Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

It was General Hammond’s idea so Jack O’Neill firmly placed the blame for all that followed at his former CO’s door.  George Hammond had been a close friend of Jacob Carter’s.  He’d wanted to heal the rift that had formed between Jacob’s children in the wake of the other man’s death and the visit of Lieutenant Samantha Carter to Washington to brief the President at the same time as a fluke visit by her brother, Mark, for a conference had seemed like serendipity.  As Jack was finally, and somewhat miraculously to him, married to Sam and because their marriage was in part the reason for the rift, he had felt somewhat obligated when Hammond had called upon him to help.

‘All they need is to talk, Jack.  We only need to get them in the same room, Jack.’  Jack whirled and pointed a finger at Hammond.  ‘Isn’t that what you said?’

Hammond raised his hand from the kitchen table.  Jack had turned up early at Hammond’s Washington home and Hammond was still in his dressing gown.  He had invited Jack into the kitchen, brewed a pot of coffee and let the other man vent.  ‘I’m sorry, Jack.’  He said calmly, trying to placate the other man who was currently pacing between the table and the stove.  Hammond grabbed his coffee and took a much needed gulp.  ‘Why don’t you tell me what happened?’

‘I’ve told you what happened!’  Jack said, whirling back around.  In contrast to Hammond, Jack was already decked out for the day in his formal dress blues although the pristine poster image of his arrival was completely destroyed.  His raincoat was slung haphazardly over a wooden dining chair, the jacket was open and the tie was loosened; Jack had determined it was trying to choke him.

‘No,’ Hammond stated firmly, ‘you’ve told me it went to hell in a hand basket.  You haven’t actually told me why.’

Jack stopped his pacing to glare at the older man.

Unfortunately, Hammond had worked with Jack too long to be affected by the glare; he simply nudged the second mug of coffee he had poured toward the other man and gestured for him to sit.

Jack sat with a heavy sigh.  ‘Everything worked just like you said.  Mark showed up at the restaurant; so did we.’

‘And?’

‘And I pretended I had absolutely no knowledge of how we both ended up there.’  Jack said.  His fingers tapped restlessly on the mug.  ‘It was awkward.’  He admitted lowering his brown eyes to the table.  ‘I think Carter was suspicious.’

Hammond nodded, understanding without being told that the Carter in question was Jack’s wife; Jack rarely called her by her first name even after more than a year of marriage. 

‘Anyway, you called and cancelled with Mark; we invited him to join us.  In short, your plan worked perfectly.’  Jack reported succinctly.  His mind was already drifting back to the previous evening; the tasteful restaurant, the hastily rearranged seating by the professional staff to accommodate Mark’s presence at the couple’s table. 

‘So what went wrong?’  Hammond asked bemused.

‘That would be when we actually started to talk.’  Jack grimaced openly.  He picked up the mug and took a gulp as though fortifying himself.  He stared into the black depths.  ‘We started with the usual you know; the weather, what we were doing in Washington, baseball.’  He waited a beat.  ‘And then we moved to the more serious stuff; politics, religion, how Sam’s ex was doing.’

‘Shanahan?’  Hammond checked.  The Denver cop had been introduced to Sam by her brother and Sam had been engaged to him for a time.  She’d broken her engagement to Pete around the time of her father’s death.

Jack nodded.  ‘Oh yes.’

‘You didn’t rise to the bait.’  Hammond stated firmly.  Jack was a master strategist; he wouldn’t have fallen for the obvious.

‘No, I didn’t.’  Jack stressed the pronoun.

Hammond’s heart sank.  ‘Sam did?’

‘Oh, she tried not to.  Made a comment that it was good to hear Shanahan was getting on with his life – apparently Mark hooked him up with some doctor type who’s just crazy about him.’  Jack sighed and slumped back in the chair.  ‘Sam tried to change the subject politely.’

‘What did he say?’  Hammond asked with resignation.

‘He told her that he was pleased that his friend had finally found a good woman because it made up for the mistake he’d made in hooking him up Sam.’  Jack clenched the mug tightly as he remembered the hurt that his wife hadn’t quite been able to hide.  His gaze flickered back to Hammond.  ‘It kind of went downhill from there.’  He swallowed some coffee. 

Hammond looked at him intently.  ‘He said something else about Sam.’ He realised. 

Jack pulled a face and put his coffee down.  ‘He implied that Sam had broken the regs with me.’  He dropped his gaze.  ‘And others.’ 

‘I see.’  Hammond said. 

Jack knew the former lieutenant general well enough that he heard the edge of anger in the older man’s voice.  In an obtuse way, Hammond’s fury doused his own.  ‘I kind of lost it at that point.’

‘I can’t say I blame you.’  Hammond allowed.  He shook his head, the kitchen lights glancing off the pale dome.  ‘I’m sorry, Jack.  I honestly thought that Mark’s behaviour in not talking with Sam was simply due to his grief at Jacob’s death.’

Jack shrugged.  ‘Daniel had this theory at the funeral that Mark was displacing his anger at Jacob’s death by focusing on Sam and her decisions.’  He said referring to his Sam’s SG1 team-mate Daniel Jackson.

‘You think he’s right?’  Hammond’s pale blue eyes were bright with curiosity.

‘I don’t know.’  And he didn’t really care either, Jack mused silently.  He was less concerned with why Mark was acting like a jerk and more concerned with the impact on his wife.  Jack picked his mug up and moved onto what he considered the most pressing consequence of the disastrous dinner.  ‘Sam’s mad at me.’

