Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

‘Clear!’

The shouts of the Special Forces men around him brought back memories that Jack O’Neill rarely acknowledged. In a different lifetime, probably in a different reality, he would have been leading the men that surrounded him in the basement of Samantha Carter’s home. The thought disturbed him and his hand gripped the radio Carter had left behind – or been forced to leave behind. Panic bubbled up and he pushed it away ruthlessly.

‘What the hell is that?’ One of them said, gesturing with a flashlight at the mini-Stargate that Jack assumed the alien had built, although he kind of thought attempting to build her own Stargate was exactly the type of thing that Carter might have taken up as a hobby.

‘Classified.’ Jack snapped out. ‘Everybody out!’

‘This is my operation, Colonel O’Neill.’ The slick tone had Jack’s stomach sinking and he closed his eyes briefly, hoping that maybe if he wished hard enough, the Pentagon Colonel with the thinning hair and bad attitude would disappear. He reopened his eyes.

No such luck, Jack mused unhappily as Colonel Simmons entered the room and gestured at his men to leave. Simmons took in the metal ring. Jack was reluctantly impressed at the lack of reaction as the Colonel turned back to him. ‘You might want to reconsider your story, O’Neill. The SGC’s golden girl is going to do prison time for this little escapade.’

‘For doing what exactly, Simmons?’ Jack bit out.

‘Helping an alien to escape.’ Simmons said. His dark eyes glinted in the semi-darkness. ‘Treason.’

Jack glared at him, taking in Simmons’s smug superiority with distaste. ‘You have nothing on her.’

Simmons shrugged. He started out of the room but stopped and nodded at the mini-Stargate. ‘Oh and Colonel? Don’t bother calling the SGC. I’ll have a retrieval team take that straight to Area 51.’

He waited until Simmons had left before he pulled out his cell and dialled a direct number to the SGC’s commanding officer.

‘Hammond.’ The General sounded unhappy and Jack couldn’t blame him. It had been a bad day. Finding out the Pentagon had been spying on Carter was a shock; that Carter had been playing house with an alien for the better part of a month another but finding out that Carter hadn’t felt able to confide in them about the alien after they had dismissed her initial report as fiction was worse. It left a bitter taste in Jack’s mouth.

‘General, the alien built a mini-Stargate. It looks like he used it to get off-world.’ Jack yanked his cap off and rubbed his hands through his silver hair furiously.

There was a moment of shocked silence.

‘I see.’ Hammond’s soft Texan drawl floated back down the connection.

Jack cleared his throat. ‘He took Carter with him.’

‘He abducted her?’ Hammond’s voice was filled with concern.

‘Unknown.’ Jack said reluctantly. He had a horrible, sneaking suspicion that Carter had gone voluntarily – without a GDO and no way of getting back to Earth. And if she had, it was a hell of a risk to take. He looked down at the floor and back up at the basement ceiling. The whole situation was a hell of a mess.

Hammond sighed. ‘Do we know where they went?’

‘I have an idea.’ Jack responded caustically.

‘636?’ Hammond asked. ‘You think the alien went to stop the weapon test?’

‘Maybe.’ Jack muttered. ‘General, permission to…’

‘As soon as you can get yourself back here, Colonel.’ Hammond cut in, anticipating the request to take the remaining members of SG1, Daniel Jackson and Teal’c, back to P4X636.

‘You may want to send a team to monitor things here, sir.’ Jack said hurriedly. ‘Simmons has ordered a retrieval team for the device.’

‘Understood.’ Hammond said briskly.

Jack heard the dial tone and he slapped the cell shut as he walked briskly out, replacing his cap as he took the steps to the main living area two at a time. He absently noted the damage the Special Forces guys had done to Carter’s home as he made his way out; internal and external doors smashed in, dirt all over the carpet, ornaments carelessly broken in the charge. His jaw tightened. He’d help her fix it. If she let him. The thought that Carter might not trust him enough anymore to even do that, made him wince.

Jack took a moment to search out the lead guy on the team securing the house. ‘Hey! Where’s Simmons?’

‘He left a moment ago, sir.’ The Special Forces CO jerked his head in the direction of the cars.

Jack frowned. Simmons’s vehicle had gone and so was his ride. ‘Your orders?’ For a long moment, he thought the other soldier wasn’t going to tell him especially as he had no reason or obligation to tell him. But Jack had been one of them once and he kept his expression firm, expectant.

The guy tilted his head and stared at Jack. ‘Secure the building and wait for the retrieval team.’

Jack nodded. ‘Some of my people will be arriving to oversee.’ He left unspoken that they were to be treated with due respect.

‘Understood.’

‘And try to make sure nobody breaks anything else in there.’ Jack called as he began walking away.

‘Sir.’ The word was an acknowledgement but Jack figured the guy would pay about as much attention as he would have done in the same position which meant he’d pay no attention at all. He commandeered a vehicle and gunned the engine. A moment later, he was leaving the circus surrounding Carter’s house behind.

The silence in the car was deafening.

He grimaced.

The drive over had been bad enough. Hammond had given them permission to accompany Simmons to the house for the raid despite Simmons’s protests. Jack had gone with Carter in Simmons’s vehicle. Not that there had been an opportunity to talk but even if there had been, he had no clue what he would have said to her, partly because he’d wanted to yell at her for not telling him everything and partly because the apology for not believing her in the first place stuck in his throat.

Carter hadn’t said anything either. She’d sat quietly, her fingers worrying at the edge of her shirt – she had grabbed it instead of a jacket. They hadn’t even had time to brief their SG1 team-mates before they had left which prompted another thought. He flipped open the cell and hit his speed dial. The ringing phone at the other end was picked up immediately.

‘Daniel Jackson.’

‘It’s me.’ Jack said briefly with a heavy sigh.

‘Jack, what’s happening? There’re rumours flying all over the place here…’

‘Carter’s imaginary friend? Not so imaginary.’ Jack said quickly, cutting into Daniel’s sentence unapologetically.

Daniel regrouped. ‘How is she?’ His voice was filled with concern for their team-mate.

‘Off-world with the alien.’ Jack said tersely. ‘He apparently built a Stargate in her basement.’

‘He what?’

Jack ignored Daniel’s stunned disbelief. ‘We don’t know if she went voluntarily or not.’

‘You think they went to stop the weapons test.’

Jack silently thanked God for Daniel’s quick intelligence. ‘Makes sense. Carter’s been trying to get it stopped for days.’

