” She narrowed her eyes slightly.
Jack just nodded again and turned to walk back to his office, still smiling. “Still with the ‘Sir’?”
“For the next five hours and fifty-five minutes” She called down the corridor, turning back to her laptop grinning broadly.
Story Notes: This is my first fic that I have actually posted, so I've got that nervous excitement bubbling up inside!
Spoilers: There is a teeny tiny spoiler for Reckoning part 2 and a general spoiler for the end of Season Eight.
I hope you enjoy it! :o)
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but if only I did...
Spoilers: There is a teeny tiny spoiler for Reckoning part 2 and a general spoiler for the end of Season Eight.
I hope you enjoy it! :o)
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but if only I did...
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 ]