AUTHORS' NOTES: It's frightening what can happen when two writers finally meet face to face. No apologies are being offered. Read at your own risk.
This is a story jointly written by Eleri McCleod and Flatkatsi. Eleri has many of her own fine fics archived on this site, both Jack/Sam ship and non pairing stories - you should go read them - Flatkatsi
A Slow Melding - Part 1
I cannot believe you did that. What were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all?
Freya mentally cringed as Anise's voice reverberated through her skull. She would have preferred to forget the whole incident but that was an impossibility given the partnership with her symbiote. She did not need to force her feet to move down the corridor, the instinct to flee uppermost in her mind. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the guard at Colonel O'Neill's door look her over, feet to head, in a way that normally would not have given her a moment's concern. She was shocked to feel a flush creep up her neck, the first blush she had experienced since becoming a Tok'ra.
You see? I am not the only one that finds your actions embarrassing.
Continuing down the corridor, Freya's feet moved just a little quicker to escape the eyes watching from behind. Unfortunately she could not escape Anise's voice inside her head.
I do not understand your fascination with that man. He is an uncouth bore of very low intelligence.
"Shut. Up."
The emphatic words were startlingly loud in the silence of the corridor, so loud that both host and symbiote stopped their internal bickering and for one stunned moment froze. The sound of approaching footsteps had them moving again. Her eyes darted frantically around for an exit route and latched onto an open doorway leading to an empty room to her left. She closed the door behind her with one quick motion, sinking onto the bed positioned against the wall and burying her face in her hands. For the first time she could remember in countless years, her mind was completely blank.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Jack felt as if he were a bug stuck on a windshield as he watched the blond Tok'ra's figure recede down the corridor. Yep, really liked the package. But eew. There was something really wrong with what had just happened. Really, really wrong.
Although there was something a little bit right about it too. Just a tiny bit.
His lips began to creep up in the smallest of smiles, quickly concealed when the SF at his door turned and caught his eye once more. Giving the younger man his best I'm-the-colonel-and-don't-you-forget-it glare in response to the obvious innuendo in his smirk, Jack retreated to the other side of the room. Picking up his discarded yo-yo, he absently twirled the string around the small toy and tossed it out. He caught it with a practiced motion as his mind cycled through the events of the past few minutes.
To say he was stunned would be an understatement. In the midst of all the other far more serious issues surrounding them, he really didn't need this added complication.
From the first moment he saw her, he knew that woman was going to be trouble. And, man, had he been proven correct.
The yo-yo leapt outwards once more and snapped back into his waiting hand.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
"Have you managed to make contact with the Tau'ri homeworld?" Anise frowned as the communications officer seated at the console shook his head. She did not understand why Freya was so concerned. As far as Anise could see the lack of communication with Earth was nothing more than an annoyance. There had been times over the previous three months when she would have liked to have consulted with the scientists at the SGC, but none of the issues had been of critical importance. Freya's almost continual badgering was beginning to wear on her nerves.
A tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered a brief thanks before sinking again into what Anise recognized as yet another despondent period of silence.
Even though at times Freya could be irritating in an annoyingly human fashion, Anise still found her host's presence comforting in an odd way. Freya's gradual withdrawal over the past few weeks had left the Tok'ra feeling slightly empty. She had hoped that visiting the communications station would have had a positive effect. Instead it had done worse than nothing, sending Freya even farther away than before.
A flare of irritation erupted in her. Damn that Jack O'Neill. This was all his fault. It was not like she was pining over Dr. Jackson, was it? Now there was a far more appropriate candidate for a Tok'ra's affection. Intelligent, well-educated and capable of stringing words of more than two syllables together to form a coherent sentence. Admittedly, Colonel O'Neill had a certain air about him and his people seemed to respect his leadership abilities, but that was as far as it went. He was in no way suitable to be mate to a Tok'ra's host.
She ignored Freya's sudden objections to her thoughts, turning on her heel and confidently striding back to her laboratory. She had more important things to do with her time than concern herself with the mystery of the SGC's silence. Perhaps the work waiting in the lab would help focus her host's mind back where it needed to be.
xoxoxoxoxoxox
"Unscheduled incoming wormhole."
From his seat at the Officer of the Day's desk, Jack looked over to Technical Sergeant Harriman at the main console. "Any I.D.?"