‘So we’re going to P4X636?’

‘As soon as I get back.’ Jack replied.

‘We’ll be ready.’ Daniel promised.

Jack didn’t bother replying; he closed the phone and tossed it on the dash. He shook his head as he got to an intersection, trying to make sense of what had happened.

Carter had collapsed. That had been the start of it. It was supposed to have been a milk run mission given it was only their second mission after Teal’c’s recovery from brainwashing; just a simple perusal of some ruins on an abandoned planet; no threats, no danger. Carter had been fiddling with the device trying to understand it. She’d been fine when he had checked in on her. Five minutes later, Daniel’s panicked call had reached him; the archaeologist had found Carter lying unconscious.

It had scared the hell out of Jack. The sight of Carter lying on the ground, pale and unmoving had triggered a flashback to a couple of months before when he’d shot her twice with a zat, when she had been left lying pale and unmoving: dead. All of the carefully constructed barriers that he had erected between since that moment had come crashing down around his ears in a heartbeat. All the distance he had put between them so they could move on from loving each other inappropriately, to protect her better, to protect himself, all of it had been swept away in a rush of panic that had smothered his breathing and had his heart beating so fast that it threatened to break through his chest. He had checked her pulse with shaking fingers he had refused to acknowledge.

When Carter had opened her eyes and stared up at him in confusion, he’d been torn between giddy relief that she was OK and a furious anger at himself that he was still as in love with her as ever, that nothing had changed. He knew his anger had grown tenfold when Janet Fraiser had determined that Carter’s collapse had been caused by exhaustion and he’d welcomed it. If he was mad at Carter for not taking care of herself he could pretend he hadn’t been terrified at her being hurt. He figured that was why he’d been so curt at Carter’s plaintive admission that she had nothing to do outside of the SGC when she had protested at being told to rest. He’d been nursing his anger. And yet…it hadn’t been Carter’s fault. According to Simmons’s surveillance report, she hadn’t collapsed because of exhaustion at all but because the alien had tried to communicate with her.

Guilt rose up like bile in his throat and he pressed down harder on the accelerator. He hadn’t protected Carter on the planet and he hadn’t protected her when she had reported the alien’s presence in her home. She had called it in as soon as it had made contact with her on Earth and it wasn’t that he hadn’t believed her…he had, kind of. They’d all been through weird stuff and Carter’s report that an invisible alien had followed her home hadn’t seemed that weird in the scheme of things.

In his mind’s eyes, he could recall the lingering fear in her blue eyes when he’d made to leave after the SGC team had swept her house and found nothing. Whatever she had seen, she’d been freaked out. He’d impulsively offered to stay but she had pulled on her bravado and turned him down. He’d taken the out she’d given him; a mixture of disappointment and relief rolling through him because he really shouldn’t have wanted to stay as much as he did.

And then a week had passed and there had been no sign of Carter’s alien; no video footage of him walking through the gate; no surveillance footage of him in her home. They’d taken the cameras out and ordered Carter to attend a psych evaluation following Fraiser’s continued belief that Carter was just exhausted – that it was some kind of call for help and that the events of the past few years were catching up with Carter including being inhabited by a computer entity and almost being killed by her CO.

Jack’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. Carter had come to him and asked him about a camera she’d found in her home – she’d asked him outright if she was being watched and he had denied it with the unhappy thought that maybe she was sliding into paranoia along with delusions despite the psych evaluation clearing her for duty. He’d bluntly told her that everyone would think she was nuts until they had proof. Maybe that was why she had asked him if she had seen the alien again that her obtaining intel before she reported it again formally was the way to go. He’d agreed not really believing the alien was real and unhappy at the idea that Carter probably believed she had seen it again if she was asking him about it.

It had been Teal’c who had found him in the locker room, contemplating whether he should tell Hammond about his conversation with Carter, and the more disturbing thought about whether she really was nuts.

‘O’Neill.’

Jack barely looked up from the floor, his eyes tracing the pattern of creases on the linoleum. ‘Teal’c.’

The Jaffa sat beside him and clasped his hands. ‘I am concerned about Major Carter.’

Jack’s brown eyes flickered to Teal’c. He looked away at the gleam of empathy in his team-mate’s dark eyes. He got to his feet and reached into his locker to start changing.

‘I believe an evening watching a movie and dining with friends would help Major Carter relax.’ Teal’c offered quietly.

‘Teal’c, I’m not sure…’ Jack began.

‘I require your company, O’Neill. I would go alone but I am not currently allowed off base without an escort and Daniel Jackson remains busy with his translations.’ Teal’c said, his eyes catching Jack’s determinedly.

Jack rubbed his chin and considered Teal’c’s suggestion. ‘A movie and pizza?’

Teal’c inclined his head.

Jack nodded and closed the locker. ‘Go choose a movie. I’ll clear you going off base with Hammond.’

It had seemed like a good idea right up until the moment when Carter had greeted them at the door and told them she had a date – or rather he’d assumed she had a date, he realised in hindsight. It had felt like someone had punched him in the gut. Never mind that moving on from their feelings had been his idea after the whole shooting her incident; never mind that she had every right to date whoever she wanted; never mind that he had no right to think of her as his…it had hurt. The idea that she was seeing someone else had hurt. He had no idea what he’d said to her, he only remembered that it had been beyond awkward. Had he actually given her the pizza? The next thing he could remember clearly was waking up the next morning with a hangover, a vague memory of jello and a napkin with a telephone number that he’d thrown in the trash.

He’d spent the last couple of weeks avoiding Carter. It had been relatively easy. She had been assigned to help out with the power for the weapons test on 636 while he and Teal’c had accompanied SG12 on scouting missions for a new Alpha site. He frowned as he recalled returning nine days before and Daniel catching up with him in the corridor…

‘Jack!’

Jack turned around at the shout. ‘Daniel.’

‘How was your mission?’ Daniel asked, catching up and falling into step beside Jack as he headed for the elevator and the post-mission health check.

‘There were insects. Big insects.’ Jack commented dryly. He punched the call button. He glanced at Daniel and registered the look on the archaeologist’s face; the one that said that something was wrong. ‘So what’s with you?’

Daniel opened his mouth but paused as the elevator arrived. They stepped in and the doors closed.

‘Daniel?’ Jack prompted.

‘Sam has this theory that the weapon on 636 caused some kind of environmental cataclysm that wiped out the population.’ Daniel wrapped his arms around his torso.

‘That’s a bit of a leap, isn’t it?’ Jack commented only half-interested.