Hammond’s pale eyebrows rose.  ‘I see.’

‘Apparently, I’m supposed to let her handle her brother when he calls her a whore.’  Jack continued in the same conversational tone.  He could understand it on one level.  Sam was more than capable of handling herself and she felt Mark was her problem; he was her brother.  Jack knew he’d feel the same in her shoes but it didn’t stop his instinctive reaction to protect her.  He believed knocking his glass with amazing accuracy into Mark’s crotch and suggesting in a tone that brooked no argument that maybe it was time for him to leave had been fairly mild as retributions went.

Sam had been furious anyway.  She had waited until Mark had departed before frostily suggesting that they left too.  She had closed down his attempts to talk in the cab on the way back and he’d been pretty steamed himself when they’d finally arrived back in the apartment.  Their argument had been loud; they’d moved from Jack protecting her from Mark, to the reasons why Mark was vile to her and in particular Sam’s relationship with Pete. 

Stuff had come out that Jack had hoped to keep buried; resentment, pain.  Rationally, he’d understood Sam’s attempt to move on with Pete, even wondered back when it had happened why she’d waited so long, but on a primal level he was still pissed that she had, even though he knew he wasn’t blameless in her decision.  Jack figured Mark would be pleased at his handiwork; Sam had been gone from the apartment before he had gotten up.  Given he had risen early after a sleep that had been less than restful, he wondered if she had actually gone to sleep at all. 

‘I’m sorry, Jack.’  Hammond drained his mug and set it aside.  ‘This wasn’t the outcome either of us wanted.’

Jack shrugged again.

‘I’ll call Sam and explain…’

‘Ah!’  Jack held up his hand.  ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, sir.’  He waved at Hammond.  ‘I don’t think you want her mad at you too.’

Hammond gave a small huff of laughter.  ‘Maybe not.’  He tapped his hand gently on the table.  ‘So what now?’

Jack smiled a little sheepishly.  ‘I was thinking begging.  Maybe grovelling.’

The older man nodded in understanding.  ‘That’s not a bad plan, Jack.’

‘It’s a plan.’  Jack quipped, and he hoped to God it worked.

o-O-o

Samantha Carter hovered nervously in the Oval Office.  She adjusted her stance and took in the historic room with something akin to awe.  It wasn’t the first time she’d been in the Oval Office; she was pretty certain it wouldn’t be her last.  Each time she visited she felt the same; a mixture of disbelief that she was there and professional honour that she was; a reverence at the historical significance of the room and…a deep-seated desire to be somewhere else. 

She sighed and took a moment to rub at the headache nagging at her temples, the only sign of her sleepless night.  She hated how she’d left things with Jack.  It was bad enough that their assignments to different parts of the country meant that she usually had to sleep without Jack next to her; she hated that for the first time in their marriage they had slept angry with each other.  She’d been so mad with him.  It wasn’t so much what had happened with Mark although that had been bad. 

She would bet the contents of her entire lab that Jack had conspired with George Hammond to set up the supposedly coincidental meeting with her brother in the restaurant.  She could have told him it was a mistake.  Mark was angry; deeply, bitterly angry – just like after their mother had died.  Only this time Sam was the target of his anger and not their father.  On some level, Sam even understood his anger; he’d been kept out of the loop about their father’s decline and only informed once he was dead.  If that hadn’t been enough, her brother had been forced to endure the military pomp and ceremony of the funeral which he’d hated and in which he’d had no say.  She figured her break-up with Pete had simply been the last straw for him and in some ways she couldn’t blame him for that either.  She had used Pete; intentionally in some ways, unintentionally in others.  She deserved Mark’s scorn in that respect. 

But she didn’t deserve the slurs on her integrity or the snide remarks about how she’d gained her promotions; she and Jack had always acted honourably – that had been part of their problem.  She would have handled it though if Jack hadn’t suddenly swept his hand over the table, deliberately sending his full wine glass into her brother’s lap.  Mark had been apoplectic.  Jack had simply sat back and said one word; ‘Leave.’  It had been deadly quiet without a hint of his usual humour.  The threat couldn’t have been clearer and the triumphant look her brother had thrown her had been the icing on the cake.  Jack had just played into all of Mark’s prejudices about the military.

Sam smoothed the front of her jacket absently.  The incident with Mark had been bad but the argument she and Jack had gotten into back at the apartment had been worse. She guessed it had been an argument waiting to happen.  They’d had the best of intentions when they’d gotten together, agreeing in the dazed delight of simply being together at last that it didn’t matter that Sam had tried to move on with Pete – it only mattered that she hadn’t been able to get past her feelings for Jack.  So, they hadn’t discussed it.

Sam shivered.  Maybe they had instinctively known that any discussion would lead to an argument.  When she had realised that Jack still loved her, she had been devastated to think about how much her relationship with Pete must have hurt him.  She knew how she would felt in his place; it had been bad enough going to his house and finding Kerry Johnson there.  The sting of jealousy had been sharp and bitter; the pain heart-stopping.  She had only started dating Pete because Jack had done nothing to indicate he was still in love with her, Sam reminded herself.  He hadn’t given her any sign that he would have repeated his za’tarc confessions, not even when she had shown him the engagement ring.  Guilt coursed through her.  She had done that deliberately trying to get a reaction and in hindsight she knew it must have killed him to have simply stood there trying to be a friend to her. 

