Chapter 11
They talked for the next twenty minutes while they finished their breakfast. When they were done, they put their rubbish away before leaving. Jack went to the men’s room while Jon and Sam waited outside since Jack had the keys.
“Sam, I’m happy for you and Jack.”
“Thank you. When this is all over and the Asgard show up, I’ll get them to clone me.”
“Are you sure?” Sam smiled.
“Yes, Jon, I’m sure.”
“Can I have a look at your ring?” Sam raised her left hand and he saw the ring.
“You know he… we like this type of ring.”
“I know, he told me.” He let go of her hand.
“Well, I’ll help you guys out any way I can.”
“We know you will, Jon.”
“So what else has been happening at the SGC?”
“Prometheus is up and running. At the moment it should be at the Alpha site.”
“Really? How many times did it take before it finally got there in one piece?” Sam laughed.
“Three. The second trip, we in encountered another ship. I was on Prometheus that time. I’ll tell you about it on the way.”
Sam had seen a group of teenagers walking towards them. Jon turned and saw them then he turned back to Sam.
“I understand.”
“Teal’c told me Jack almost lost it when we didn’t show up and we were missing for four days.”
“I bet he did. I know I would. Was the team there when you returned?”
“No. I suffered a concussion.”
“Oh, well you’re here now.”
“Yes, I am.” Jack walked out and over to them. He tossed the keys to Jon who caught them easily.
“I’ll ride in the back,” Jack said.
“Ok.”
Jon unlocked his truck and they all got in. Once they were in, Jon drove taking the I-670 E loop around Kansas City. As the traffic began to thin, Sam spotted a coffee house called ‘The Coffee Company.’
“Jon, pull in over here,” Sam said pointing to the coffee shop.
“Sure… coffee shop I could go for a cup right now.”
“Same here, what about you Jack?”
“Sure, you know if Daniel was with us we would be there for hours.”
They all laughed recalling that every time they saw Daniel he had either a book or a coffee cup in his hands. Jon found a parking spot and parked just outside the coffee shop.
“Sam, want your usual?”
“Yes, thanks, Jack.”
“Jon?”
“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
“Ok. I’ll be right back.” Jack got out and closed the back door, and then he walked into the coffee shop. They could see it was busy so they knew they would have a wait.
“Sam?” She turned to look at Jon.
“While we are waiting for Jack and coffee, want to tell me what happened and how you got your concussion?”
“Sure.”
Sam spent the next ten minutes telling Jon about what happened, by the time she finished, Jack was walking out of the shop with three extra-large coffees and three chocolate chip cookies. Sam lowered the window so Jack could pass her the drinks before he got into the back seat.
“Which is which, Jack?” Sam asked as she showed him the tray.
“This one’s mine.” He pulled one out.
“That one’s Jon’s.” He pointed to the one on the right, so Jon got his, and then Sam pulled out hers.
“Hand me the tray, Sam.” She passed the tray to Jack, then he handed them their cookies.
“Thanks,” Sam said.
“It’s a shame they don’t sell cake in there.” Sam laughed.
“Jack, you don’t eat cake for breakfast.”
“I know…. I could have gotten us donuts.” Sam rolled her eyes.
“Very funny, Jack.”
Jon took a couple of sips of his coffee before putting it in a cup holder, then he started up his truck, and they were on their way again. When they got outside of the city, Jon pulled over so he and Sam could swap seats.
Once in and seat belts on, they were on their way. They talked for a while until Sam looked in the rear view mirror and saw Jack asleep. Sam turned the radio on but had it down low when she noticed Jon was asleep also. She drove until they were near St. Louis, and decided it would be a good idea to stop again for gas before they crossed the Mississippi River and entered another state. Interstate 70 would next take them north east across Illinois and on toward Indiana, and through Indianapolis. Jon’s truck was averaging about 300 miles on a tankful, which meant that they had to stop for gas about every four hours, or so, which still met with their earlier plans.
At the SGC, General Hammond called that President just after nine, after he had been to see both Janet and Cassie. He had been happy to learn, from Dr Brightman, that they both would be fine. He updated the President about what had happened in the previous few hours. The President and General Ryan were both shocked by what General Hammond told them.
“Do you have any idea where they might be, General?”
“No, Sir. My guess is they would be driving to Washington.”
“That would take them days to get here.”
“I know that, Sir. But question is which way are they going?”
“Well, all we can do is wait until they call or get here.”
“Yes. Sir. In the meantime, when would you like for me to send Kinsey back to Washington?”
“Can you have him beamed into my office?”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll get onto it right away.”
“I will contact you if I learn anything new, Sir.”
General Hammond stood up from his seat and walked down to the control room, where he spoke to Colonel Ronan on board Prometheus. He gave him an order then he walked back up to his office to get some paperwork done.
When Sam could see signs of the Mississippi River in the distance, she decided to wake Jack and Jon to ask if they were hungry or needed a ‘potty stop’. She knew they needed to buy gas, so they would need to stop anyway. She stopped outside a café. Jack awoke when he felt the truck stop, and Jon also started to stir. She explained where they were and that it was near lunch time. They could see about take out from the café, or they could go inside and sit down for a meal and use the ‘facilities’ while they were there.
They decided that Sam would go into the café alone and get take out for all of them along with several bottles of water. They would buy gas at the next convenient station, and then would head to the rest area which should be just on the other side of the river, welcoming them to Illinois.