‘A bit. Hammond’s given her a couple of weeks to prove it.’ Daniel looked at him. ‘I’m worried about her, Jack.’

‘Daniel…’ Jack said exasperated.

‘She’s not herself.’ Daniel broke in. ‘She keeps leaving early…’

‘She has a new boyfriend, Daniel.’ Jack looked up at the floor indicator. He was happy for her; he was. She deserved to find a life outside of the SGC. She deserved to move on, find someone who could love her and be there for her. Just as he had known she would. So what if he felt like crap? It was no more than he deserved; he’d had no business falling for her in the first place. ‘She probably wants to spend time with the guy.’

‘And it doesn’t bother you?’ Daniel retorted.

Jack bristled. ‘Daniel…’

‘I didn’t mean,’ Daniel gestured at him, ‘that,’ he sighed, ‘I only meant…’ he wet his lips as Jack continued to glare at him. ‘Sam collapsed, Jack. Then she says she’s seen an alien that nobody else does and barely a week later, suddenly there’s some guy on the scene? What if this guy’s taking advantage of her?’

‘She’s a big girl, Daniel.’ Jack bit out. ‘She’d be the first to tell you she can take care of herself.’

‘So you’re not going to talk to her?’ Daniel asked outright.

‘Unless her personal life interferes with her duties, Daniel, there’s this little rule that says as her CO, it’s none of my business.’ Jack gave an inward sigh of relief as the elevator slid to a halt and the doors opened. He stepped out.

‘How about as her friend?’ Daniel’s parting shot echoed in his ears as he walked down the corridor…

He should have listened to Daniel. Jack sighed heavily. Maybe he would have done if the archaeologist hadn’t been assigned to translate for negotiations involving two Germanic tribes on some planet SG8 had found. Or maybe he should have stopped and listened to Carter the day before when she had approached him before his mission…

‘Colonel.’ Sam fell into step beside him as he stepped out of the elevator and he nodded at her.

‘Come to see me off, Major?’

‘Actually, I’ve been trying to find you all day, sir, I was hoping you had a minute.’

Jack shot her a look but obligingly stopped in the middle of the corridor. ‘Wormhole leaves in five.’

‘It’s just…’ Sam stopped as a couple of the members of SG12 walked by. She sighed, a resigned look entering her blue eyes. ‘It’ll wait, sir.’

‘OK.’ Jack nodded and tugged his cap down. ‘See you when I get back.’

‘Good luck, sir.’

Only as soon as he’d returned, Hammond had called him into the office, they’d had an interesting chat with Simmons. Carter had been told to report to Hammond and that really brought events smack up to date.

He should have listened; should have been there for her instead of avoiding her because of he’d been jealous and hurt when he’d had no right as her CO or as her friend to be either. Some friend he was, he thought, silently acknowledging the jealousy that still twisted his gut as the memory of the pictures of Carter in the park with the young handsome alien guy surfaced again.

So, Carter had been living with an alien for a few weeks; an attractive alien who apparently knew how to build a Stargate from scratch and was evidently Carter’s intellectual equal. Someone who she was prepared to risk her career to protect by hiding; someone she was prepared to risk her life for if she had followed him off-world willingly. Carter obviously cared about the alien a great deal whatever their relationship.

Jack grimaced. There he went again with the jealousy. He had to get a handle on it. He was letting his personal feelings interfere with the job and that was unacceptable. It was the part of the reason why he’d told Carter they had to get over their feelings and move on. Maybe he’d allowed his feelings to prevent him from doing the right thing for the last few weeks but he was done with it. He would be there for Carter.

His cell rang. He reached over and flipped it open. ‘O’Neill.’

‘SG16 and Sam have arrived back from 636.’ Daniel said without preamble.

Relief flooded Jack. Carter was safe and back on Earth. ‘You and Teal’c stay with her, Daniel.’ Jack said firmly. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

He ended the call and checked his speed. His foot pressed down on the gas. He had a feeling this wasn’t over as far as Simmons was concerned.

o-O-o

Sam clambered onto the infirmary bed and closed her eyes to the chaos around her. In one corner of the treatment room she could hear Janet issuing orders as she examined Lieutenant Thomas who Orlin had zatted. Thomas had come round soon after the lightening strike that had taken out the weapon. Sam had managed to convince Colonel Reynolds, the SG16 leader, that it was time to leave.

Orlin was dead.

Or Ascended.

She had no idea if his energy form would have survived the explosion of the naquadah generator. Sadness swept over her; grief. Orlin had died saving her; protecting her. She rubbed her head tiredly.

‘Sam!’

Her eyes opened wearily and she watched Daniel and Teal’c approach with mixed emotions. She wondered for a split second if they were angry with her for keeping things from them before Daniel swept her into a hug. Sam returned it weakly; overwhelmed by their unequivocal support. She closed her eyes and fought back the tears. She would not cry. She would not.

‘Hey.’ Daniel murmured, his arms tightening around her.

She opened her eyes.

‘It is good to see you, Major Carter.’ Teal’c confirmed kindly as he sat beside her.

She nodded, unable to speak; she didn’t trust herself not to burst into tears.

Daniel pulled back and sat on her other side, adjusting the cuffs on his blue shirt. ‘Jack’s on his way back.’

Sam paled at that news. She had betrayed the Colonel’s trust in leaving with Orlin. He had expected her to talk Orlin into giving himself up, not for her to go running off after an alien through a homemade wormhole. She crossed her arms protectively over her chest. What had she been thinking?

She had been thinking that she needed to go after him and help him; that maybe she could explain it to Reynolds; maybe she could make sure that no-one got hurt. She had been wrong. She bit her lip and looked down at the floor.

‘So,’ Daniel cleared his throat and nudged her arm, ‘what happened?’

‘That’s an excellent question.’ Simmons strode into the infirmary like he owned the place. Conversation halted as all activity froze. ‘One I’m sure we’d all like the answer to, Major.’

Janet hurried forward, her dark eyes flashing with anger. ‘You need to leave, Colonel. This is an infirmary and I will not have my patients disturbed.’

Simmons’s dark eyes slid over Janet coldly. He smiled. ‘Of course. Quite right. We’ll get out of your way.’ He gestured at the SFs at the door. ‘Arrest Major Carter.’

Teal’c stood immediately, straightening to his full height, protecting her.

Sam slipped off the bed and placed a hand on Teal’c’s muscular forearm. She couldn’t allow Teal’c to get into trouble because of her.