‘Excuse me for wanting you to be happy.’                                                                                                                  

Jack’s sharp words resounded in her head.  Her happiness.  That was the reason why Jack had hidden his love for her so deep that she had wondered if he still felt it.  He had decided she would be happier without him; protecting her from herself.  Of all the arrogant assumptions Jack had ever made…anger stirred again but it was soon swamped by sadness.  She bit her lip.  They had wasted so much time with misunderstanding and miscommunication and she didn’t want to waste the time they had with anymore.  She needed to talk with her husband as soon as the briefing with the President was over.

The sound of approaching voices broke into her reverie and she straightened automatically.  She shoved the personal drama to the back of her mind and focused on the present.  The side door opened and she plastered a smile on her face.

‘Mr President.’  Sam greeted him formally.

Henry Hayes grinned at her impishly.  ‘Sam.’ He waved her into one of the comfortable sofas as he took a chair.  ‘It’s good to see you again.  You know Richard.’  He gestured at the IOA liaison.  ‘He’ll be joining us for this briefing.’

Sam nodded politely as Richard Woolsey took the other chair in the seating area.

‘Mr President?’  Woolsey murmured, drawing the attention of the room, ‘shouldn’t General O’Neill be here for this?’

‘As you know Jack’s already been fully briefed, Richard.’  Hayes responded briskly.  His dark eyes landed on Sam.  She took a moment to appreciate the keen intelligence that shone out at her.  ‘Actually, it was Jack’s suggestion following that briefing that we should run our plans by you, Colonel, as our foremost expert on Replicator technology.’

Sam smiled tightly in confusion.  ‘I’m sorry, sir.  I thought this briefing was about the alternative universe I visited a while ago?  I’m not sure how that relates to the Replicators.’ 

Hayes raised his shaggy eyebrows in amusement.  ‘Yes, you’ll have to forgive us for the subterfuge but this is highly sensitive.’  He leaned forward earnestly.  ‘We’re not prepared for anyone outside of this immediate circle knowing our plans at this point.  I take it you have no problems keeping this confidential from your command?’

‘No, sir.’  Inwardly Sam winced.  Lying to her CO – which inevitably she would have to do even if she kept it to lies of omission when she went back and he asked her for a report – was not something she relished, especially as she had come to respect Landry.

‘Good.’  Hayes sat back, satisfied with her answer.  ‘Richard, why don’t you take Sam through the basics?’

Sam turned her attention to the IOA man.  She had never particularly liked Woolsey but she was prepared to admit that she had gone from outright dislike to a more neutral ambivalence.     

‘I believe you’re familiar with the reports from Atlantis on the Replicator problem there?’  Woolsey began a little pompously.

‘Yes.’  Sam nodded.  She was deeply familiar given her input to find countermeasures against the advanced enemy, and even more familiar with her husband’s nightmares following his run-in with them.

‘We’re convinced that sooner or later the Replicators will constitute a serious threat to Earth.’  Woolsey continued.

Sam frowned, a tiny line appearing between her brows.  ‘Earth?’

‘These were taken on a recent surveillance pass by the Daedalus.’  Hayes handed her a folder.  She started to leaf through the photos in it and stopped abruptly.

‘They’re building shipyards.’  Sam said, determinedly keeping her voice even and not betraying the slight panic that the sight evoked.

‘You notice the multiple occurrences.’  Hayes interjected.  ‘It only took one ship for them to take Atlantis from the Ancients.  The fact that they’re planning an armada…’

‘Means their ultimate goal is not Atlantis.’  Sam concluded.

‘It’s our belief that sooner or later we’re going to have to deal with them.’  Hayes said.  ‘Now while we had the weapon at Dakara, waiting wasn’t an issue.’

Sam nodded.  That made sense; the instant the Replicators stepped into the Milky Way, they could have been destroyed.  ‘But that’s no longer an option because Adria destroyed it.’ 

Hayes sighed dramatically.  ‘Also neatly demonstrating that the Ori are more than enough for us to have to deal with here in this galaxy without worrying about another enemy on our doorstep.’

‘We want to contain any fight with the Replicators to Pegasus.’  Woolsey added.

‘Which is why we’re putting together a first strike offensive against those shipyards.’  Hayes stated clearly.

Sam’s eyes widened and she set the folder aside.  ‘I see, sir.’

Hayes smiled.  ‘You don’t agree?’

‘Sir…’ Sam began hesitantly.

‘Permission to speak freely, Sam.’ Hayes said encouragingly.  ‘I want your real opinion here.’

Sam wet her lips and shifted her position slightly.  ‘Sir, we don’t have a weapon capable of eliminating the entire Replicator homeworld in one offensive.  The satellite version of the ARW is still being built.  I appreciate the importance to gain an advantage but unless we can destroy them completely, it’s likely that the Replicators will retaliate.’

‘But without ships they’ll have to retaliate within Pegasus.’  Woolsey replied.

Sam stiffened automatically.  The IOA liaison still had the ability to put her guard up without even trying.  ‘Then their first target would be Atlantis.’

‘Exactly.’  Woolsey nodded as though she’d got the answer right.

‘We can’t afford to lose Atlantis.’  Sam retorted.  She clasped her hands together on her lap to avoid the temptation of hitting him.

‘You think so?’  Hayes asked almost lazily.  His sharp gaze gave away his focus was very much on their discussion.

‘With respect, sir,’ Sam turned back to the President, ‘we have barely started to scratch the surface of the technology and cultural finds in Atlantis.  The city is our best hope of finding a permanent weapon of some kind to defend planets against the Priors and the Ori especially given the Supergate remains open.’