When they pulled into the rest area, she turned off the motor and unclamped her seat belt. Sam got the bags out from the back seat while Jon and Jack walked over to the men’s room to relieve themselves and wash their hands and faces. When they returned, they found Sam had put everything out on a picnic table. They stood and stretched while eating and drinking, talking all the while. They cleaned up their mess and put it in the bin, and then Jack walked back to the truck and got the other rubbish and put it in the bin, while Sam went to relive herself.
When she returned she got into the back seat. Then they were on the road again with Jon driving.
They travelled across Illinois and Indiana without any problems; they were able to use the traffic loops to avoid having to actually enter the downtown areas of Indianapolis. They were nearing Dayton, Ohio when they once again needed to stop for gas and to stretch their legs.
Just before they reached the large town, Sam saw a sign for a camp ground.
“Jack, look we could stay there for a couple of hours. Maybe they even have cabins for rent.”
“Why, Sam?”
“Hot shower and clean clothes for a start.”
“Sure, I wouldn’t mind a hot shower myself.”
“Same here,” Jon said.
Jack turned to follow the signs to the campground. They stopped at the office, where Jack got out and walked up to the door. He saw it was closed, so he walked back over to the truck and got back in.
“It’s closed, any ideas?”
“Maybe we could still have a shower but we will have to take turns,” Sam suggested.
“Good idea.” Jack drove the truck over to the shower building.
When they got out, they opened up the canopy and opened their bags to retrieve their toiletry bags, clean clothes and couple of towels from another bag Jon had with him. They walked into the men showers while Sam kept a look out as she was getting her things sorted out. The place seemed to be quiet and it was night time. Fifteen minutes later, Jack walked back out carrying his dirty clothes.
“Here, put your clothes in this bag.” Sam passed him a bag.
“Ok, you go and have your shower, Sam.”
“Thanks.” Sam walked into the women’s showers, which was on the other end of the building.
She enjoyed her shower, but was in and out within ten minutes. When she walked back out she felt a lot better. She put her clothes into the same bag as Jack’s and towels into another bag.
“Let’s go,” Jon said.
They got back into the truck once the canopy was closed, then they drove back toward the Interstate. They drove into the town and filled the truck at a 24-hour station. Then they decided to have dinner at KFC. They were on the road again twenty minutes later.
They drove on past Columbus, Ohio, and shortly after crossing into Pennsylvania, they followed I-79 south toward West Virginia. After a few miles on Highway 148, they turned onto I-68 East. Just over 100 miles later, they once again turned on to I-70 E. Another 70 or so miles had them on I-270 S, in Maryland. They stopped once again near Hagerstown for gas and to stretch. They grabbed an early breakfast knowing that they would probably be stuck in the morning ‘rush hour’ traffic heading for the capital city. Shortly after getting back on the road, they began to see the Capital Beltway signs.
When they arrived in Washington, it was almost lunchtime. They all were tried after the long trip but they were pleased they had made it without any kind of problems or encounters with the NID. When they got close to the White House, Sam was driving since she was familiar with the city.
They parked in the lot for the National Aquarium, just down the street from the White House, so Jack could make the phone call to the President. It had taken 31 hours to reach Washington. Jack dialled the White House phone number.
“Hello, White House, can I help you?”
“Yes, this is Jonathan O’Neill, from Colorado Springs. The President is expecting my call.”
“Yes, he is. I’ll put you through to him Colonel O’Neill.” He heard the national anthem playing softly in the background over the phone.
“Colonel O’Neill, is everything ok?”
“Yes, Sir. We are here and looking at the White House as we speak.” The President was shocked.
“You’re here? Is Major Carter with you?”
“Yes, Sir, and Jon. We are not far from the front gates, Sir”
“Ok. What sort of car are you driving, so I can let the guards at the front gate know?”
“We are in a green ford truck, Colorado licence plate PYX595.”
“Got that. Drive up to the front gates. They will get the message to keep an eye out for you.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Jack, we’ve got in-coming,” Sam said as she saw five black SUVs heading their way.
“Shit… Mr President I would advise for you to tell your guards to open the gates. We’ve got NID on our asses. Sam move now!”
“It done, Colonel.”
The President heard the truck start up and Sam pulled out of the parking lot and headed across the street toward the front gates. She was flashing her lights at the guards. When they saw the truck and licence plate they opened the gates. They got out of the way when Sam speed through the double gates and the guards quickly closed the gates causing the black SUVs to brake quickly.
The guards could see that the men in side were angry as they drove away. Sam slowed as soon as they cleared the gates. The driveway was not very long and she was not sure where the would be directed once they were on the White House grounds.
“That was fun,” Jack said.
“Yeah, I bet those guys are pissed off,” Jon commented.
“I’ll say,” Sam said.
When they pulled up under the portico, security guards were there waiting for them. They were pre-warned about what had happened to Jack and Sam. The truck occupants all got out and stretched before they all walked up to the Sergeant of the Guard.
“Colonel O’Neill, Major Carter, Jon O’Neill, I need to search you.”
“We understand.” The three were searched and cleared.
While they were being searched, others were checking out the truck. When everything was announced as all clear, a man walked out which causing them to smile.
Author's Notes: Feed back, yes please
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