Jack had it perfectly timed. Well, this time anyway. The other two, they were just practice runs. Dress rehearsals, if you will.
Okay, so he screwed up.
Technically neither were his fault. The first time he had been caught by Daniel en route to the control room, and nothing Jack could do was going to get him out of that conversation and where he needed to be on time.
On his second attempt he successfully avoided Daniel, but the longer route his detour took him on got him to his destination just seconds too late.
So this time - third time lucky - he had it perfectly timed. He knew exactly how long it would take him to get to his destination, and exactly how long it would take him to hand in his letter of resignation; all of which left him with just enough time to kiss his former second-in-command before he found himself eating fruit loops for what must by now be the hundredth time.
Jack swore to himself, when this was all over, there'd be nothing you could pay him to eat fruit loops again any time soon.
True to his prediction, this time nothing went wrong. Jack handed his letter to General Hammond, gave his quick reply to the far-from-unexpected question about its contents, and took Major Carter into his arms.
Carter.
In his arms.
Kissing Carter.
Sam.
He was kissing Sam.
And it was everything he could ever have imagined it to be. She was certainly responding, her hand reaching round to pull him closer, her mouth melding to his, encouraging him in a way that no words ever could. In this moment Jack knew that he had done the right thing. He'd had his doubts, he'd wondered if this was taking advantage of Sam, even bordering on cheating on her in that she wouldn't remember this, and he would.
He could never forget it.
But in the end, he'd decided he was taking advantage of the situation, not of Sam. Never Sam. And if the situation was going to present him with these few moments of happiness, who was he to argue?
A few moments...
Moments that felt like they could last an eternity.
Moments that were lasting an eternity.
It was a slow realisation. Jack had felt simple moments of pleasure make time appear to stand still before, so at first he had just felt elated that the few precious seconds he had with Sam in his arms were feeling like they could go on forever, rather than being over all too quickly as he had feared would be the case. But, eventually he had to realise that this had been going on too long. After all, his calculations had been precise. In that second attempt - no, he corrected himself, the second practice run - he had only missed his opportunity by a matter of seconds. He had only corrected for those few seconds. Which meant he should only have had a few seconds.
Reluctantly, and with a deliberate slowness to his movements, Jack pulled away from his Major and glanced at his watch.
"Ahhh, crap." So often, Jack had been grateful for his gut instincts being right. But today, just this once, couldn't they have been wrong?
With a deep feeling of foreboding, the colonel surveyed the people around him. Most looked shocked, some were smiling. General Hammond looked as though he wasn't sure which reaction to go with, and his half-smile, half-grimace almost had Jack laughing himself.
That was, until he looked at Carter. It was Carter again now, not Sam. It had to be if he was going to come out of this with any shred of dignity, let alone his career. Because one thing was clear: this time, time hadn't looped. His 'window of opportunity' had just disappeared in front of his eyes, and the timing couldn't have been more inappropriate.
And Carter... she looked hurt. For a moment he couldn't think why, he could tell from her reaction that his kiss had been far from unwelcome. But then, he realised. The first words he'd come out with after breaking off their kiss. Could he have been more insulting? Not if he'd tried.
Way to go, Jack.
The pained expression didn't last long before the military mask fell over her features once more, and she spoke the only word she knew she could articulate at that moment.
"Sir?"
Jack couldn't get a word in before General Hammond, seemingly snapped out of his near-stupor by Carter's words, finally found his own voice. "Major, I'm not sure that address is appropriate anymore. It appears that Colonel O'Neill just resigned."
"Yeah, about that..." Jack started.
"So you do want to explain?" Hammond questioned.
"See, that's not gonna be easy."
"Oh please, Colonel, I'm looking forward to hearing this."
Apparently, Sam wasn't the only one, as around the room no one made any effort to get back to their work.
"Well, it's this time loop thing. We talked about it in this morning's briefing."
"And you were supposed to spend your day working on the solution, with Dr Jackson and Teal'c."