‘You believe that the weapon Merlin created and which you sent through to the Ori galaxy didn’t destroy the Ori?’  Hayes asked seriously.

‘I believe that until we can prove it did, their followers are always going to believe the Ori exist.’  Sam replied confidently.

‘Faith.’  Hayes said succinctly. 

‘Yes, sir.’  Sam nodded.  ‘Until we proved the Goa’uld could be killed, their human slaves and the Jaffa fervently believed that they were Gods.’

‘And you believe Atlantis is our best hope of getting proof?’ Woolsey asked sceptically.

‘Beyond finding another Ancient repository, Atlantis remains our best remaining link with the Ancients who did eventually ascend like the Ori.’  Sam shot back.  ‘And I would add that at least with Atlantis we don’t have to worry about the recipient of the information dying from an overload of knowledge.’  She resisted the urge to tug on her jacket.  ‘Mr President, I’m not saying that the answers to our finding a weapon we can use against the Ori followers, or proof of the Ori’s demise, are in Atlantis…’

‘Only that’s it’s our best hope to find either.’  Hayes surmised with a sigh.  He gave a short huff of laughter and wagged his finger at her.  ‘Jack told me you wouldn’t agree with the assessment that Atlantis is expendable.’

‘I can’t believe Doctor Weir would either, sir.’  Sam said confidently.  ‘I know Doctor Jackson wouldn’t.’  She didn’t think Jack did either.

‘Both Doctor Weir and Doctor Jackson are civilians.’  Hayes said.  ‘This is a tactical military scenario.’

‘With respect, sir, I would argue that Atlantis is a place of great tactical and strategic value.’  Sam replied.

‘Which it has yet to demonstrate.’  Woolsey said bluntly.  ‘To date the expedition has shown a remarkable propensity to only create more trouble for Earth than provide useful scientific advancements.’

‘I respectfully disagree.’  Sam said tightly.

Hayes nodded.  ‘Well, I asked for your opinion, Sam, and as it happens I agree.’

‘You do?’  Woolsey blurted the question out.

Sam took a moment to enjoy his mortification but lowered her gaze respectfully to keep her amusement hidden. 

‘Do I agree that Atlantis is of value and has provided us with advancements?  Yes.  Do I think it could provide additional answers to our fight against the Ori?  Yes.’ Hayes said empathetically.  ‘But if I had to choose between Earth and Atlantis, I know which I’d choose in a heartbeat.’  He looked at Sam.  ‘How quickly do you believe the Replicators can build ships?’

Sam pulled a face as she mentally calculated the timings.  ‘Given the reports I’ve read of their capabilities and allowing for the differences between these Replicators and the Milky Way version,’ she sighed, ‘once their shipyards are ready, I’d have to say a month; maybe two.’

‘And the current outlook on the ARW satellite?’  Hayes prompted.

‘Four months if the project runs to schedule, sir.’  Sam confirmed.

‘So you see our problem.’  Hayes said.

Sam sighed. ‘Yes, sir.  I do.’

‘Great.’  Hayes gave her a sympathetic smile.  ‘Richard, why don’t you…’

There was a white flash of light that blinded Sam; followed swiftly by a disorientating sensation as she was transported.  She staggered as she was reintegrated and bumped straight into Hayes.

‘Sorry, Mr President.’  Sam apologised absently before she froze.

The expected trappings of an Asgard ship weren’t present nor did she recognise the austere lines of any Earth ship.  Her heart sank at the smooth silver walls.

‘Where are we?’  Woolsey sounded panicked.  ‘Is this a Goa’uld ship?’

‘Well, it’s not the White House unless my wife’s done some major redecorating.’  Hayes quipped.

Sam glanced at him.  He was disconcerted but he looked remarkably calm given he’d been transported without warning to an unknown vessel.  She shook her head.  ‘It’s not Goa’uld.’  She said trying to locate a door and coming up empty.  She frowned.  There was something about the design that nagged at her memory; she just couldn’t place it.  She stepped back and crossed her arms, rubbing them slightly.

‘This doesn’t look good, does it?’  Hayes murmured beside her.

Sam grimaced.  ‘I’ve been in worse situations, Mr President.’ She said calmly. 

‘You forget that I’ve read your mission reports, Sam, so believe me when I say that’s hardly reassuring.’  Hayes commented wryly. 

Her eyes shot to his in gentle remonstration but when she met a plea for honesty in their depths, she sighed.  ‘No, Mr President.  It doesn’t look good.’  She agreed.  It didn’t look good at all.

o-O-o

Jack took another gulp of coffee and checked his watch.  He’d acquiesced to providing Hammond with a lift into the Pentagon but if the older man didn’t hurry it up, Jack was going to be late for his first meeting.  How long did it take to throw on a suit, for crying out loud?  It wasn’t as if Hammond still needed to wear the dress blues.  He fingered the tie he had corrected earlier and sighed heavily.  He finished the bitter coffee and took the mug over to the sink where he rinsed it under the faucet and set it on the drainer.  Maybe he should pick flowers up on his way home, Jack mused idly, or maybe a new plant; Sam preferred plants.  In his experience, it never hurt to have a gift to go with an apology to a woman especially a wife.

Hammond hurried through the kitchen door, shrugging into a suit jacket and sharply adjusting his cuffs.  ‘Sorry, Jack.’

‘No problem, sir.’  Jack responded automatically.

The doorbell rang loudly through the house.