Nobody moved.

‘I said arrest Major Carter.’ Simmons repeated, a touch of anger creeping into his tone.

‘Belay that order.’ Hammond said authoratively.

They all turned to find the portly General standing in the doorway. Hammond’s hands were unconsciously clenched into fists. He glared at Simmons. ‘My office.’

Simmons stared at him. ‘Major Carter went off-world without permission and conspired with an alien to disrupt a test authorised by the government of the United States. Not even you can protect her this time.’

‘I said my office.’ Hammond repeated.

Simmons crossed his arms over his chest but he moved, stepping around Hammond to leave the room. Hammond watched over his shoulder until the Pentagon man disappeared.

‘Major.’ Hammond began tightly, his pale blue eyes landing back on Sam. She felt her gut knot up at the look in his eyes. ‘You are restricted to quarters until we can get this cleared up.’

‘After my examination, sir.’ Janet inserted forcefully.

Hammond glanced at her. ‘You can do the exam in her quarters, Doctor.’ He gestured at Teal’c. ‘Please escort Major Carter, Teal’c, and guard her until relieved by either myself or Colonel O’Neill personally.’

The Jaffa regarded Hammond evenly before he inclined his head.

‘General…’ Daniel started to protest but Sam shook her head.

‘It’s OK, Daniel.’ She attempted a smile but couldn’t hold it. She walked out of the infirmary beside Teal’c. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the infirmary boring into her back as she left.

They stepped into an elevator and she hugged herself tightly, hoping she could keep it together until they got to her quarters.

‘I believe General Hammond has ordered your confinement to protect you.’ Teal’c said softly.

‘I’ve disappointed him.’ Sam blurted out, unable to hold the words inside.

‘I do not believe this to be the case.’ Teal’c stated firmly.

Sam could only shake her head. ‘You saw the look on his face, Teal’c.’

Teal’c shifted his weight, clasping his hands behind his back. ‘Do you believe you have done something to disappoint him?’

‘Yes.’ Sam replied automatically.

He raised an eyebrow.

‘Maybe.’ She qualified. She stared at the floor. ‘I don’t know. I…’

‘Did you not inform the SGC immediately when you became aware of the alien presence?’

‘Yes but…’

‘And did you not raise your concerns regarding the weapons test with General Hammond?’ Teal’c continued, ignoring her stuttering answer.

‘Yes but…’ She stopped at Teal’c’s supportive gaze. She sighed and rubbed her arms. ‘I should have convinced Orlin to come and see General Hammond with me.’

‘Did you not attempt to do so?’ Teal’c asked.

Sam nodded.

‘He refused.’ Teal’c said confidently.

‘He said he thought there was another way.’ Sam explained with a sigh. ‘I didn’t realise he was planning to build a Stargate in my basement.’ She shoved a hand through her hair.

The elevator slid to a stop and they made their way to Sam’s room. Sam slid her card into the reader.

‘I will remain outside.’ Teal’c informed her.

Sam nodded. ‘Thanks, Teal’c.’ She closed the door behind her and made her way to the bed. She sat down and dropped her head into her hands, covering her face. Where had it all gone so horribly wrong, she wondered tiredly.

Her mind raced over events. Her collapse. Everybody telling her to take it easy. Orlin’s first appearance. The code 3 team. The Colonel offering to stay and hang out with her…

She brushed the tears away from her eyes. She had so wanted to agree but she knew he had regretted the offer, knew he hadn’t meant it. He had been serious about them moving on from their feelings and she had to get used to that. The memory popped back into her head unwillingly.

‘It got a little too close there for a while.’ Jack said softly. His eyes held hers and begged her to understand. ‘I hope we can put this behind us, Carter.’ He continued quietly. ‘Move on?’

Sam felt her heart seize and she wondered if she was actually breathing; he wasn’t talking about his shooting her, she realised, he was talking about them – about their feelings for each other that had slipped way over the lines the military deemed appropriate. She dropped her gaze momentarily before she looked up at him again, holding his gaze determinedly. ‘Yes, sir.’

She stood up and went into the small adjoining bathroom. She ran some water into the sink and washed her face. She stared into the mirror as she patted her skin dry. It had hurt so much that no-one had believed her once the cameras had failed to pick up Orlin’s presence. Even the Colonel had encouraged her to take the psych evaluation as though he had believed that she was cracking under the pressure.

Orlin had only showed up again when the cameras had gone or at least the cameras they had known about had gone. The spirit sharing had been incredible. She had felt his warm compassion, his good heart, his fierce intellect, his power – and she had known him for who he was – an energy being like Oma Desala, the alien who protected the Harcesis child, Shifu. She had been torn on what to do. The prospect of learning from him had been incredibly tempting but she knew he would disappear again if she reported him and it would just make her look even crazier.

Sam stuffed the towel back on the rack and headed back to the bed. She climbed onto it and rested her back against the pillows, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. In one way, she understood why everyone hadn’t believed her. She had been through a lot and she had collapsed with what everyone had thought was exhaustion and as the Colonel had rightly pointed out, no-one else was seeing what she saw but…but she had still expected after everything they had been through that he would believe her – that all her team-mates would believe her. Not that she had really discussed any of it with Daniel and Teal’c. They’d been busy during her week of leave and when she’d returned she had assumed they believed the alien had been a figment of her imagination like everyone else. Maybe she should have talked to them but…she couldn’t have borne it if they had dismissed her as crazy too. The Colonel’s sharp confirmation that he didn’t believe her because no-one was seeing what she saw had hurt too much; she thought he had trusted her more than that.

She rested her chin on her knees. He had practically run away from her when she had asked him about her plan to continue gathering intel on Orlin rather than report her encounter officially again. Maybe he had just desperately needed the bathroom but it had stung. Maybe that was the reason why she had so eagerly jumped on his teasing that she had a date when he’d shown up at her door with Teal’c, a pizza and a movie. In hindsight, she could see that it had been a sweet gesture, that maybe he’d been trying to reach out after their earlier conversation.

And she had thrown it back in his face agreeing to his assertion that she had a date. She had seen his shock and she’d been so tempted to take it back but then he’d made some encouraging remark and that had hurt more and…Sam groaned. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her knees. She was pathetic. Fair enough that she had panicked when someone had appeared at the door but once she knew it was the Colonel and Teal’c, she should have just invited them inside and introduced them to Orlin. That’s what she should have done. Instead, she had ended up hiding an alien because she’d been unwilling to admit to her CO that she didn’t have a date. The Colonel had been right that they needed to get some distance and move on. She had allowed her feelings for him to interfere with her judgement like some schoolgirl.