"Yes sir, I was. But I've been spending almost all of my time helping Daniel and Teal'c for more days, weeks even, than I care to count, and several loops ago Daniel actually suggested that Teal'c and I take the odd loop off. So we have been. Today was one of those days."
"I still don't see how this explains your resignation and your... subsequent actions." Hammond looked pointedly at Carter, who averted her eyes to the floor to avoid his gaze.
"Ah, yes, that had to do with the other part of Daniel's suggestion. Well, not so much a suggestion as a comment with further implications." Seeing impatience start to worm his way into his superior's features, Jack hurriedly moved on. "He pointed out that nothing we did in each loop had any consequences, sir."
"I'd call these consequences, wouldn't you?"
"Yes sir, it appears that this time, we got past the point where the time loop should have... looped."
"Is that supposed to be an excuse?"
"I guess not sir. But I..." Jack glanced at his second. "This doesn't need to go any further, sir. It can stay in this room. I'm sure Carter would agree."
"Yes, sir." Then almost through a smile, she added, "That's two rooms now, sir."
"If I may make a suggestion," Hammond interrupted, even as he saw the colonel try to reign in his surprise at Carter's comment.
"Certainly, sir."
"Of course, sir."
Hammond wasn't sure he'd ever seen these two standing so stiffly to attention, and with Jack in his insanely casual clothing it was all the general could do not to laugh.
"How about you keep this outside these rooms, if you get my meaning."
"Outside these rooms?" Sam asked, hoping she wasn't misinterpreting Hammond's words.
"Yes, Major."
"Then outside..." Jack started, having obviously worked out where his CO was going.
"I don't want to hear about it," Hammond cut Jack off mid-sentence. His officers' expressions alone vindicated the spur of the moment decision he had just made, and now had to live with. Jack's surprise was no longer concealable, but nothing compared to the thousand watt smile that threatened to take over Major Carter. Hammond turned away then, intending to set the example and spur everyone into returning to work, and determined not to smile himself until he knew no one would see it. However, he was stopped in his tracks by Jack calling him back.
"General!"
"What is it, Colonel?"
"We still have a problem," Sam supplied. "The time loop. Assuming Colonel O'Neill got his timing right-"
"-which I did," he interrupted.
"Then something happened to stop us-" Sam paused suddenly, searching for a better word and in the end coming up blank. "Looping. We should try to find out what that was."
"What are you suggesting, Major?"
"We should return to P4X-639, sir."
"Is that wise?" Jack interjected.
"I don't see any other option if we want to make sure this isn't going to just start up again."
"Can you tell me that going back to the planet won't trigger that in itself, Major?" asked Hammond.
"No, I can't," Carter conceded. "But I can't guarantee the same won't happen if we just stay here."
"Colonel?"
"If Carter believes we should go back, who am I to argue?"
It was the kind of comment a general could worry about. After all, a team leader was precisely the person to argue should someone under his command come up with an idea that was unsound, or just plain stupid, and given the situation he really should be on the lookout for the colonel giving his 2IC any extra authority. But the fact was, this was Carter's area, and O'Neill was being his normal self. Best to let them get on with it.
"You have a go, get the rest of your team and be ready to leave in ten."
His order was met by a nod from each, and almost in unison they turned and started to march away.
"Oh, and Colonel?" Hammond called after them.
"Sir?"
"You appear to be out of uniform."
THE END
Story Notes: I realise there's quite a few fics out there along these lines, but this has been sitting on my hard drive for ages waiting for me to finish it. It was about the second fic I ever started writing for SG-1. So I'm posting it anyway, and I hope you all enjoy it! And I don't really think Hammond would react how he does at the end of this, but hell, this is fic, and I'm gonna have a little fun. Feedback welcomed with open arms...
Spoilers: Window Of Opportunity, with a reference to Divide and Conquer
Spoilers: Window Of Opportunity, with a reference to Divide and Conquer
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 ]