‘That’s probably Angus.’  Jack said, referring to his young driver.  ‘He gets antsy.’

‘Why don’t you go reassure him?’  Hammond suggested with a laugh.  ‘I just need to grab my papers from the study.’

Jack nodded and grabbed his raincoat from the back of his chair.  He made his way down the narrow hallway and yanked open the door.

Mark Carter stared back at him in shock. 

‘Mark.’  Jack managed to recover enough to get his brother-in-law’s name out of his mouth.  ‘Good to see you.’  He took in the other man’s casual wear.  He knew Mark was due to fly home and deduced the jeans and sweatshirt were his travelling gear.

The tall blond man’s blue eyes raked over Jack’s appearance and he grimaced.  ‘I might have known.’ 

‘Jack, I’ve got…’ Hammond came to a stop as Jack turned aside to let the general his visitor.  ‘Mark.’

‘George.’  Mark greeted him politely.  ‘I thought I’d stop on my way to the airport and say goodbye seeing as we didn’t have a chance to have dinner last night.’  His blue eyes slid accusingly to Jack.  ‘I guess I know why now.’

‘Why don’t you come on in?’  Hammond waved him inside. ‘I’m sure none of us want this conversation to happen on the doorstep.’  There was a natural authority in his voice which brooked no argument.

Mark pushed past Jack into the hallway.

Jack let the door swing shut and followed as Hammond led the two men into the front den.

‘Mark, I can understand why you would be upset.  I admit that I did engender the meeting between you and your sister last night.’  Hammond confessed openly.  ‘I was hoping the opportunity to meet and talk would put to rest this…this bad feeling between you both.’

Mark smiled bitterly.  ‘Well, you were wrong.’

‘Evidently.’  Hammond sighed.  ‘Look, son…’

‘I’m not your son.’  Mark snapped.

‘Hey.’  Jack interceded before he could stop himself.  ‘Watch your tone!’

‘Jack.’  Hammond held a hand up and Jack subsided, slumping in the doorway, his hands buried in the depths of his pockets.  ‘Mark, I apologise for interfering.  I’ve known your family a long time.  I only wanted to help.  I can see I only made things worse but please, if you’re going to blame someone for last night, it should be me.  Sam had no more knowledge of it than you did.’

‘But he did.’  Mark stabbed a finger at Jack.

‘Jack,’ Hammond talked before Jack could utter a word, ‘was only involved at my request and he had his reservations; he didn’t think it was a good idea.’

‘You should have listened to him.’  Mark said evenly.  The colour was dying down in his cheeks as he got over his initial surprise.

Hammond sighed.  ‘Your father would never have wanted this animosity between you and your sister.’

‘You know ever since Dad died, everybody keeps telling me what Dad wanted; he wanted to die without saying goodbye to me; he wanted a military funeral; he wanted Sam breaking her engagement to end up shacked up with her commanding officer.’

‘Oh, here we go.’  Jack muttered angrily.

‘Mark, Jack and Sam worked under my command for seven years.  I can tell you without hesitation that they did not break the regulations.’  Hammond said forcefully.  ‘The suggestion that they did is unfounded and frankly malicious.’

‘You weren’t there when she dumped her fiancé for him though, were you?’  Mark pointed out calmly.  ‘So you actually have no way of knowing when they started up.’

‘You know what?’  Jack snapped.  ‘You go ahead and think what you like; you’re going to anyway even it bears no resemblance to the truth.’

‘And what is the truth?’  Mark retorted.  He folded his arms over his chest and glared at Jack.  ‘Because every time I’ve ever asked a question in the last ten years, all I’ve ever gotten back is evasion.’

Jack had some sympathy; he knew Sam and Jacob had debated whether to ask for clearance for Mark – especially after Pete was told having stumbled into their stake-out of Osiris – but in the end the fact that no-one else’s family got preferential treatment and Mark had no need to know held sway. 

‘The truth,’ Jack began tightly, ‘is that nothing happened between your sister and I until we were clear of the regs.  She would never, never, have countenanced anything else.’  He straightened to his full height.  ‘That’s all you need to know.’

‘She dumped Pete because she was in love with you, and you were still her commanding officer at the time.’  Mark pointed out ruthlessly.  ‘Are you going to deny that?’

‘No, I don’t.’  Jack responded heatedly.  ‘But there’s a big difference between having feelings and acting on them.’  He should know, he thought resentfully; he’d had enough personal experience in the eight years he had been Sam’s CO.

‘My father would never have wanted Sam…’

‘Jacob only wanted Sam to be happy; his last words to her spoke to that.’  Hammond interrupted forcefully.  ‘Now, I’m sorry your friend got hurt but I truly believe Sam has found happiness with Jack.’

‘Really?’  Mark smiled humourlessly.  ‘I’d guess she’s not happy with him now.’

Jack wanted to refute Mark’s claim but he couldn’t.  Outwardly, his face smoothed into an impassivity even his former Jaffa team-mate Teal’c would have been proud of.

Jack nodded at Hammond.  ‘I don’t have time for this.’

Hammond nodded back in understanding.  ‘Why don’t you wait in the…’

A flash of light blinded the three of them.  Jack felt the buzz of technology and inwardly sighed.  He was ready for the reintegration and barely staggered as they reappeared in the silver walls of a holding cell.  A quick check told him Hammond had been transported with him along with a very startled Mark.  This was so not good, Jack thought dryly.  Neither were the stunned looks that were appearing on his companions’ faces as they took in something behind him.

‘Jack.  George.’ 

