The Sound of Settling
By: Sasusc
Summary: General O'Neill receives some disturbing news about the fate of SG-1.
He replaced the phone on the receiver quietly and calmly. The shock of the news filled his entire body. The trembling started in his fingers before making its way throughout his entire body. He couldn't stop the shaking.
A brief knocking on the door was the only warning he received to get his body under control. His training kicked in. He clasped his hands in front of him, halting most of the tremors running throughout his body.
"General, your next appointment is here."
"Reschedule it," he ordered hoarsely.
"But, sir!"
"Reschedule all of my appointments for the week."
"Yes, sir," the woman mumbled. "What should I tell General Hammond, sir?"
He ran a shaking hand across his face. "Send him in." He was a general. He was allowed to change his mind.
The secretary nodded. She wasn't sure what kind of news his last phone call had given him, but she had never seen the general this shaken. Hardly anything shook him. He must have received very bad news. She turned around slowly. General O'Neill was a good and kind man. She only hoped there was something good coming his way.
General Hammond stood up when she enter the room. She gave him a brief smile. "He'll see you now, sir. General…"
"Yes?"
Mrs. Keldunn fiddled with her wedding ring. "General O'Neill just received a phone call moments before you arrived. From the looks of him, I believe he received some bad news."
George Hammond frowned. Jack rarely showed his true feelings; and if this woman noticed a change, then there was something terribly wrong. He thanked the woman for the warning and charged into the office, making sure to close the door behind him. Mrs. Keldunn was correct. In all of the years he knew the man, he had never seen him like this.
General Jack O'Neill looked like he was a broken man. His hands were clasped together on top of his desk. His silver head was bowed in grief. Even his friend's shoulders were drooped in defeat. A rattling noise returned his glaze back to the hands. Jack's hands were shaking.
He sat down, moving the chair closer to the desk. "Jack," he started softly. "What has happen, son?"
"Carter."
George frowned. "What?"
"I just got off of the phone with Landry." Uh-oh. George could see where this conversation was heading, and he didn't like it one bit. "SG-1 has been out of contact for twenty hours." He nodded. This was nothing new. He still had connections to the SGC and been informed of SG-1's disappearance earlier today. He hadn't been worried upon hearing the news. He knew the team would make it back home. Always. One way or another, they beat the odds. "SG-9 was deployed to find out what happened. They just reported back with SG-1's…"
"SG-1's what, son?" he prompted.
Jack covered his eyes and whispered, "Bodies. SG-9 carried back their bodies."
Hammond froze in his chair. "Dead? All of them?"
Jack slammed a fist down on the desk. "I knew I shouldn't have allowed her to leave R&D. She would have been safe there. I should never have agreed to take this job. I should be commanding the SGC. I should have been there! I should have--"
"Jack!" Hammond needed to snap the general out of this mood. "There was nothing you, or anyone, could do. Colonel Carter would have rejoined SG-1 with or without your permission. She knew what her duties were and the risk that went along with them. She was needed out there on the frontline. Even if you still had command of the base, she would still have gone on that mission! You still couldn't have done anything!"
"Oh, God," he muttered. He placed his head in his hands and wept. George Hammond felt helpless as he watched his friend. He wanted to help, but there was nothing he could think to help comfort the man.
"Oh, God," Jack muttered again, muffled between his hands. "What am I going to do?"
"I'm sorry, son. Is there anything you want me to do?"
"Oh, God," he repeated. "Why now? Why now after…" He looked up. His eyes held much pain. George felt a hand squeeze his heart. It hurt to see a man he highly respected have his heart torn from his body. "Did you know that we are living together?" George nodded, unsure where this conversation was going. "Last week…last week I asked her to marry me. We haven't told anyone yet. She wanted to wait until after this mission."
"Jesus," he whispered. They were finally getting their wish, and now this. He had known there were inappropriate feelings between Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter for years. At the time, he ignored it and prayed the two would never compromise their positions over it. And they didn't, as far as he knew. They were too honorable to act on their feelings. It saddened him that they had to keep apart, but he had hoped that one day when the Gou'alds were defeated they could be happy together.
