Chaos Theory

By: a. loquita
Summary: Just as Major Carter and O'Neill take the first step to be together, the Goa'uld infiltrate several governments on Earth. Lives are forever changed, years may pass, but there are some things are fated to happen no matter what. (S/J)
Spoilers: Slight ones for Desperate Measures and Lost City. Starts off somewhere around season 7, and goes off in a tangent direction after that
Rated: Teen
A/N: Now complete!!

Teaser

This particular vision was about the first day of what they were destined to do. Lilly knew this because every vision she had was about fate. There was plenty about life that was chance, free will, chaos, and those things could not be predicted. But some things were fated to happen no matter what. Today was one of those days.

Part 1: Birth of the gods from chaos

Jack O'Neill opened his front door to find Samantha Carter standing on his doorstep, tears rimming her eyes, looking at him in that way. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen that look on her face, and it was always quickly hidden away after only a brief moment. This time, the look lingered.

In that instant, Jack knew everything was going to change. He just wasn't sure if it was going to change for the good or for the bad. But with the certainty of Carter being able to pronounce bigger words than he ever could, he knew their lives were about to be fundamentally altered.

The day before, Jack had put his life on the line for his country, again. SG-1 had faced impossible odds, again. Jack had barely come out of it alive but they saved the world, again. Through it all, Carter had maintained her controlled, capable, Air Force Major veneer, being the person she was supposed to be right up until she showed up at his door.

O'Neill stood in his living room and silently took the onslaught, letting Sam vent it all, frustrations and fears and so much more. She was angry with him for being so caviler with his life. Didn't he understand what that did to the rest of them? At one point, she'd even yelled, "I can't do this anymore. I can't hide my feelings. I can't stand there and pretend it doesn't kill me every time you do this."

Eventually, Sam collapsed against his chest in tears. They sat on the couch and he held her while she wept bitterly, until his heart was ripped in two and she fell into an exhausted sleep.

The next morning, Sam woke on his couch, alone, covered with a quilt. When Jack came in and handed her coffee, shyness and embarrassment were obvious in her features. He told her they would talk soon, when they were both over this latest ordeal. There was a lot to consider and military regulations were only the tip of the iceberg.

Sam had lifted an eyebrow and asked, "Are you calling me the Titanic?"

"No, just my track record."

Then Jack gave her space and time. He knew she would want to think. Samantha Carter wasn't the type to do something on an emotional whim, no, that overachieving brain of hers would first need to fully analyze.

That's where it stood when both of them had been invited to a reception at the Academy. Jack asked Cater to accompany him just days before. Not that he asked in a way different than the usual, "Gang's gonna grab a pizza tonight, wanna join?" tone he'd used for years.

But then she went and bought herself a dress instead of planning to attend wearing her uniform, which was optional at this black-tie event. He'd found out that juicy little tidbit of information from Cassandra who had accompanied Sam on the dress-shopping excursion.

"Jack, she tried on at least a hundred of them, I swear." Cassie had become very successful at dramatic teen overexaggeration the last few years. Jack wanted to blame Cassie's boyfriend, David Sutton, for corrupting the little girl he once knew. But Sam refused to allow Jack to speak ill of David.

"Nothing was right," Cassie babbled on over the telephone, "it was either too short or too long, not sexy enough, or too trampish, or worst yet it was totally the wrong color. I swear that Sam expects the impossible sometimes."

"Uh, yeah," Jack responded but tuned out everything else the teenager was saying, because his brain kept echoing eerily, "Not sexy enough."

"Seriously," Cassie whined. "It's just a dress and it's some lame party with a bunch of old…"

That's how he'd known Carter had finally made up her mind and tonight was the night. It was more than just the fact that she was never girly like this, buying a dress after trying on everything in the store. It was because Sam had decided she was going to be in his presence all night without a uniform around her like fence. That's how Jack knew there would be no more barriers.