There was a slight hesitation before the sergeant nodded. "It's the Tok'ra, sir."
"I suppose we should open the iris, shouldn't we?"
Walter's grin was quickly concealed. "Yes, sir. I'm fairly sure General Hammond would think it was a good idea."
Waving magnanimously toward the iris palm recognition pad, Jack let his own smile loose. "Make it so, Walter."
The event horizon kawooshed outwards and then subsided, leaving the way clear for a lone figure to materialize at the top of the ramp. Jack's smile reshaped itself into a grimace.
Oh crap.
Of all the people he didn't want to see, she was close to the top of the list, just behind Apophis and Senator Kinsey. He'd done his best to forget their uncomfortable incident during the zatarc mess, despite a few surprisingly erotic nightmares he'd experienced since then.
As Anise walked down the ramp, Jack had to admit to himself a twinge of disappointment that had nothing to do with her presence and everything to do with her appearance. Nowhere in sight was the skin-tight leather nor the midriff baring ensembles. Instead she wore a simple sleeveless tunic over plain trousers, all in the subdued earthy tones the Tok'ra seemed to favor.
Shaking himself out of his unprofessional thoughts, he bent over the microphone. "To what do we owe the pleasure, Anise?"
A smile lit up the Tok'ra's face. "It is a pleasure to see you safe and well, Colonel O'Neill," Freya replied. "It is the report of your experiences during the recent time loops that has brought us here."
"Then you're here to see Major Carter. I'll have someone escort you to her."
Anise's echoing tones took up the conversation. "Thank you, Colonel. We appreciate your cooperation."
One quick gesture from Jack to Walter had the blast doors sliding open, allowing the Tok'ra to exit the 'Gate Room. "Airman Rodriguez, would you escort our visitor to Major Carter's lab."
As the two figures disappeared, he breathed a sigh of relief. Dodged that bullet, didn't you, Jack.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
You knew I was worried about the colonel. Why did you not give me the chance to speak with him properly when we first arrived?
It was obvious he was well. What more did you need to inquire?
Freya did not bother to argue. She simply stared down from the briefing room at the Stargate beneath her. Anise knew how she felt about Colonel O'Neill. There was no point in subterfuge. They were two minds in one body each knowing intimately how the other felt. She could not hide it nor should she have to.
Freya made her intentions clear with a few simple words. You got what you came here for. Now it is my turn.
Anise's response was immediate. I have nothing more to say. If you insist on perusing this foolish matter, know you are acting without my agreement.
The image of Anise crossing her arms, stamping her foot and turning her back was clear in Freya's mind. This was the first serious disagreement in their many years of partnership. But they were so diametrically opposed Freya feared they would never find common ground.
"I didn't realize you and Carter were finished."
She turned at the sound of Colonel O'Neill's voice to see him clasp his hands and rub them together in the appearance of glee.
"So I guess you'll be going now?"
Her stomach clenched at his obvious enthusiasm. Perhaps Anise was right. Perhaps all her hopes were foolish. "I was hoping to speak with you before I departed. I feel I need to once again apologize for the way I acted toward you the last time I was here. I have the impression you still feel uncomfortable in my presence and I wanted to assure you there is no reason to be so."
There was a flash of something indiscernible in his eyes as he hesitated before speaking. "A little discomfort isn't necessarily a bad thing."
If she did not know any better, Freya would have sworn she heard a huff from Anise. Suddenly the tension she felt disappeared and she smiled.
xoxoxoxoxoxox
"It does not matter how much you argue, Colonel, you cannot justify your actions."
Jack thumped his fist on the console. The rage he felt seethed just below the surface, but a movement from General Hammond had him reining in his temper. "I don't need to justify anything to you," he stated coldly, purposefully stressing the pronoun.
"What is it exactly you were wanting from us, Anise?" Hammond interrupted in a matter-of-fact tone. "We sent you our report on the mission to P3X-888 as you requested. There really isn't anything further to add to it."
"I disagree, General." The Tok'ra's multi-layered voice came clearly through the radio waves. "We have lost an opportunity. One we will probably never have again. The chance to research the interaction of a primitive symbiote with its host would have been invaluable. Colonel O'Neill's actions were precipitous in the extreme. The Council wishes to lodge a formal complaint."