"Sam, she wanted to throw a small party. Cassie--oh, God, George. I don't know how she'll handle…"
"Cassandra's a strong woman, Jack. She'll be fine." He hoped.
"She's coming home in a couple of days. We were going to tell her then. Sam thought she would be happy to help plan the party."
George gave the man a smile. "Yes, she would. When she was younger she confided in me. She told me that she hoped that one day you and Colonel Carter would get married."
Jack closed his eyes. Cassie always wanted a family. She always wanted them to be a family. At a young age, the little girl saw the spark he and Carter had shared. She didn't understand the rules they must follow, and had questioned it a few times before Janet had silenced them. To this day, he wasn't sure what the doctor had said, but Cassie never spoke about Carter and himself getting together again.
"We talked about children, George," he whispered. "After Charlie, I never wanted any more. I couldn't go through that kind of pain again."
"I know."
Jack stared at him. "I knew she wanted children." She never said anything about it. She knew how much it hurt to think about Charlie. Four months ago he caught up with Sarah. They had lunch together to talk. She was remarried now to a Kevin Bauer, who had three kids from a previous marriage: two girls and a boy. Sarah loved the children, and at times they reminded her of their Charlie. In a way, she had told him, they helped her overcome her grief of losing her son. They could never replace the void Charlie left, but they could help fill it. Her words helped changed his views.
He had waited until his marriage proposal to tell Samantha about it. He sat down with her, told her about Sarah, talked about Charlie, and asked her if she would have his children. She cried. She held him. They talked some more. And afterwards they…
"We planned to start soon. We didn't want to waste anymore time, and we're not getting any younger." His whole entire body shuddered. "What am I going to do? I'm lost without her."
General Hammond stood up. "Let's get you home, Jack. We'll think about what needs to be done when we get there."
Jack dropped his head back into his hands. "Why? Why did He have to take her now? We deserved happiness."
"I know, son."
"We did everything right. She can't be dead."
A flash of white light filled the room. In its wake, a bloody and dirty woman shook in her combat boots. "Jack." That one simple word shattered the grief in the room. Jack O'Neill could get out of his chair fast enough. The chair flew backwards and hit the bookshelf behind him. A model airplane rocked for a few seconds before righting itself.
The couple met halfway. Jack gathered her into his arms, not carrying that his dress blues were being smeared with blood and grim. Nothing mattered to him but for the woman in his arms. He buried his nose into her neck and inhale deeply. The smell was uniquely her own smell, one he could never get enough of.
"Sam," he whispered into her hair. "Oh, God, Sam. They told me you were dead."
She laughed through her tears. "No way, Jack. I wouldn't leave you, not now."
Jack pulled away, but kept contact with her at all times. His hands moved up to cup her face. "Are you okay?"
She smiled at him. "I'm fine now." She searched his face. There were more lines in it then the last time she had looked upon it. "Are you?"
"I'm fine now," he repeated. They both smiled.
Sam reached up and traced his ear. "We got here as fast as we could."
A throat cleared beside them. They both jumped at the sound and turned to look.
General Hammond smiled brightly at the couple. "I think I'll leave the two of you in private. I'll contact the SGC to let them know you're here, Colonel."
"Thank you."
They barely noticed the man leaving.
"They told me you were dead. SG-9 brought home your body."
"It wasn't mine. It wasn't us," she replied, telling him the rest of SG-1 was alive and kicking as well. He sighed with relief. "The natives had cloning capabilities. After they captured us, they cloned us. Their cloning technology wasn't perfect. They could make a perfect adult clone, but it couldn't think and speak on its own. The whole time they planned to kill them and send them back home. They planned to sell us to their god."
"A Gou'ald?"
She nodded. "They're plans would have worked too. Lucky for us an Asgard ship was on its way home for repairs when it picked up our distress signal."
"Lucky us."
"Lucky us. Their outgoing communications were down so we couldn't radio home. I had the Asgard dropped me off here instead of the SGC. I was afraid General Landry would have called you."
