Author's Note: I have been on a serious Stargate binge-watch over the past couple of weeks. Like, SERIOUS. I should really feel ashamed for the hours I've spent in front of the television, but I don't. The show is just so good! It sucks you in and before you know it, you've watched half a series in one sitting and you're starting to contemplate whether you can sacrifice food and/or sleep for another couple of hours just so you can fit in a couple more episodes.
One of my favorites so far is Secrets; mainly for the Sam/Jack/Jacob storyline that runs throughout. I love their interactions together and I just wish we could have seen more of it in the episode. I guess that's what fanfiction is for! This is a missing scene for 'Secrets'; I hope I've portrayed the characters accurately.
Tell Me No Secrets
Colonel O'Neill barely suppressed a sigh as he refilled his glass and turned to face the crowded room. He really hated these formal events.
Glancing around, he tried to locate General Hammond or Captain Carter, but failed to spot either of them.
Maybe they'd already made their escape, he thought wryly. They'd be sitting in the lobby and away from all the bureaucrats.
He brushed the thought aside. Carter would have informed him if she'd planned an escape… wouldn't she?
The Colonel snorted into his drink.
Before today, he would have said 'yes', but now, he wasn't so sure about his second-in-command. She had failed to mention the fact that her father was a two-star General, after all.
Jack vowed to bring up that little omission with her once they were through with the ceremony.
He cast another glance around and noticed Hammond in the far right corner of the room, deep in conversation with a fellow General. Sliding his gaze to the left, he saw Carter talking to two of the many stuffed shirts in the room.
Without warning, Sam's attention shifted and she met his eyes. Jack read the silent message she was sending. She wanted rescued, but just as he was about to help her escape her companions' clutches, a voice came from behind.
"Colonel O'Neill."
Jack froze. He risked a glance towards Carter, but noticed her attention had conveniently been diverted back to her conversation. If he looked closer, he'd swear she was trying not to smile. He slowly turned around.
"General Carter," he acknowledged.
He waited as the older man came to stand at his side. It felt like an eternity before the older man broke the silence. "So, forgive my ignorance Colonel, but what exactly is Deep Space Radar Telemetry?"
Jack cleared his throat. "Uh... Well... There's space – deep space – actually. Lots of it... and, ah, telescopes –"
"Really?" Jacob cut in, disbelief flooding his words.
"Oh yeah," Jack quipped, trying to appear nonchalant. "Magnets, too. Most of the work is classified, but Carter could give you a better rundown on the particulars," he added, hoping the General would take the hint.
"Hmm," he grunted. "And like I told Sammie," he responded, watching Jack out of the corner of his eye, "Your cover story could do with a little polish."
Jack took the opportunity to down the rest of his drink. After a beat, he lowered his voice. "With all due respect, General –"
"Save me the niceties, Colonel," Jacob interrupted turning to give the younger man his full attention. "I've been with the Air Force for more years than I care to admit. I know a cover story when I hear – or don't hear – one."
"General –"
"Just tell me one thing."
"If I can, Sir."
"Is Sam happy?"
The Colonel hesitated. "Uh..."
"Does she enjoy whatever it is that you do at Cheyenne Mountain?" he clarified, waving a hand around in a vague gesture.
Before Jack had a chance to answer, Jacob continued softly. "Ever since Sam was a little girl, all she wanted to do was to go into space. NASA – it was her dream. When she turned 18 and enrolled in the Academy, that didn't change. It was going to be her way to the stars… The two of us may not always see eye-to-eye on things, Colonel, but she's still my little girl. She's also a hell of a lot smarter than anyone else I know."
Jacob tore his gaze away from his daughter and met the younger man's gaze. "I don't want her throwing her dream away over something trivial," he finished, his tone almost accusatory.
"It's not trivial and Carter's certainly not throwing anything away," Jack shot back defensively before realizing he was talking to a superior officer and, ultimately, Sam's father. He set his empty cup on the table behind him and sighed. "Look, General, our work is important. It's important to Sam. Sir, your daughter is..."
Jack's gaze unintentionally travelled over to where the young Captain was now speaking to General Hammond and she was laughing at something he had just said. His lips twisted into the smallest of smiles as well, and almost immediately he could feel Jacob's attention flitting from him to Sam and back. It was silent. Questioning. "Your daughter is a genius, Sir, and one hell of an officer. Our work... it's nothing without her," he finished proudly as he faced the older man.
He held firm as Jacob continued to study him.
"Do you know about my wife?"
Jack was momentarily thrown by the non sequitur, but his expression softened. Carter had told him about the loss of her mother, not long after she'd joined SG-1. He nodded.
"Nothing was the same after she died," Jacob explained. "I focused on my work, and Sam, well, she wasn't as close to me as she was to her mother. The last time we spent any real time together was just before she went to the Academy. I guess the job has come first – for the both of us – ever since."
The Colonel sympathized with the man's pain. He knew what it was like to let duty and honor come before family, friends and relationships – and the wedge it ultimately drove in between.
"I'm always wondering what my kid is getting up to, regardless of what she might think," he continued. "In this job you hear things through the grapevine, but for the past 18 months it's been suspiciously quiet when it comes to Sam's role in the Air Force."
Jacob glanced sideways at Jack. "I just want the best for her. She's my little girl; she deserves the best."
"That she does, Sir," Jack agreed. He wondered if he should say something else. For one, he wasn't a man of many words, but he did know what it was to be a father; to have the worry that came naturally when you had kids. He'd spoken before he realized. "But right now – this job – it's for the best."
He heard the General's snort of derision. "Well, I think I'll reserve judgment until I see what your 'Deep Space Radar Telemetry' actually produces when it comes to the advancement of the Air Force."
Jack pursed his lips and cast a quick glance around the room. "You do that, Sir, but for what it's worth, just because Sam isn't working for NASA, doesn't mean she hasn't found a way to the stars."
With that, he turned and made his way towards where his second-in-command was waiting. He could feel Jacob's gaze burning into the back of his skull, but what he didn't see, was the look of surprise in the General's eyes which slowly turned to intrigue.
End