Sam sighed. If that explained why she hidden Orlin that first night he had been human it didn’t explain why she had hidden him the night after that, and the one after that. As much as she wanted to pretend it was because she had wanted to gather more information or because Orlin had not agreed to talk to General Hammond, she knew deep down that the reason was more personal. She had hidden Orlin and continued to hide him because it had been nice to have someone to come home to every night; someone who made her feel special and loved.

Tears sprang to her eyes again and she closed them hurriedly. She had thought she had been doing the right thing but she had been wrong. All of her decisions had simply led to a humiliating meeting with General Hammond and the Colonel, and worse, Orlin had paid the price. He had returned to Velona to stop the test she had made possible and he had given his life for her. She hugged her knees tighter and finally let herself grieve for him.

o-O-o

Daniel watched unhappily as Sam and Teal’c left the infirmary. His gaze clashed with Hammond’s and the General sighed.

‘Doctor Jackson, I need you to take a look at surveillance reports from the Pentagon. I’ve had the material delivered to your office.’ Hammond said crisply. ‘I’d like you to report to the briefing room in one hour to give a summary of the findings.’

Daniel opened his mouth to protest – at what he’d been asked to do, at Sam’s treatment, at the length of time he’d been given – but his eyes caught on the silent message in the General’s that it was important and Daniel nodded in return.

Hammond turned to the CMO. ‘Will Colonel Reynolds be cleared by then?’

Janet nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘Very well.’ Hammond gestured at Reynolds. The SG16 leader had jumped to his feet at Hammond’s entry and was stood at ease in front of an infirmary bed. His sharp, intelligent features were pale from shock. ‘I’ll expect you in the briefing room as soon as you’re cleared from the infirmary, son.’

‘Yes, sir.’ Reynolds nodded, his dark hair catching the artificial light.

Hammond nodded and left.

Daniel exchanged an anxious look with Janet. He made his way to his office swiftly, knowing they were short of time. He found the tapes and transcripts waiting for him as Hammond had indicated and he jumped straight in.

Twenty minutes later, he heard a knock on his door and called for the person to enter without looking, immersed in the transcript he was reading.

‘You wanted to see me?’ Janet thrust her hands into the deep pockets of her medical coat.

‘Hmmm?’ Daniel blinked at her and remembered the call he had made five minutes earlier to the infirmary. ‘Oh. Yes.’ He got to his feet and waved at her with the report in his hand. ‘I, uh, wanted your opinion on…something.’

‘Sure.’ Janet said, joining him at his overflowing desk.

‘Have you seen Sam yet?’ Daniel asked urgently as he found the right section of transcript.

‘Not yet.’ Janet admitted. ‘I was on my way when you called.’

‘Well, you may want to ask her about this.’ Daniel said quietly. He pressed the report into her hands.

Janet looked at him briefly before she dropped her gaze to the page and started reading. Her eyes jerked back up to his suddenly. ‘It was the alien’s attempt to do this…sharing thing that caused her to collapse?’

Daniel nodded. He leaned against the back of his swivel chair and regarded her thoughtfully as she continued reading.

‘And he performed this…thing again after she went through the psych evaluation.’ Janet continued.

‘You see where I’m going with this?’ Daniel said, gesturing at the paper.

‘That I did it again?’

‘Sorry?’ Daniel frowned in genuine confusion.

Janet handed him the report back and crossed her arms. ‘I was the one who diagnosed Sam with exhaustion, Daniel.’

‘So…’

‘So, I was wrong.’ Janet sighed heavily. ‘Just like I was wrong when you were infected with Machello’s device.’

Daniel grimaced. He could remember the horror of feeling like he was losing his mind when he had been infected with a Goa’uld killing machine. He had been diagnosed as schizophrenic and locked away in a psych ward before the truth had come out. ‘Well, this is different.’

‘How?’ Janet demanded, whirling away to pace his office. ‘She told me she felt fine but I didn’t listen. I should have explored the possibility that something more was going on especially when she reported seeing the alien.’

‘You didn’t have all the facts.’ Daniel said calmly. ‘Sam should have told you once the alien told her what he’d done.’

Janet stopped. ‘You’re just saying that to make me feel better.’

‘Maybe,’ Daniel admitted with a half-smile, ‘but it’s not like Sam not to have reported something like this.’

‘You have a theory?’ Janet walked back over to him and he saw her determination to move past her self-blame and focus on helping Sam.

‘This alien seems to be the same type of energy being as Oma…’

‘The alien you encountered on Kheb.’ Janet inserted.

‘Exactly,’ Daniel nodded enthusiastically, ‘and the same as Shifu.’

‘You collapsed when Shifu shared a dream with you.’ Janet mused out loud.

Daniel pointed at her forcefully. ‘Yes! Exactly! He planted a dream into my subconscious so…’

Janet’s dark eyes gleamed brightly. ‘So you think this alien implanted a suggestion into Sam’s head to…to keep him a secret? Protect him?’

‘It’s possible, isn’t it?’ Daniel asked passionately. ‘Theoretically?’

‘Theoretically.’ Janet agreed. She smiled. ‘Sam may not even have been aware of it.’

‘Which would explain why she didn’t come forward after she did this…sharing thing.’ Daniel continued eagerly. ‘Sam reported him when she saw him initially and he couldn’t take the chance that she wouldn’t report him again.’

Janet nodded. ‘It’s feasible.’

‘What’s feasible?’ Jack’s question heralded his arrival as he quickly joined them by the desk.

Daniel took in the older man’s tension; Jack’s face was gravely serious, the dark eyes filled with nothing but hardness. Jack’s presence reassured Daniel, filled him with confidence. Jack would never allow Simmons to arrest Sam. ‘Jack.’

‘Daniel.’

‘When did you…’

‘Five minutes ago.’ Jack rubbed a hand over his hair. ‘Hammond filled me on the plan.’

‘There’s a plan?’ Daniel asked bemused.

‘Teal’c’s guarding Carter; you’re looking at transcripts.’ Jack elucidated briefly.

Daniel didn’t think it was much of a plan and from the emotion that flashed through Jack’s eyes, the military man agreed with him.

‘What have you got?’ Jack asked, gesturing at Daniel impatiently.

Janet was the one to reply. ‘We think we have a viable reason why Sam didn’t report the alien’s continued presence.’