All those carefully constructed walls had been crumbling for a long time now. Jack figured that the night she ended up sleeping on his couch was when the last few beams had fallen into the rubble. And somehow, time to think about it rationally hadn't changed her mind.

Despite the consequences, his being less than worthy, and a thousand other considerations he probably wasn't even smart enough to consider, she hadn't changed her mind. Right after spending hours in a room with those who could make or break her career, Sam was planning on going straight home to break the rules.

Walking up to her front door, Jack tied to squash the feeling of being an awkward boy on a first date.

"Hey," she said softly, when she opened the door.

Jack sucked in his breath and told himself to stay calm. This was Carter– she could look hot in a burlap sack. In a dress, she'd managed to take his breath away and more importantly, his ability to speak. She was looking at him funny. Focus, Jack told himself, imagining cold showers, bone-numbing lectures, Teal'c in a cowboy hat…

Sam interrupted his thoughts, "That good, huh?"

Jack finally found his voice again. "Carter, you do realize that it will be a room full of Generals who have spent the last decade of their careers going fat behind a desk, cholesterol is probably through the roof. You're gonna be responsible for at least 14 heart attacks."

"Are you trying to say that I look drop dead gorgeous?" she asked. He looked at her with that deadpan face he'd perfected over the years.

"Me? Use a cliché?"

She fought a smile. "Right, I forgot."

"I just wanted to make sure that you can live with that on your conscious."

"I think I'll take my chances." Sam stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind her. "And you look nice too, by the way."

Now finally, she realized that his truck wasn't parked in front of the house but a town car was.

At her questioning look, Jack shrugged. "Except for prom night in Little Rock, no one dressed like you should be traveling anywhere in a pickup truck."

As the driver navigated up and down the hills, Sam sat in the backseat next to O'Neill. She wanted to say something flirty to him but couldn't manage to think of anything. Even if she could, Sam doubted she could pull it off stylishly with all the nerves doing battle inside.

Sam turned to him, met his eyes, and Jack smiled every so slightly. He knew. Damn their silent communication and his ability to read her thoughts. Especially now, when she wasn't sure her confidence was up to actually executing her plan. But if he knew, then it really was going to happen tonight. Little butterflies came alive in her belly and she returned his secret smile. It was really going to happen, finally.

When they arrived and got out of the car, Jack put his hand at the small of her back where the material of her dress dipped low. His palm on her flesh made Sam close her eyes for a brief second. She tried not to react to his touch but a slight gasp was impossible to suppress.

Some reporter in the crowd called their name, and both Sam and Jack turned in surprise, as the reporter snapped several pictures. Jack quickly rushed Sam inside.

No one ever knew their names, no one cared about them, and no one should. Those that knew how important they were to the safety of the world wouldn't be out in the crowd snapping pictures. Unless the photographer was involved in dangerous politics or even worse, private interests like the one that had kidnapped Carter once before.

The evening seemed to drag by. Sam tried to make small talk with General Hammond and various other people that she was introduced to, including several prominent congressmen. Jack knew some of the fellow officers in attendance and occasionally would exchange some news or reminisce about the past, all while sticking to their cover story since most in the room didn't have the clearance to know about the Stargate program.

As the highlight of the evening, the Vice President presented General Hammond with a metal, along with a handful of others. Then an orchestra began to play and many of the officers led their wives onto the dance floor.

Jack leaned into Sam's ear, "Time to go yet?" Sam suppressed a smile, not that the guy was anxious or anything.

Actually, Sam thought he was being quite a gentleman. He held the door open for her, didn't touch her, and later that night when they entered her house he didn't pounce on her, as Sam thought he might. Instead, Jack walked back through the dark hallway and into her kitchen.

"Sir?" Sam followed behind, pulling off her high heels along the way. She wondered if he could be having second thoughts. When she caught up with Jack, he was digging through her refrigerator.

"Just checking," said Jack.

"Checking what?"

"That you had eggs and beer." Jack shut the door. By her look, Jack knew he had Carter completely baffled, which was exactly his plan.