Jack pulled her back into his arms. "He did."
"I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to worry you."
He silenced her with a kiss. Words didn't matter anymore. She did, the beautiful and wonderful woman in his arms, Samantha Carter. She was safe in his arms now.
Sam sighed into his mouth. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and ran her fingers through his silver hair. She needed this. She needed Jack O'Neill. She wanted to forget the torture and the pain the mission had given her. She just wanted to concentrate on this man, on his lips and his hands.
Jack's hands began roaming. She hissed as he hit a sore spot on her back. The natives of P3X-452 had jammed a knife right there. She had forgotten that she hadn't yet been checked out by a doctor to get her bruises and scrapes taken care of. Jack pulled away from her, making sure to keep his hands touching her at all times.
"It's nothing," she told him. She attempted to pull him back to her, but Jack resisted her movements. He quickly removed her tactical vest, dropping it on the floor by their feet. "Jack."
"Samantha," he replied. His fingers pulled at the fabric of her black shirt and pulled it out of her pants. He didn't have to wait long to find the first mark on her pale skin. There was an ugly red spot the size of a large fist. The mark probably did come from a fist. She allowed him to pull off her shirt completely. He found many other marks all over her body. Some of them were bruises while others were cuts and burns. They really did a number on her body.
Sam was glad that he couldn't see the marks she had before the natives used their healing device to start their torture all over again. These were nothing compare to what she had endure earlier. She winced has he probed a swollen spot on her back. Someone had kicked her there.
"Jack," she said when she finally had enough. "This is nothing compare to some of the stuff I had to endure."
The general gathered her up into his arms once again, careful not to touch any tender areas. His nose, as always, found its way between her head and her shoulder. He closed his eyes and allowed Sam to rub her hands on his back. He never wanted to let go.
The cold air in the office started to penetrate her skin. She shivered in his arms. Jack finally released her. He gave her a half smile.
"I guess we better get some clean clothes on you." He walked over to a closet where he kept extra clothing in the case of an emergency. Unfortunately, he never thought to stock the closet with regular clothing. He pulled out a light blue dress shirt. "Here, put this on." He tossed the shirt towards her before rummaging for a pair of pants that would fit her. He ran into the same problem as he had with the shirt. Jack randomly pulled out a pair of trousers in Air Force Blue and turned around. He stared as he watched Sam button up his shirt. She glanced up self-consciously on the top third button.
"What?"
"Nothing," he said with a smirk. He walked towards her. "Change into these. We can't have you walking out of here in those clothes." she started to protest, but knew he was right. She never thought how it would look to see her walk out of his office with blood all over her clothes. She rubbed her face as she realized there were could still be blood and dirt smeared across her face.
Jack nodded towards his private bathroom. "You can clean up in there. I knew I should have asked for an office with a shower."
Sam smiled. She took the offered slacks and headed for the bathroom to clean what she could.
Jack collected her vest and dirty shirt off of the floor and placed them on his chair. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. She was safe. She was home. She was here with him.
How did people do this? How did Sarah coped with him being missing, possibly dead, never knowing what could have happened to him? How was he supposed to handle another situation like this? How was he supposed to handle the news that Samantha would never come home again?
She knew how the situation would affect him. It was part of the reason why she switched to R&D at Area 51. She had watched her mother go through the exact same thing with Jacob. She had vowed that she would never make someone go through that, except the dangers of the galaxy forced her to do so. She was needed out there.
"General?"
Jack turned away from his desk and smiled at his secretary. "Yes?"
"General Hammond asked me to bring a car around for you."
His smile widened. "Thank you."
Mrs. Keldunn tugged on her hoop earring. "I trust everything is much better?"
"Yeah, everything is much better."
"Jack?"
Mrs. Keldunn's eyes widen as she watched the woman walk into the office. She never let the woman in the office, and couldn't figure out how she had gotten in without being noticed. Jack waved Sam to him when she paused near his desk uncertain.