‘Oh?’ Jack leaned on the computer monitor, the plastic creaking under his weight.

‘The alien tried to access Sam’s mind on the planet – that’s the reason she collapsed.’ Daniel explained.

‘I know.’ Jack said sharply. ‘It was in Simmons’s report.’

‘So you know that Sam allowed the alien access to her mind when it reappeared to her after the psych evaluation.’ Daniel stated.

‘I know.’

‘So you know what that means?’

‘No.’ Jack retorted.

‘The alien had access to the Major’s mind, Colonel.’ Janet restated firmly. ‘We think it’s possible that it was able to plant a subconscious suggestion that it was better she continue to hide its presence than report it again.’

Jack looked back at Daniel as though to check the validity of Janet’s assertion.

Daniel nodded. ‘It’s theoretically possible. We know from my experience with Shifu that these aliens are capable of manipulating minds fairly easily. I mean, Shifu’s dream felt completely real to me.’

‘And that was a deeply complex and detailed manipulation in comparison.’ Janet added. ‘This would have been more like a hypnotic suggestion.’

‘Well, I’m sold.’ Jack said straightening.

‘Really?’ Daniel was surprised; Jack usually took more time to convince.

‘Sure,’ Jack agreed with mock cheer, ‘beats thinking she just didn’t trust us.’

Daniel winced and dropped his gaze.

There was an awkward silence.

Janet cleared her throat. ‘I should,’ she motioned towards the door.

‘Thanks.’ Daniel called as she walked out. He looked over at Jack who had picked up an artefact – a small statue – and was turning it over in his hands as though it held all of his attention. Daniel plucked it from his grasp. ‘You really think Sam didn’t trust us?’

‘I think she trusts us,’ Jack said with a sigh, ‘she just,’ he winced, ‘doesn’t trust us to trust her.’

‘Well, that makes sense.’ Daniel pointed out exasperated.

Jack shrugged and ran a hand through his silver hair, sending the short strands into disarray. ‘You think this is going to be enough?’

‘I don’t know.’ Daniel admitted. ‘But it’s something right?’

‘Yeah.’ Jack patted his shoulder. ‘It’s something.’

Daniel only hoped something was going to be good enough.

o-O-o

The tension in the briefing room was stifling. Daniel fidgeted straightening the folders and taking a sip of coffee. Reynolds sat beside the archaeologist. Jack’s dark gaze was fixed across the briefing room table at Simmons on the other side. His eyes never left the other man and Jack could tell it was beginning to freak Simmons out. He welcomed the satisfaction that thought brought.

The other Colonel reached for his tie and smoothed it; he glanced at his watch and over to Hammond’s office. Hammond walked out swiftly and they all rose as the General took his seat.

Hammond waited until they were all seated again; he leaned forward, clasping his hands on top of the folder he had placed on the table. ‘Colonel Reynolds, perhaps you could give us a brief rundown of events on the planet.’

‘I don’t see…’ Simmons began pompously.

‘You don’t have to.’ Hammond cut in bluntly. His pale eyes glared at the Colonel. ‘This is my briefing.’ He motioned at Reynolds to begin.

The SG16 leader straightened in his chair. ‘We began to set up for the test, following Major Carter’s instructions on how to power the weapon. It was just beginning to work when, uh, a man attacked.’

‘And by man, you mean the alien?’ Simmons slid in smoothly.

‘Yes, sir, I, uh, guess I do.’ Reynolds cleared his throat. ‘He managed to zat Thomas and we were responding when Major Carter arrived.’ He pressed his lips together. ‘She explained that the man had a good reason to stop the test and we should listen to him. I explained we had already begun the test and the overload was in progress.’

‘So it couldn’t be stopped.’ Daniel realised. He caught Jack’s questioning look. ‘Oh, the only way for the weapon to fire was to deliberately overload the naquadah generator and transfer the power to the weapon.’

Jack waved Reynolds to continue.

‘The, uh, alien realised that if he disconnected the generator from the weapon, it would effectively stop the test and destroy the weapon.’ Reynolds said.

‘But kill everyone when the generator exploded.’ Simmons added.

‘I’m not sure the alien knew that we couldn’t leave in case the energy transferred through the Stargate.’ Reynolds admitted. He looked at Hammond. ‘He seemed surprised when Major Carter explained it.’ He shifted position in his seat. ‘I had shot him when he went to disconnect the generator and he was dying. He, uh, mentioned that the Others were giving him another chance and it was the only way to save Major Carter.’ He paused. ‘He wanted to save her life.’

Jack dropped his eyes to the briefing room table. The alien had saved Carter; given its life for her.

‘And then?’ prompted Simmons brusquely.

‘He, er, he turned into a white glowing energy being.’ Reynolds shook his head in remembered wonder. ‘It was…well, it was…incredible.’

Simmons slumped back in his seat.

‘The alien took the generator and flew away into the sky. It exploded.’ Reynolds concluded. ‘Some kind of lightening – maybe feedback from the explosion – struck the weapon and destroyed it.’ He raised his hand from the table. ‘Major Carter suggested we leave and I agreed.’

‘Would you agree that Major Carter and the alien were working together to stop the test?’ Simmons asked bluntly.

‘You don’t get to ask the questions.’ Jack snapped angrily.

‘I’d like to answer that, sir.’ Reynolds looked over at Jack.

There was something in the younger man’s dark eyes, a plea for trust maybe? Jack nodded slowly.

Reynolds turned back to Simmons. ‘It seemed to me that Major Carter’s only aim at all times was the safety of Earth, my team and the alien. I’ve read the report about SG1’s original encounter with one of these aliens on Kheb and if I had known that the test would anger any of them, I would have supported her recommendation that we didn’t go ahead.’

‘But Major Carter knew and didn’t report the full facts.’ Simmons said, smiling.

‘There may be an explanation for that.’ Daniel said, holding up his pen. ‘We know these aliens are capable of manipulating minds. One once gave me an entire dream that felt incredibly real…’

‘I don’t see…’ Simmons tried to break in.

‘Continue, Doctor Jackson.’ Hammond said forcefully, talking over Simmons. His eyes warned Simmons against another interruption.

‘The point is,’ Daniel said quickly, ‘the alien accessed Sam’s mind when it reappeared to her after the SGC surveillance was removed.’ He fiddled with his glasses. ‘It’s possible he was able to subconsciously influence Sam’s decisions.’