The President’s voice had Jack’s heart sinking.  He whirled around and his chocolate eyes widened on the leader of the Free World flanked by Woolsey and Sam.  His stomach churned at the sight of her; he partly didn’t want her there because his gut was telling him they were in danger and he partly didn’t want her there because he wasn’t ready to face her after their argument.

‘Mister President.’  Jack greeted him with false cheer.  His eyes moved to his wife.  ‘Carter.’

‘Sir.’  Sam’s blue eyes widened at the sight of her brother.

‘Thank God.’  Woolsey said.  ‘Are you here to rescue us?’

‘What the hell is going on?’  Mark demanded.  ‘Where the hell are we?’

‘Answers I’m sure we would all like.’  Hayes said, moving forward.  ‘I don’t believe we’ve met?’

‘This is my brother, Mark.’  Sam’s eyes flew questioningly to Jack.

He shrugged, catching the hint of accusation in them.  She probably thought he and Hammond had set up another meeting.  ‘He stopped by to say goodbye to George.’

‘Well, I’m pleased to meet you.’  Hayes thrust out his hand and Mark shook it bemused.  ‘You must be very proud of your sister’s accomplishments.’

‘Actually, sir,’ Sam said hurriedly, ‘Mark doesn’t have clearance.’

Hayes stared at her and sent an inquisitive look to Jack as though checking Sam was correct.

Jack nodded.  ‘He had no need to know.’

‘I think that he has a need to know now, Jack.’  Hayes commented dryly. 

‘So is someone going to tell me what is going on?’  Mark interjected forcefully.  He stared wide-eyed at the President.

‘I think we’d all like to know that, son.’  Hammond looked toward Sam.  ‘Colonel?’

Sam clasped her hands behind her back, automatically falling into an ‘at ease’ pose in front of her old commander as she locked away her personal issues with her brother and her husband, and focused on the mission.  ‘We were transported approximately five minutes ago, sir.  I believe we’re in an alien ship in Earth’s orbit.  They must be cloaked or the Odyssey would have picked them up.’

‘Alien?’  Mark spluttered.

Jack ignored him.  ‘Anyone we know, Carter?’  He asked lightly.  He motioned at the cell.  ‘I’m not recognising the décor and that didn’t feel like the Asgard beaming technology.’

Mark looked completely bewildered.

‘That’s because it wasn’t, sir,’ Sam said briskly, ‘but we have experienced it before.’

‘We have?’  Jack queried, trying to place the buzzing sensation.  Nope.  He didn’t remember.  He regarded her sombre features carefully. ‘I’m not going to like this, am I?’

‘No, you’re not.’  Sam agreed.  ‘It’s the Aschen, sir.’

Jack sighed dramatically.  ‘Ah, nuts.’

o-O-o

‘The Aschen?’  Hammond repeated the revelation of their captors with a deep frown.  ‘Are you sure, Colonel?’

‘Didn’t we give them the gate address to a black hole?’  Jack asked caustically, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Sam pulled a face. ‘They were very advanced, sir.  It’s possible that they were able to deal with that.’

‘I’m sorry.’  Mark waved a hand at them.  ‘Beaming? Aliens?  Are you all mad?’

Sam smiled sympathetically at her brother.  ‘I’ll explain everything later, Mark, but right now we have to focus on getting out of this.’

Hammond clapped a hand on Mark’s shoulder as he went to argue.  ‘She’s right, son.  We’ll explain everything later.’

‘Colonel, remind me about these Aschen?’  Hayes asked quietly.  ‘I don’t remember the report.’

‘We came across the Aschen in 2001, sir.’  Sam reported.  ‘They were an incredibly advanced race and were seemingly part of a benevolent alliance with the agrarian population of the planet we were visiting.’

‘No sense of humour.’  Jack inserted irreverently.  ‘But they seemed like nice folk.  At first.’

‘They seemed like an answer to our prayers at the time.’  Hammond added.  ‘The war with the Goa’uld was going badly.  The Aschen offered the same benevolent protection and support to Earth and we began diplomatic talks.’  He wet his lips.  ‘Senator Kinsey was involved at the time.’

‘I remember this file now.’  Woolsey said, speaking up.  He pointed at Hammond.  ‘You had some bizarre notion that you’d received a note from the future warning you not to get involved with them.’

Hayes smiled.  ‘Right.  I remember.’

‘We’d received the note the previous year just before we were due to visit a gate address that it warned us against.’ Hammond shrugged. 

‘It was written in the then Colonel O’Neill’s handwriting and was stained with his blood.’  Sam expanded.  ‘My fingerprints were also found on the paper.’  Her eyes briefly connected with Jack’s.  ‘We don’t know when we sent it.’

‘When we began to realise the Aschen homeworld might be the same planet, we began to investigate the Aschen more closely.’  Hammond continued.

‘And found that they were just like the Goa’uld.’  Jack added shifting his weight.

‘We believe their plan was to slowly sterilise the human population.  Eventually, the human race would die out and the Aschen would gain the planet and all its natural resources.’  Sam picked up the story.  ‘When the Ambassador and I confronted them, they tried to send a biogenic weapon through the Stargate.  I was able to get back to warn the SGC but the Ambassador was lost.’

Jack’s lips twisted.  Joe Faxon had seemed like a nice enough guy, but he’d been far too interested in Sam for his liking.  Still, Faxon had given his life to save Sam’s and Earth so maybe he shouldn’t think too unkindly of him.  ‘The information we had given them on the Stargate included a gate address to a black hole.  We figured they’d hopefully dial it and destroy themselves.’

