A deep frown furrowed the tall officer's weathered brow, as he strode purposefully down the cold grey corridor. The few personnel he encountered, seeing his ominous expression leapt to the sides in an effort to get out of his way. Everyone knew he was definitely not a man to get on the wrong side of. The colonel's legendary temper was truly something to be seen and many of the folks he marched past perversely wondered who was going to be on the receiving end of his razor sharp tongue this time.
Cold, dark fury washed over him. His terrible mood had been wholly exacerbated by the hours he had spent poring over paper work. As a direct result of being cooped up in his office for a protracted period of time, Jack had emerged massively irritated. He had made his way briefly to Hammond's darkened office to deposit his meter high stack of files in the general's in tray. However, following a chance encounter with Siler in the control room, the metaphorical storm clouds that had been hovering ominously were about to break.
Jack entered the empty elevator, and punched the buttons to take him to level 21. As he waited, he tapped his foot in a distracted fashion and willed the contraption to go faster. The thoughts, which had grated through his mind like splintered glass, returned again. He ground his teeth in sheer frustration. Colonel Jonathan O'Neill, (two l's) had not risen to the rank he now held in order to be ignored, or in this case, completely disregarded. What was the U.S. air force coming to?
The doors slid open and the colonel strode out, barrelling through a gaggle of lab coats, his lips pulled back into an ugly sneer. He hadzero tolerance for scientists tonight.
"Oh, Fer cryin out loud," he hissed sourly. The remaining scientist attempting to dodge the irate officer had proceeded to step errantly into his path four times before Jack thrust him aside.
Two or three of the unfortunate egghead's companions peered myopically out of the elevator doors and began to whisper amongst themselves.
"I wonder what's biting him?"
"More like who?"
"Oh, we all know who!"
The door clanged shut, cutting off the ripple of laughter that ran round the group.
On he strode, his anger growing with every step he took toward his destination.
Did it not say colonel anywhere on his uniform? How about on his office desk? He doubted anyone even knew where his office was. Except he knew that she knew.
Oh yes! She knew all right, and at 02.00 hours, she had known exactly where he ought to be.
Except, he hadn't been there.
He had been in his office. General Hammond's threat of removing SG-1 from the mission roster, had finally forced him inside, to face the veritable mountain of paperwork, then encompassing every available surface. He was not in bed within the base allocated quarters.
Where he knew she should be. Except, she wasn't!
And now, thanks to Siler's innocent remark, he knew!
Colonel O'Neill rounded the final two bends gathering pace with every determined step, and drawing himself up to his full six feet wrenched open the door with a deafening clang.
"Major Carter!" He bellowed, stepping inside, his presence uncomfortably filling the room.
Carter gasped, "Oh crap," and snapped to attention guiltily.
He strode up, halted before her and shouted, " What part of my 'Go to bed, do not pass your lab, do not collect 200 dollars' order, did you fail to comprehend?"
Sam flinched at the sheer fury in his words, and caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Face flushed to a deep crimson, she adopted a parade ground policy of staring neutrally at a random spot in mid air.
She was so busted.
"Report!" The colonel snapped out, hands resting on his hips. His eyes narrowed, suspecting she wasn't entirely listening.
The major's eyes flicked nervously to her superior officer's face, and she stood fractionally straighter. Having run swiftly through countless explanations in her mind, Sam settled upon the one she thought the least likely to see her brought up on charges. She quailed slightly under the solid gaze of his dark, chocolate brown eyes. Jack raised his eyebrow in mock enquiry.
"Well?" He asked his tone laced with sarcasm, "I'm waiting."
"I, I, I just needed to check my experiment was running correctly, sir and when I got here, well, the power matrix was malfunctioning. Sooo, I took it apart and anyway, I have only been here for half an hour. R-really sir." She stammered, vaguely aware that she was babbling. She stopped seeing his expression harden, and tried a different tack.
"It is quite important work, Sir!" Carter began, but lack of sleep coupled with her irritation at the untimely interruption meant all she achieved was an extremely petulant tone.
"Let's not make this insubordination worse, by lying, Major." He interrupted menacingly, poking his finger into her chest. He was madder than hell, having now seen how close to complete exhaustion she had gotten. The dark circles beneath her eyes had become hollows, even in the hours since they had last talked.
She visibly paled, and saw her career flash before her eyes.