‘You don’t seriously expect us to believe that?’ Simmons responded. ‘And besides,’ his eyes slid to Jack, ‘wouldn’t that all rather contradict Colonel O’Neill’s assertion that she had his permission unless of course the Colonel has had second thoughts about that?’

Jack opened his mouth to respond…

‘Actually, it supports it.’ Daniel replied quickly before Jack could get a word out.

Jack looked at him inquisitively. He had no idea how Daniel was going to make the argument work but he had every confidence he would.

‘How so, Doctor Jackson?’ Hammond asked.

‘Look, I think we all agree that Sam is usually a very by the book officer, right?’ Daniel didn’t wait for agreement. ‘She phoned in the minute she encountered the alien the first time. Now if we take that as Sam’s usual baseline reaction then her responses afterwards all show she was constrained in some way.’ He gestured at Jack with his pen. ‘Rather than reporting the alien presence outright, she asks Jack if she should gather intel before coming forward formally again; she tries to get the test stopped without saying exactly why.’ He gesticulated wildly. ‘I think that proves that Sam was somehow, I don’t know, trying to fight the subliminal suggestion that the alien made to keep him secret.’

‘If the alien was capable of doing this then why wouldn’t he have taken further measures to ensure Major Carter didn’t reveal his presence at all.’ Simmons countered.

‘He cared about her.’ Jack replied without thinking but he knew it was the truth as soon as the words left his mouth.

‘Jack’s right.’ Daniel replied evenly. ‘The alien obviously had some feelings for Sam. He followed her here from 636, inserted himself into her life. I don’t think he wanted to hurt her. Maybe he gave her the suggestion to simply give him enough time with Sam for her to return his feelings.’

‘You’re clutching at straws.’ Simmons said strongly. ‘The fact is that Major Carter failed to report the possible danger of the test.’

Jack’s eyes narrowed. ‘So did you.’

Simmons raised an eyebrow. ‘Excuse me?’

‘You knew.’ Jack pointed his pen at the Pentagon man. ‘You read the transcripts, hell you may have even listened into the original conversations.’ His eyes glittered dangerously. ‘You knew all along about the potential danger to the test team – and maybe even Earth – from the aliens on 636 if we used the weapon.’

Simmons laughed uncomfortably. ‘That’s…’

‘He’s right.’ Daniel said supportively, gesturing at Simmons. ‘You also failed to report that a member of the SGC might have fallen under the influence of an alien entity.’

Simmons looked from Daniel to Jack and back again. He turned to Hammond. ‘You can’t possibly believe any of this.’

Hammond regarded him with an even blue stare. ‘I think Doctor Jackson has provided an entirely plausible explanation for Major Carter’s behaviour. As we have no evidence one way or another, I’m inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt especially given Colonel Reynolds’s testimony that her aims were to keep everyone safe. She can’t be held accountable.’ His eyes glittered. ‘I think you’re done here.’

Simmons stood up and buttoned his jacket. ‘This isn’t over.’ He strode out.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and threw down his pen.

‘Thank you, gentlemen; you’re dismissed.’ Hammond stood up. ‘Colonel O’Neill; a moment, please.’

Jack shook his head at Daniel’s silent question on whether he should stay. He watched as his team-mate departed before he followed Hammond into his office. ‘General.’

Hammond slipped behind his desk and gestured for Jack to close the door.

Jack followed the implicit order and moved to stand in a loose ‘at ease’ pose in front of the General’s desk. The familiar space with its antique furnishings and Hammond’s personal touches that spoke of the General’s warm personality didn’t bring its usual comfort.

‘Off the record, Jack,’ Hammond began tiredly, ‘you don’t believe Doctor Jackson’s theory on alien influence, do you?’

He rocked back on his heels as he took in Hammond’s knowing look. ‘Off the record, sir?’ Jack sighed. ‘I don’t believe it anymore than Simmons.’

Hammond gave a short laugh in agreement before he sobered and leaned back in his chair, the leather squeaking. ‘He’s a piece of work alright.’

‘What’s going on with that, sir?’ Jack asked bluntly. ‘Since when did the Pentagon start spying on us?’

‘Since you and the rest of SG1 took out Apophis.’ Hammond sighed. ‘We may have lost some political ground given he was a major threat and our agreement with the System Lords keeps Earth relatively safe.’ He levelled another knowing look at Jack. ‘Which is beside the point.’

‘Right, sir.’ Jack inwardly sighed; he might have known Hammond wouldn’t have fallen for his attempt to change the subject.

‘You should know that I also don’t believe your story either so don’t even try to bullshit me that Major Carter had your permission.’

Jack winced and looked down, unable to hold Hammond’s pointed gaze.

‘What happened, Jack?’

‘We made it difficult for Carter to come forward after sending her for the psych eval.’ Jack responded honestly. He pulled a face. ‘She did talk to me although her suggested approach may have been, possibly, framed as hypothetical.’ He grimaced and looked up again. ‘I think she had good intentions but got in over her head.’

Hammond nodded sadly.

‘And I genuinely believe Carter would have come forward to warn us of the danger before the test, sir, if your original two weeks had stood.’ Jack assured him.

‘I’d like to think so too.’ Hammond said quietly. ‘And while I agree we may not have made it easy for her to come forward, there’s no getting away from the fact that she showed poor judgement in hiding the alien and trying to go it alone. Protocol dictated that she should have reported it and she should certainly have come forward when she realised the danger with the test.’ He sighed. ‘Then there’s the matter of her following the alien off-world without permission no matter how well-intentioned her motives.’

Hammond waited for Jack to absorb his words before he leaned forward. ‘I don’t believe her actions warrant a full scale arrest and court martial and if I even hint that the alien influence thing doesn’t stand up, Simmons will jump all over it, so I can’t reprimand her formally for this.’

‘So you want me to informally reprimand her.’ Jack realised, his gut twisting.

‘Is there a problem with that, Colonel?’ Hammond asked evenly.

Jack registered the shift back to formality. ‘No, sir.’

‘I’ll leave it with you then.’ Hammond said calmly. ‘Dismissed.’

‘Sir.’ Jack came to attention and left.

He paused in the corridor outside, running his hands through his hair and wondering how the hell he carried out the General’s order. He was only too aware of how difficult they had made it for Carter – how difficult he had made it. He sighed and headed for the elevator.

Daniel and Teal’c were both waiting outside of Carter’s quarters and he slowed as he saw them.

‘Jack.’

‘Daniel.’

‘O’Neill.’

‘Teal’c.’