‘It would seem you were wrong.’  Woolsey pointed out furiously.

‘So it would.’  Jack shot back.

Sam turned back to the President.  ‘Sir, the Aschen were very advanced in biotechnology especially biogenic weapons.’

‘You think they’re here to attack us.’  Hayes stated.

‘I doubt they’re here to make friends.’  Jack pointed out. 

‘However, their usual MO is long term plans.’  Sam sighed.  ‘Our abduction suggests they have something other than a simple attack in mind.’

‘Well, whatever they have in mind, we have to stop it.’  Hayes said firmly.

‘Yes, Mister President.’  Hammond agreed.  ‘Jack, you and Sam have the most experience here.  I’m happy to defer to your judgement.’

‘Me too.’  Hayes nodded.  ‘Just tell us what to do and we’ll do it.’

Mark stared at his sister and brother-in-law.  ‘You have experience of repelling alien attacks against Earth?’  He asked incredulously.

‘More than you can imagine.’  Jack said wryly.  He nodded at Sam.  ‘Carter?’

Sam’s shoulders stiffened imperceptibly but she met his guarded gaze with one of her own.  ‘I’ve been thinking, sir, that it was unlikely they meant to bring us all here.  I believe most of us are simply collateral transportees; their beaming technology tends to pick up anyone in a particular vicinity.  If we assume they targeted the President and General Hammond…’

‘Why them?’  Woolsey interrupted.  ‘I mean, I understand the President but General Hammond is retired.’

‘But he was in charge of the SGC at the time we met the Aschen.’  Sam retorted, annoyed at the interruption.

‘Continue.’  Jack ordered.  ‘If we assume…’

‘If we assume they targeted the President and General Hammond that also suggests that they are planning to negotiate.’  Sam continued.

‘The usual give us what we want or we’ll destroy you gig?’  Jack mused, rocking back on his heels.

‘Exactly.’  Sam nodded.  ‘But they’re obviously waiting for something else otherwise they would have been to see us before now.’

‘Surveillance?’  Hammond suggested.

‘None that I can detect, sir, but admittedly that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.’  Sam replied.  She turned back to Jack.  ‘So, you see where I’m going with this.’

‘Not a clue.’  Jack admitted honestly.

‘If they’re not expecting all of us,’ Sam expanded, ‘if one of us were to go missing, they wouldn’t, uh…’

‘Miss us?’  Jack supplied, turning the idea over in his head.  ‘OK.  I buy that.’

‘But there’s no way out!’  Woolsey said a frantic edge giving away his anxiety.

Jack glared at him.

‘As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right.’  Hayes said.  He was evidently trying to keep the despondency out of his voice.

‘Actually, Mister President, there is one way.’  Sam corrected.  She looked at Jack.

‘The grille to your upper left?’  Jack inquired archly.  He’d spotted it as the only way out within seconds of their arrival.

She nodded.  ‘It may lead to a ventilation shaft.  If I stand on your or Mark’s shoulders, I think I could reach it.’ 

‘And then what?’  Jack prompted tersely.

She pointed at the grill on the far wall.  ‘I get to one of their terminals, figure out how to use the beaming technology and get us out of here.’  She bit her lip.  ‘We could beam directly to the Odyssey…’

‘And blow them out of the sky.’  Jack concluded.  He looked at her impressed as always despite their personal issues.  ‘Good thinking, Carter.’

She tilted her blonde head.  ‘There’s only one problem.’

‘Only one?’ remarked Jack with a raised eyebrow.

‘I don’t have anything to remove the grill from the ventilation shaft.’  Sam admitted.

Jack delved into his pockets and brought out the Swiss army knife she had given him as a present once.  ‘Will this do?’

‘Thank you, sir.’  Sam said, grasping it firmly.

‘You’re going to need this too.’  Jack bent down and removed a gun from an ankle holster.  It was his back-up weapon; his primary gun was in the holster at the small of his back.  He figured he would keep that one under wraps for as long as he could to maintain an advantage.  He handed it to her and she checked the ammo before she tucked it into her waistband.

Their eyes caught and held.  Emotions swirled between them.  Hurt from the argument; the bond of trust that had saved them time and again, and love; the same fierce love that had always been between them.  That they were together; that was all that was important.  Both of them smiled at each other, a meeting of eyes and quick quirk of lips that told the other they were understood and forgiven; that they were loved.

‘Let’s do this.’  Jack said gruffly.

‘You have got to be kidding me.’  Mark blurted out.

They all turned to stare at him.

‘Mark,’ Sam sighed impatiently, ‘we don’t have time for this.’  She gestured at Jack to move to the wall beneath the grille.  ‘Sir.’

Mark caught hold of Jack’s arm.  ‘You seriously aren’t suggesting she goes off on her own?’

‘She,’ Sam said firmly, her blue eyes glaring at her older brother, ‘is trained for this and besides I’m the only one who can fit through the grille and I’m the only one here who has a hope of working out the beaming technology.’

Mark glared at him.

‘She’s right.’  Jack said calmly.  ‘Unless you have another plan you’d like to share?’

Mark let go of his arm.  ‘You two are unbelievable.’  He muttered.

Jack and Sam exchanged an exasperated look but both of them knew it wasn’t the time or place for either of them to deal with Mark.

Sam slipped her heels off and Jack bent his knees and cupped his hands next to his hip to help lever her onto his shoulders.  She placed one hand on the wall and placed her foot firmly in his.  She looked trustingly at him.