The colonel had run into her in the commissary at 21.50, staring vacantly into a cup of coffee, eyes drooping. After almost thirty-six hours of investigating her new doohickey, she had been nearly sleeping at the table. He quickly fetched a coffee of his own and consumed a substantial piece of chocolaty cake to fortify him for the second half of his paperwork marathon. He had then swiftly steered her, protesting volubly, to right outside the door of her quarters and told her to get some sleep.
"I sent you to bed, at 22.20, Carter! It is now five after zero two hundred hours," he remonstrated, emphasising every syllable.
"Colonel, you can't order me to bed ! I'm not a naughty child!" His 2IC stamped her foot, pouted and crossed her arms in annoyance. "God, not even my dad talks to me like this and he hasn't sent me anywhere since I was nine!" She glared up at him defiantly, wearing, what to his mind, was an insolent expression on her face.
"Oh yeah?" Her superior officer's eyes darkened another 3 shades to 'barely black' and he stepped towards her. Sam returned her arms to her sides, standing to attention but stoically refused to alter her expression.
The major's insubordinate tone had only succeeded in stoking his anger. He moved in dangerously close, glowering menacingly until she could feel his breath caressing her still glowing cheek. "Wanna bet on that, Major?" he ground out.
"Youbetcha," she replied. The clear blue eyes flashed a challenge.
His lips quirked upwards in the ghost of a smile. He sighed, rocked back on his heels and looking around , innocently enquired, "So, what? We all done here, major?"
"Er, yes, sir." She glanced around the lab nervously, wrong footed, still not entirely sure to what he referred.
"Good." The colonel stated, making a swift lunge towards her, catching her off guard. He dropped to one knee, firmly grasped her wrist, quickly hauled her over his shoulder and straightening proceeded out of the door.
"Put me down! Colonel!" Sam shrieked and began to struggle and kick, her foot swinging past a whisker away from his right knee. Jack simply hefted her further across his shoulder, and moving his hand swiftly, slapped her hardon her presently accessible backside. She jerked, screamed and fought against him harder.
"Settle down, major," he said nastily. "You're taking a timeout."
"What?" She yelped incredulously, suddenly finding her face nearly level with small of his back.
"You can go to your room, until you learn to do as you're told, madam." He grinned broadly and continued walking. By now, he was thoroughly enjoying himself, and passing several stunned base personnel on his march back towards the elevator, Sam felt a low chuckle rumble through the muscles in his back.
On level 16, in the security room, a stunned SF captain called across to his co-worker, "Hey, Michaels switch to level 21, camera 7! You are never going to believe this."
"Is that ….?" Lieutenant Michaels asked incredulously.
"O'Neill! Yep and the tasty ass belongs to Major Samantha Carter." Captain Hales stated confidently," God that man's got balls!"
"Oh yeah!" Michaels grinned at his next thought, "lets hope for his sake he can run fast too, eh?" The two officers sniggered and switched the screen to view the footage from the elevator interior.
"He is sooo going to die, horribly!" The grinning lieutenant gloated.
It was a well-known fact that the air force major currently in O'Neill's grip was untouchable. Firstly, (in her mind at least) because she held the highest level in hand to hand combat currently attainable but more alarmingly (for the rest of the base,) because anyone who even considered trying was quickly warned by their mates that she 'belonged ' to the imposing leader of SG-1.
The elevator doors drew closed.
"I am going to kick your ass, up and down this base when I get free," his captive said through clenched teeth, far beyond caring about rank or position.
"No Major, you are going to get your ass into your bed and you will stay there until I say you can get out. Are we clear?" He slapped her ass again to underline his point, enjoying the thought that he was pushing his luck now. The elevator began to rise.
Her response was another bout of furious struggling and a string of expletives that would have curled the toes of the SG-3 marines.
"Gee, Carter! Why I'm surprised at you!" The colonel said with mock sincerity. "You obviously need your mouth washed out with soap as well!" He smirked, dangerously.
"You wouldn't da…." She tailed off, knowing that he would, knowing he had won.
Sam settled for a dignified silence. As dignified as one could muster thrown over ones superior officer's shoulder and carted kicking and screaming off to bed. So not how she would have liked.
'Dammit', she thought, trying desperately to suppress the quivering she was sure he was going to notice any minute. 'Why does this make me feel so hot?
She would get him for this humiliation.
A whole Jaffa army have nothing on a woman in the revenge stakes.