Jack pulled her to his side, keeping his arm around her waist. "Jackie, this is Colonel Samantha Carter. Sam, this is my secretary Jacquelyn Keldunn."
Sam smiled and shook the older woman's hand.
Mrs. Keldunn hesitantly shook the colonel's hand. "How?"
Sam bit her lip. How was she supposed to explain her appearance?
He leaned closer to give her a kiss on the check. Straightening, he winked at his secretary. "She's agreed to marry me in a couple of months."
"A couple of months?" repeated Sam.
"Sure," he replied. "I don't want to give you any time to back out. You're going to be stuck with me." He smirked
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? In that case, I could have arrangements done within the week. Although, knowing Cassie, she would have a heart attack. She's been planning our wedding from the start."
"Not you?"
She winked. "I've found that after two engagements, I'm not that interested in planning weddings. I rather spend my days playing with my doohickeys. I'll leave the planning to Cassie, or nothing will get done."
Mrs. Keldunn gave a soft laugh. "You make a cute couple. Congratulations. Your schedule is clear for the reminder of the week, General O'Neill."
"Thank you, Jackie. Why don't you take the week off? Enjoy yourself." Jack released his hold on his fiancé. "I'm sure your husband will be happy to have you home."
"Thank you, sir."
It didn't take long for Jack to collect the essential papers off of his desk and into his briefcase. Carter already had all her dirty uniform in a pile and ready to set off. He waved goodbye to his secretary and ignore the curious glazes they received on their way down to the main level.
A limo was waiting out front, just as Jackie Keldunn had promised.
They rode in silence for a few minutes. Jack watched as Sam started to run her fingers down the interior of the limo. There was something on her mind. The way her fingers traveled across the leather and the slight tilt of her head was a huge indicator she was finding the courage to speak those thoughts out loud.
"Jack?"
"Yeah?"
She licked her lips. "How sure are you about having more children?" She kept her eyes focused on opposite side of the limo.
He reached across the seat and used her chin to gently turn her to face him. "Sam." He searched her eyes. Uncertainty. Guilt. Sorrow. Love. They were all there in her eyes. He smiled softly. "Samantha, if I wasn't certain I would say something. I want to have children with you. I want to see a miniature Carter running around the house barefooted and screaming because her older brother is chasing her after she took apart his Nintendo."
A tear threaten to escape her eye. "Jack," she said trying to laugh, "who ever said she'll look like me? I bet she'll look just like you!"
He shuddered. "Never wished that on our children! I hope all ten of them are blue eyed and blonde."
"Ten? I don't think so, bucko! Two, three at the most."
"Six then," he argued.
"Six? Why six?" She knew she was going regret asking.
"We'll have our own hockey team."
She groaned. Yes, she regretted asking. She should have known that would be his answer. The colonel sighed and shook her head. "No hockey team for you. But," she said sliding closer to him. She rubbed a hand up his chest and around to the back of his neck. She tugged his head closer to her face.
"But?" Jack could figure out where to focus his eyes. They kept flickering from her eyes back down to her mouth. Her eyes held a mischievous look he was all to willing to follow. And her lips, well, they were parted slightly. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. He moved slightly closer. Her eyes, with that mischievous glint, told him that his reaction was the one she had been aiming for. Back to her lips. They were closer now. That pink tongue of hers once again darted out, except this time it found a different set of lips to wet. He groaned.
"But," she said against his mouth. She kissed and licked her way up to his ear. "We could start on that hockey player right now," she whispered into his ear.
"Or scientist," he rasped out. He pulled Sam into his lap. "A little scientist would be good, too."
"Shut up, Jack."
Yeah, starting on that baby was top priority at the moment. Talking and figuring out its future can come after it was born.
AN: This was written for a S/J ficathon (sj-ficsdotlivejournaldotcom) for Karibou, the first ever ficathon I've done. The three things she wanted to see: love, lust, and whole lot of shippy goodness. Although, I think I failed on the lust part of the assignment, I just couldn't seem to be able to write lust on demand. I hope you all enjoy it. Reviews are always welcomed.