Author's Note: This is my first SG1 story. It's set between the end of season 8 and the beginning of season 9 to explain why Sam left SGC. If I made any continuity mistakes please feel free to point them out. I'm pretty sure I caught everything but who knows. Characters not mine yadda yadda.
Rated M for language and mature situations as Sam and Jack do the normal things couples do.
Shippy nonsense especially towards the end. Lots of Easter eggs from various fandoms to find here if you like me are into that sort of thing. I love feedback. S/J romance
Chapter 1 – On the Mound
If Jack was honest with himself, P36-118 was a dump. The air was grey with peat fire smog, the ground around the Stargate scrubby and uninviting. It looked like George Lucas designed it as a set. He should tell Teal'c. He'd love that idea. A dirty lived in universe with homicidal flying space snakes. When the local delegation from the closest town to the Stargate showed up he didn't see anything that changed his mind. Jack motioned for Daniel to take point. The last time he was off-world the natives took offence to his simple "hello" and chased them back to the gate while he screamed at Carter to get the gate open and run for their lives. He'd taken a bullet to his leg just below his bad knee for his troubles. It only grazed the bone but he wasn't even a little amused, it was going to ache for weeks. Dr. Lam had given him crap for it too because of course. So here they were taking a cake assignment to a supposedly friendly planet that wanted to set up trade agreements. Boring as all get out but it gave his leg a chance to heal a little without taking SG1 off rotation while Jonas was on leave or whatever the Kelownans called down time.
Daniel spoke to the delegation for a few minuets then turned back to his team "Seems everything is all set, they have transportation for us so we'll be riding back to the city." P36-118 was preindustrial so their ride to the city was horse drawn wagons. The horses weren't horses as far as Jack could see, more like some kind of over sized llama thing. He eyed them suspiciously from behind his sunglasses. Llamas were known jerks on Earth.
"Greetings travelers! We are the Koreis delegation for international, and" and with this he grinned "apparently interstellar now trade." The man addressing them had a pleasant, likeable smile that made him appear as trustworthy as Daniel. Jack liked the guy on the spot. I'm getting soft he admonished himself.
The head Koreis invited the four of them to join him in the three bench wagons drawn by four each of the llama things so SG1 piled into the available seats. Daniel and Teal'c sat on the middle bench behind the driver and Carter and Jack in the last seat at the back. Daniel chatted pleasantly with the driver about the history of the city they were visiting while the llama things pulled the surprisingly well suspended wagons down the paved road. Jack found himself mildly disappointed there wasn't much bouncing. Carter bouncing might have been nice even if she was ignoring him.
Daniel walked up to the Koreis delegation at Jack's gesture and greeted them politely. His contact Anghar bowed, one arm over his chest. Daniel mimicked the gesture and received pleasant smiles from the rest of the delegation. "We are here to organize a trade agreement that will benefit both our societies per our previous communication." The Koreis were a somewhat formal society and negotiations would be formulatic by his standards.
"Greetings Dr. Jackson, we welcome you and look forward to negotiations. Please join us and we will take you to more comfortable surroundings." Anghar shifted his eyes quickly to Teal'c, Jack and Sam. "Your other party members?"
"Security" Daniel said simply.
Anghar nodded in agreement. His own security, after all, surrounded them and his own people. The Koreis were not hypocrites. He addressed the others. "Greetings travelers!...
The town they pulled up to in the bright early afternoon sun was made up of low slung dark wood buildings mixed with a fair share of similar buildings less recently stained, their wood ranging from streaked to silver tinged with sooty grime. It was surrounded by a handful of outworks that were lightly manned. It was an unlovely town. The carts pulled them to the center of town where a much larger multi story building glittered in the sunlight, it's windows considerably larger than any of the surrounding buildings.
Tealc and Jack got out first being closest to the building they had pulled up in front of, Daniel and Sam followed. All four looked up at the building in interest. It was the only one in town that had apparently three floors above ground and indicated at least another level below ground. Jack would honestly rather be nearly anywhere else. Preferably some place with shooting and explosions and making bad jokes about orgasms until Carter punches him a few times and forgives him. She was serious with him now. Stilted. He made a mental note to use that one in Scrabble. Eight points was eight points.