He knew the moment they stepped inside, Sam would get nervous and self-conscious and the whole evening could go south. Now, he had her totally off-balance and therefore, an easy mark. Jack took a step closer and kissed her.

When Jack came up for air, he said, "Once I start doing this I'm not stopping until the morning. I wanted to make sure you had ingredients for my famous omelet."

"Oh," was all she could manage. He swooped in again, kissing her to the point that she no longer remembered her own name, or how they ended up down the hall in her bedroom.

It was not the way Sam had imagined it, and she had imagined plenty over the years. She honestly thought that after all the waiting and the build up of tension that they would go at each other in a frenzy and it would all be over within minutes. But Jack had amazing restraint. Looking back, Sam shouldn't have been surprised really; he did have a great deal of training to control every aspect of his body and mind.

After the slow, beautiful build and eventual burn, Jack started to move his weight off her. But Sam held her arms and legs tight around him to indicate she didn't want that just yet. The weight of his body felt good, it felt right.

"I should say something romantic." Jack spoke with his head still buried in her neck.

Sam smiled wide, stifling a laugh. Nothing needed to be said because she already knew everything she needed to know. This was just the final act to complete what had always existed between them. She felt light, now that years of waiting and wanting were lifted from her. She wanted to flirt and tease and do all the things that new lovers did.

"You should," Sam agreed. "But you're terrible at that kind of thing."

"There's that." Jack rolled off her now. He lay on his side, looking down at her and ran a finger along the curve of her cheek. "It's scarey how well you know me."

If she was the least bit self-conscious about her nakedness, she didn't show it. But now that vigorous activity was over, for the time being anyway, the chill of the air could be felt. Jack pulled a sheet from the bottom of the bed and covered them both up to their waists. He wasn't ready yet to lose the view of her breasts.

Jack said on a sigh, "You know that I'm terrible at a lot of things."

"Not this," Sam said with a slight, smug smile. She reminded, "I thought it all through, I want this."

"I know. Can't say I understand it, but hey, I'm not one to argue with my Major when she figures out something complex and goes after what she wants." His gaze turned serious for a moment. "I'll retire."

"We talked about this," she said it almost like a warning. "I won't let you, not yet. We'll figure something out."

"OK, you're in command here. But remember, that stops as soon as we get to the office tomorrow."

"Good. I've got a few orders for you to follow before morning, Colonel."

Sam woke to an empty space beside her in bed. She could hear rattling and other noises from the depths of her house. She got up, pulled a robe around her and padded down the hall to find Jack O'Neill in her kitchen, standing over a frying pan.

At her amused look, Jack shrugged. "I promised I'd make you breakfast."

He was relieved to see that in the light of day she wasn't awkward or filled with regret. Sam seemed genuinely happy. Happier than Jack had ever seen her, actually, and it made a self-satisfied smile spread across his face. He did that. He made her that happy.

Sam glanced at the surprisingly appetizing contents of the frying pan. "I think I could get used to this."

She moved to pour herself a cup of coffee and turned on the TV, expecting the normal chatter of morning traffic and weather. Instead, a speech was being broadcast by Kim Jong-il, the leader of North Korea. Sam watched for a few seconds and didn't think much of it until his eyes suddenly glowed.

The next several minutes seemed to be a horrible nightmare, it couldn't possibly be real. Especially when a photo of Sam and Jack entering last night's reception popped up on the screen among photos of other SGC personnel during the broadcast.

Kim Jong-il announced that something called a Stargate was in the possession of the US government and that it could affect the fate of the world. The leader put forth an accusation of on-going secret US operations, held in coordination with the Soviets. Then he declared war on Russia, China, South Korea, and the United States.

Sam didn't realize that Jack had been right there listening as well. Or that she had leaned back against his chest for support in her moment of shock, until Jack spoke.

"That Jong-y-guy is a Goa'uld? We so should've seen that coming."