"Lodge away," Jack snarled, speaking before Hammond could react. Who the hell was she to second-guess his decisions in the field? She hadn't been there. While she had been safe and secure in her little lab, he'd been fighting for his life and to protect those with him. It wasn't as if he'd woken up that morning and decided to kill Daniel's friend. The choice had been taken from him when Rothman had grabbed the staff weapon from Teal'c. He'd only had a split second in which to act and he was certain he'd done the only thing possible.
Hammond's eyes bored into the side of his head. "Colonel."
Nothing more needed to be said. Jack understood the admonishment for what it was. Backing away from the microphone, he leaned back in his chair, content to allow his superior to handle the issue.
The two voices intermingled and became background noise. He found himself actually wishing that it was Freya who had called rather than Anise. At least Freya would probably have been more understanding. She was human, for all intents and purposes. Wasn't she?
As the debate continued around him, he thought about the last time he'd spoken with Freya. There had been something there. A certain something about her smile had made him forget momentarily that she had a snake in her head. The very same snake who was doing her best to slither her way into his affairs now. It was a pity they came as a packaged deal. He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, irritation once again beginning to rise within him.
"Are we in agreement?"
The general's terse words pulled him back into the conversation. They had reached an agreement? Maybe he should be taking more notice of what was being said.
"We are. We shall leave the disciplining of Colonel O'Neill in your hands, General."
Disciplining? Just what had he missed? A raised hand signaled him to keep his mouth shut, giving him the distinct impression he really didn't have anything to worry about. After a few concluding conciliatory remarks from Hammond, Jack expected the communication to end. But to his surprise the purely human voice of Freya sounded over the speakers.
"I understand Dr. Rothman was a friend of Dr. Jackson's. Please convey my sympathy to both Dr. Jackson and Colonel O'Neill."
Taken aback, Jack looked up to catch an uncharacteristic look of devilry from Hammond. "Since Colonel O'Neill's right here I'll let you tell him yourself. Unfortunately, I have a meeting I'm about to be late for." He was already pushing his chair back as he spoke.
Jack scrawled a hasty note on the pad of paper next to the keyboard and held it up for the general's inspection. Only grinning in reply to the boldly underlined 'thanks' followed by several exclamation marks, Hammond headed up the stairs.
"Colonel? Are you there?"
"Yes. I'm here." He had to take his punishment like a man. At least Anise seemed content to let her host speak.
Freya continued. "As I was expressing to General Hammond, I wanted to tell you I was sorry to hear of the loss of yet another of your colleagues."
Jack's irritation began to melt. She was sincere. Anise's cold, clinical anger had been replaced by a warmth he had come to associate with the more gentle Freya. "Thanks." The single word didn't seem enough, but what else could he say? There was silence. Not an uncomfortable one, he was surprised to realize. Rather it was a silence of understanding which he found himself breaking. "I'll pass your message on to Daniel. I'm sure he'll appreciate it."
"The report said the Unas treated Dr. Jackson a little roughly, though he only sustained minor cuts and bruises. Were you injured in any way?"
Glancing around, the only person Jack saw was Walter, seemingly fully occupied with some equipment on the opposite side of the control room. Jack still found himself lowering his voice. "I'm fine. Not a scratch."
"It is never easy to take a life, Colonel O'Neill, even when there is no choice in the matter."
Jack nodded, then remembered Freya couldn't see the motion. The burden of responsibility was a heavy weight to carry, something even some of his own people didn't seem to appreciate. Uncomfortable silences and sideways glances were the order of the day whenever he walked into some labs since Rothman's death. He rubbed one hand over his face, realizing just how weary he was. As he thought about Freya's simple words of comfort, he leaned even further into the microphone. "No, it never is." Once again the silence was a comfortable one.
"Sir," Walter said from across the room, interrupting the moment. "You've got a team leader brief in five minutes."
"Then I shall bid you farewell, Colonel." Freya had obviously heard the sergeant's remarks. "It was good to hear your voice, even under these circumstances."
"It was good to hear yours too, Freya." And that wasn't a lie. It had been good. As he shut down the Stargate, ending the conversation, Jack found the weight of his decision felt a little lighter than it had.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
TBC
