A/N: This has been in planning for a while, and I finally got round to starting to post it. :) This is set at the very end of Stargate: Atlantis. I own nothing, except the plot and my OCs. Enjoy! And feel free to let me know how it was.
If there was one thing Samantha Carter missed in the Stargate Program, it had to be fresh air. And the sunrise. The gold and baby blue meeting to for a combination she didn't see all that often... It was refreshing. But, as she headed to the unfamiliar park ahead at that raw hour, refreshing wasn't the word that came to mind. Four figures, stood amongst the bright greenery of the park, grew larger as she approached. One of them glanced over their shoulder, as though they were exactly sure they were supposed to be there.
"Oh, hey Sam." He smiled at her slightly dishevelled appearance.
"Hi, Daniel." She waved, surveying those present.
Daniel, Teal'c, Vala, Cam, and- Wait a minute... she thought, frowning internally.
"Where's Jack?"
"Oh, he's already there, slept on his desk, I reckon. At least someone has some sense. Can't say the same for whoever had the clever idea to organize a meeting at a time like this." Vala scowled.
"I believe it was the IOA," Teal'c replied in his usual, ever-calm tone.
"I'll have them know, I had to get up at 5:30. 5:30. I'll ki-"
"My heart bleeds," Cam interjected, "but we need to get going. Or we'll have more to complain about than bedheads and only 2 hours of sleep."
"General O'Neill." Jack turned at the sound. "There are some officers that want to talk to you."
"Tell them to wait, I've got a briefing in five minutes," he ordered, turning over his collar.
"Four, actually, Sir." And there was the smooth voice that he'd somewhat missed. Peering over at the staircase of the SGC's briefing room, he acknowledged the presence of his friends, and focused his eyes on the speaker. Her blonde hair was still ruffled and knotted, and the uniform jacket and T-shirt hung about her shoulders as if to say 'I just woke up', but she was radiant none the less.
Damn it, Jack mentally slapped himself. She's supposed to be a friend.
"Take a seat, I doubt those guys will be here soon," he advised them. Teal'c nodded in his direction before following Daniel, Vala, and Cam to the soon-to-be-packed meeting table.
"Sam."
"Sir."
"No need for the sir now. I think we pretty much moved beyond that. Anyway, what happened to the..." he trailed off and twirled a lock of her hair in between his fingers.
"Ah, that. Couldn't find the brush in time."
With sharp creak, the door opened and Jack all but tore his hand away from Sam. It wouldn't bode well for his career if he was caught running his fingers through a sub-ordinate's hair. Nodding curtly, he moved past her to greet the new arrivals accompanying Woolsey into the room.
"General. We certainly have a lot to talk about." This was one of the few lines that could wipe the bogus smile clean off of Jack's face. As he took his seat, he decided that it was indeed going to be a long briefing.
"We take several precautions to ensure that the Stargate Program stays a secret. But with Atlantis' presence on Earth, the task has been made more difficult. As for now, the city remains cloaked, but further action must be taken if it's to stay where it is," the female of the three IOA officers announced.
"And we're here to discuss that?" Daniel was the first to speak, which was probably for the best. By the looks on his teammates' faces, their replies would've been...less subdued. Particularly Vala's. A man, seated beside Jack, nodded. The airforce General rolled his eyes, barely holding back from snorting.
I wonder where I was when all those 'safety precautions' were being taken, he mused.
"Yes, Dr. Jackson. We believe that the only way we can achieve this is if we are to work together with both Mr. Woolsey and yourselves to create a solution."
"I assume you have suggestions, then?" Vala's apprehensive voice came into the discussion. The IOA officers shot her a collective glare at her tone, but she simply brushed it off indignantly and awaited their reply.
"Actually, we were hoping for your input, considering you judge yourselves to be the 'experts' on the Stargate Program."
Anger sparked within Jack as the words slipped from the woman's tongue. Biting his lip to prevent it from bubbling over, he looked down at his clipboard and then at Sam, who seemed completely oblivious. He scribbled something down on the paper, cast his eyes along the briefing table, and quickly tossed it to her. When the note tumbled into her lap, so knew immediately who it was from. She gently unfolded it.
'S,
Fishing later?
J'
Flipping the sheet over, she jotted away and slipped it back to him. As she returned her attention to the ongoing briefing, as Daniel tried to cut through the hostility between Vala and the IOA members.
'Sure, what time?'
'Lunch? Might make waking up this early easier.'
With a wink, he pushed the note across the table, just when Teal'c had begun to explain his opinion on a 'peaceful solution'. A soft blushed rose to Sam's cheeks, and she smiled that addictive smile - magnetic, electrifying, infectious. It took Jack several moments to process that she had nodded a long time ago, leaving him to simply become entranced by her. He snapped himself out of it and shook his head. Bad idea.
John Sheppard bolted upright, chest heaving up and down as he fought for oxygen. A bead of cold sweat worked a path along his features. Fear pumped through his body in the shape of adrenaline. An image of her face was imprinted forever on the back of his mind. Her cries. The way she told him to leave and he could see how willing she was to truly sacrifice herself for him. To cease to exist, just for one man.
But she does exist. I will find her, his inner self screamed back. A restless groan escaped his lips, and he swung his legs over the side of his bed. Despite it being so obviously past the start of his shift, he'd found it difficult to grasp something that made him want to carry on each day and so he'd slept over. At first he'd thought it was insomnia, from the flurry of attacks and losses. He'd taken pills and lied through his teeth more times than he could remember. But it only got worse. Yet no one had even an inkling, and John gained some twisted sense of pride from that. Not one person had noticed his agony since they'd returned to Earth. More than gladly, he would keep it that way.
Meanwhile, in Woolsey's office, aforementioned man hissed under his breath at the sight of his paperwork. Excess of paperwork, at that.
"Moving house is less fuss," he muttered.
"What was that, Mr Woolsey?" One of the 'Gate Techs (he wasn't sure which) asked. Richard jumped, but quickly regained his composure and shook his head.
"Nothing." He dismissed them with a wave of his hand. About to turn back to his, no doubt, exhausting pile of work, he then spotted a familiar figure making its way over to him. Colonel Sheppard. "Colonel, you-"
"I need a jumper." The words fell from his lips the moment he crossed the threshold of the room. The shocked expression on his commander's face was a sight to see - his eyebrows had practically started to climb his scalp.
"Colonel, why on earth... Why?"
"You know exactly why," John seethed, aiming to slam his fist on the desk but reigning his fury in at the last moment and settling for an agitated prod.
"Oh." Realisation dawned on Woolsey. "Dr. Weir. No. It's too risky. Even with back-up, which I presume you weren't intending upon taking."
"I can handle it-" the 2IC began, almost growling, only to be cut off by the rather harsh tone of none other than Rodney McKay.
"Get them out! Get them out of my lab!" he yelled, and charged into the room. "I tell them to be careful, but no, they just come charging in likes bulls in a china shop!"
"Calm down, both of-" Richard clawed helplessly at the situation.
"I've had enough of this." John sighed heavily, and turned. Despite his battered body's protests, he strode away with his head high. Elizabeth's absence had left an gaping hole in his existence. For every moment he thought on it, he drowned in deeper and colder waters. He had to escape or he never would. So he changed direction to the jumper bay, and began to kick towards the surface.