‘On three?’  Jack suggested.  ‘One, two, three.’  He pushed up as did she.  A few awkward moves later and she stood on his shoulders.  She was face to face with the grille.  She quickly dealt with the bolts and placed the grille within the steel square opening; she would have to replace it in order to keep the illusion. 

‘How’re you doing, Carter?’  Jack said a little breathlessly.  He wasn’t in bad shape but he wasn’t in the same physical condition that he had maintained at the SGC and his knees were complaining ferociously.

‘Ready to try getting into the shaft, sir.’  Sam said, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice.  She felt Jack’s hands shift from her ankles and she looked down to place her feet in his palms.  He would need to push her while she threw herself into the space.  They went on three again; she took a deep breath and moved.

She landed on her stomach in the shaft; her hips landing on the edge of the opening.  She used her arms to lever herself further forward, flailing her legs to get better purchase.  Five sweaty minutes later and Sam had managed to crawl into the shaft completely. She lay there winded for a long moment.  Her back twinged.  She had just recovered from a serious injury and her scar tissue was complaining. 

‘Carter!’  Jack’s anxious yell had her struggling into an upright position as she turned back to the opening. 

Sam looked down at him.  ‘I’m fine, sir.’  She caught her shoes as he threw them up at her, placing them to the side.  She rubbed her forehead.  ‘I’m going to replace the grille now.’

‘Good luck and Godspeed.’  Hammond said firmly.

Jack repressed the urge to call out; to tell her to come back.  His eyes didn’t leave her until the grille was back in position and he watched her disappear from view.  He raked a hand through his grey hair as the worry he always felt nibbled at him.  He pushed it aside like he had every mission they’d served together; every mission he’d sent her on.  They had a job to do.

o-O-o

‘OK, people, listen up,’ Jack turned back to his waiting fellow hostages his military persona firmly in place, ‘as of now, not one of us mentions Colonel Carter.  She isn’t here.  Not only is she our best chance of getting out of here but any mention of her will endanger her life.’  His hard brown eyes stared at each man in turn.  ‘Everybody got that.’  It was a statement not a question.

‘We understand.’  Hayes assured him.

‘But what if they have surveillance?’  Woolsey blurted out.  ‘Won’t they know?’

‘They don’t have surveillance.’  Mark commented, folding his arms over his chest.

‘How do you know?’  Woolsey demanded, panicked.  ‘This is an alien ship and we’re in a cell…’

‘If we were under surveillance, these…’ Mark gave a disbelieving laugh and rolled his blue eyes, ‘aliens would have come running the minute they walked over to the grille.’

‘He’s right.’  Jack said simply. 

‘What now?’  Hayes asked, determined to move the conversation forward.

Jack shrugged and sat down on the floor next to the back wall.  He made a sweeping gesture of invitation.  ‘You might as well make yourselves comfortable while we wait.’

The others looked at each other uncertainly.

Hammond was the first to move; he carefully lowered himself to the floor next to Jack.  Mark sighed and followed suit; he chose the adjoining wall.  Hayes sat down beside Jack and Woolsey sat beside him.

‘What can we expect?’  Hayes asked seriously.

Jack shrugged.  ‘It’s possible Carter’s right and they’ve abducted you and Hammond for a chat.’

‘Or?’  Hayes pressed.  His hazel eyes demanded the truth.

‘Or they’re holding you hostage.’  Jack offered honestly. 

‘That’s not so bad.’  Hayes quipped.  ‘I can be a hostage.’

‘Or they’re after something specific.’ Jack continued.  ‘In which case they’ll want answers to questions.’

‘Which we can’t give them.’ Hayes sobered.

‘Will they…will they torture us like…’  Woolsey swallowed rapidly.  He had barely recovered from his experience at the hands of the Replicators on Atlantis.

Jack looked over at him sympathetically.  ‘Try thinking of England this time.’

Woolsey paled.  ‘I’m not good at this.’

‘Nobody is, son.’  Hammond murmured comfortingly.

‘He is!’  Woolsey gestured at Jack.

‘I’ve had lots of practice.’  Jack shrugged. 

‘At being tortured?’  Mark blurted the question out.

Jack figured it was the first personal question his brother-in-law had actually asked him.  ‘Yeah.’  He answered shortly.  One thing at a time, Jack thought determinedly; foiling the alien invasion first, dealing with Carter’s brother second. 

‘By aliens?’  Mark checked in disbelief.

‘Aliens, humans.’  Jack shrugged again.  ‘It’s all pretty much the same.’  He looked around the despondent group.  ‘Look, you have to be prepared for the eventuality.  If it happens, think about something else.’  He advised seriously.  ‘And also,’ he paused dramatically, ‘don’t be afraid to scream like a strangled cat.’

The laughs from Hammond and Hayes were forced but his quip broke the tension even Mark smiled.

‘Hey, on the upside, Carter’s usually right about these things.’  Jack said, stretching out his legs and crossing them at the ankles. 

He pretended a relaxed attitude, resting his head back against the wall.  He watched as his efforts succeeded at getting the others to actually unbend a little; he breathed an inward sigh of relief and closed his eyes.  His mind was already skipping ahead; planning exit strategies, contingencies in case Carter got caught or was unsuccessful…

But she wouldn’t be.  She was his Carter.  Their rescue was pretty much guaranteed, the Aschen toast, and then they’d deal with Mark as they should have done from the start; together.   

fin.