He should have just waited it out. The thing with Shanahan. But then it had gone from dating the creep to engaged. So he'd done what he always did. Drowned his sorrows in scotch and a half assed thing with Kerry. Stupid brain he mentally kicked himself. When she had finally broken things off how did things go? Well he'd been getting ready for a date and Kerry waltzed in like she owned the place and Carter had fled like her tail was on fire. Jack was now glowering in general as he looked around, his internal voice making his outward mood increasingly foul.
"Are you well O'Neill?" Teal'c asked him, noticing Jack's glower and guessing it's reason.
Snapping his anger at himself behind a mental door, Jack grinned. "Great T. I'm great. How are you?" he asked in an overly bright voice.
Diplomatically Teal'c replied, "I am well O'Neill." And patted Jacks shoulder before moving forward to stand with Daniel where they exchanged a knowing sideways look.
This is all Jonas' fault Sam decided. He was only on loan for now but this could have been a fun trip, meet some locals, drink a little local brew, make a few new friends. But no. He had to go and visit his stupid family and she was stuck here pretending she doesn't want to smack the shit out of the tall grey haired man in front of her. Or wrestle him to the ground and rip his pants off. She was honestly still working that one out which was why she wasn't on civil terms yet. She pondered the merits of possibly both.
The mood of SG1 was becoming progressively grim. Daniel wished for the millionth time they would keep their love life out of missions. They were his best friends and he loved them both but the mutual glaring was getting to him. Possibly he would get lucky and one of them would almost die or all the way die and then they would go back to their regular brand of crazy. Not that their regular crazy was any less annoying, if only by a degree and at least the dirty jokes were funny. It was probably too much to hope to re-ascend away from their nonsense.
"Your security team is quite grim Dr. Jackson. Is everything all right?" Anghar asked Daniel in concern, his voice low enough not to be overheard by the rest of SG1 standing several paces away.
"What? Oh, no, everything is fine. We've had a few missions go off the rails as Jack would say and our team has gotten a bit edgie about it."
Anghar nodded solemnly. "Perhaps the trade negotiations will brighten their moods. My wife has baked a genuinely lovely cake."
"I'm sure that will help Proctor Anghar." Daniel smiled. At least one of them might cheer up. Jack never turned down cake. Sam would still be mad but he reasoned that she might have good reason as Jack can be a real asshole most of the time.
Jack stared at the stately by Koreis standards building. He randomly remembered that glass was an expensive material to make prior to modern manufacturing so the sweeping glass windows were pretty impressive for their quality. Probably some long forgotten conversation with Daniel. And Carter thinks he doesn't listen. Ha! Stop thinking about Carter! he yelled at himself in his head. Jack scowled.
"Travelers! This is the diamond of Koreis. A delegation house for public events and trade delegations to be entertained, housed, and come to equitable agreement with one another." Normally Jack would have joked under his breath about what a mouthful that was to Carter to try to get her to laugh but her frosty expression stopped him. Anghar smiled at the four of them in turn with that openly honest and kind look he had about him. Teal'c nodded politely, Sam gave the guy a beaming smile that made Jack narrow his eyes a bit behind his sunglasses. Jack managed a polite smile between his internal personal ass kicking. Anghar then turned and headed up the broad hewn stone staircase to the large carved wood doors being opened by a pair of young servants, revealing a brightly lit grand foyer. "Come, everyone, there are accommodations for you ready. This facility boasts running water if you should wish to bathe. You will have a couple of hours to rest and get clean and dressed. An attendant will let you know when it is the proper time to join us in the main hall for our evening meal together followed by negotiations between our people." As he explained, he lead them though the glass and wood entry off to the right where a sweeping staircase lead them up to a second floor. Near the landing on the right was another carved door which was opened by attendants. The room they entered behind Anghar and his guard was a parlor with several doors around the outside of the room. Bedrooms could be seen through the various doors that were open. "if you should need anything my friends, please feel free to pull the bell by the entrance to your accommodations and a member of the staff will be right up to assist you." With an apologetic smile he finished "If you will excuse me please, I have duties to attend to prior to our evening meal."
"Thank you Proctor Anghar, you have been very gracious with your time." Daniel told the man. Anghar smiled, crossed his arm over his chest, bowed slightly and left them to their own devices. His staff closed the door behind him.