The three of them looked at each other expectantly.

Jack sighed. ‘Why don’t you guys head to the mess? Carter and I will join you once we’ve had a little…talk.’

Daniel started. ‘You don’t want us to, uh, talk together?’

‘Not this time.’ Jack said firmly. He took in Daniel’s affronted expression. ‘Daniel, I have to do…’ he struggled for a phrase that would hint at what he needed to do but without telling them the specifics – Carter didn’t need everyone knowing she was getting reprimanded. ‘CO stuff.’ He concluded finally.

Teal’c’s hand landed on Daniel’s shoulder before the archaeologist could argue. ‘We will wait for you in the commissary, O’Neill.’ He firmly guided Daniel away and Jack waited until they disappeared from the corridor before he rapped on the door and used his own access card to enter.

Carter was half-way through climbing off the bed. He waved her back onto it and she settled for perching on the side of the bed. He joined her, sitting beside her, careful to keep a foot of distance between them and trying to ignore the evidence that she had been crying.

Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He rubbed the palm of his left hand with the thumb of his right. He noticed that she was hanging onto the edge of the bed with both hands as though it was a high precipice and she was about to fall off. He cleared his throat. ‘Simmons left.’ He figured he would start on relatively safe ground. ‘He won’t be arresting you.’

He watched as her blonde head dipped in acknowledgement.

‘Daniel claimed you might have been subjected to some kind of subtle alien influence when it did the sharing thing to stop you from reporting its presence again.’

Her head dipped lower and he could see a hint of colour in her cheeks as she registered they all knew about her experience and maybe, he realised, she was considering Daniel’s theory on whether the alien had influenced her.

‘Of course Simmons didn’t believe the whole alien influence thing.’ He wet his lips. ‘He can’t disprove it though.’ He linked his hands together loosely. ‘What do you think?’

‘I don’t know.’ Sam admitted quietly. ‘I don’t think he influenced me.’

‘So you want to tell me what you think happened?’

For a long moment, he wasn’t sure she was going to reply.

‘I thought I was doing the right thing, sir.’ Sam began tentatively.

He looked at her.

She flushed. ‘When I realised it was the same kind of alien as Oma Desala, I didn’t want to scare him away. They’re so far advanced from us, sir, and I thought there was so much we could learn from him. I really thought if I reported his continued presence then he would just disappear again and everyone would think I was crazy.’

‘Which is when you came up with the plan to learn as much as you could before you reported him.’

‘But then the weapons test was scheduled and I, I really believed we needed his help especially if the Others of his kind tried to stop us testing the weapon.’ Sam sighed. ‘He said he had a plan.’

‘You trusted him.’ Jack realised. He looked away from her.

‘Yes.’ She was hesitant but her admission was like another sucker-punch.

Jack stared at his hands. She had trusted the alien but she hadn’t trusted them.

‘I wanted to tell you, sir,’ Sam said urgently as though she had heard his thoughts, ‘but he asked me for some time and I…’

‘You weren’t sure I would believe you.’ Jack finished, striving to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Sam shrugged awkwardly and averted her gaze. ‘I understand. I mean, I’m not sure I would have believed me given the empirical evidence.’

Jack straightened and he waited until she looked at him again. ‘Sometimes we screw up.’ He said bluntly.

Surprise flickered across Carter’s delicate features. Her gaze darted away from the honesty in his.

‘And sometimes so do you, Carter.’ Jack added evenly.

Her eyes shot back to his. He held her gaze. Finally, she nodded.

‘You want to tell me what you should have done differently, Major?’ Jack prompted.

‘Reported Orlin when he reappeared to me; reported the information he told me about Velona and the weapon immediately.’ Sam rubbed her arms.

‘And we probably shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions that you were crazy just because we didn’t see what you did.’ Jack finished. ‘Although, if you ever scare the hell out of me by running off-world without permission again, I will bust you a rank.’

She winced at his tone but her eyes shone with understanding.

Jack pulled a face. ‘Look, things turned out OK, so’ he waved a hand at her, ‘let’s learn from it and move on.’

Sam nodded. ‘I just wish Orlin hadn’t sacrificed his life to save…’ she stopped abruptly and he detected the sheen of tears before she looked away.

To save her. Jack knew how the alien – Orlin – had felt. He would have done the same thing in Orlin’s place and he was sure Orlin had believed the sacrifice worth it. Not that he could say that to Carter. He wet his lips, unsure how to respond. He could see she was genuinely grieving alongside her evident guilt and self-blame at what had happened to Orlin. He didn’t know how to comfort her; wasn’t even certain whether it was appropriate he should be comforting her at all given their screwed up feelings.

Jack searched for safe ground. ‘Simmons has them removing the Stargate from your house.’

It took her a moment to assimilate what he’d said. She sniffed and looked back at him. ‘Is my house…is it badly damaged?’

‘Some surface damage.’ Jack shrugged lightly. He reached over and touched her arm, unable to stop himself offering some small comfort. ‘We’ll fix it.’

She looked away and Jack had the sudden notion they weren’t talking about the house at all.

Jack removed his hand and tapped his knee. ‘Daniel and Teal’c are waiting for us. How about we grab them and head to my place for pizza and movie while we wait for the teams to clear your house?’

She shook her head. ‘Thank you, sir. But I’m not the best company right now.’

‘Consider it an order, Carter.’ Jack said firmly. He might not be able to comfort her directly but he was damned if he was leaving her alone; he’d been doing too much of that lately.

There was a flash of something in her eyes but she nodded.

‘Sir,’ Sam said hesitantly, ‘I just want to say I’m sorry.’ Her lips twisted wryly. ‘About everything. I hope I’ll be able to rebuild your trust in me.’

‘I trust you.’ Jack replied immediately. She blinked as though surprised. He wondered if he should say something more but he had no idea what else he could say and he didn’t want to ask if she still trusted him; he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. He sighed. ‘Come on.’

He stood up. He held out a hand and helped her to her feet. He squeezed her hand gently before he let go of her reluctantly.

‘You know who I definitely don’t trust?’ Jack commented, as they headed for the door.

‘Simmons.’ Sam replied dryly.

‘Got it in one.’

‘You think he’s going to cause us trouble, sir?’

‘Let’s just say I’m suddenly missing Maybourne.’ He quipped, opening the door and waving her through it. Maybe the trust between them was a little damaged but they’d fix it, and he figured they were going to have to fix it fast because he had a bad feeling they hadn’t heard the last of Simmons.

fin.