Title It's the Little Things
By Chiara Crawford
RATING: PG
WARNINGS: None
CATEGORY: Introspective
PAIRING: Slight S/J later perhaps
SPOILERS: Nothing in particular. Set early season nine. And NO ORI.
SUMMARY: It's the little things that put so much into perspective.
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions.
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Chapter One
Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell was living a dream. After fighting so long to get onto SG-1, he was finally not only a part of it but also leading the team. Since first hearing about the various exploits of the SGC and in particular SG-1, he had dreamed about getting into the same adventures, while saving Earth and escaping the bad guys at the last minute. Now he was here and SG-1 was bound to save Earth – it was statistically proven that they did do that at least once a year – and he should have been happy.
It should have been perfect.
It wasn't.
Cameron thought of himself as a good guy. Sure, he was mostly a by the book officer but he had humor and he was motivated to do his best. General Landry seemed to like him and his teammates were friendly enough. Everyone at the SGC was nice and welcoming and he couldn't complain about anything.
He should have been happy.
He wasn't.
It's the little things that made him aware of the reason why. It was not something overt or even intentionally malicious. Maybe some of them didn't even know that they did it, but do it they did.
The first time he saw it was shortly after he came to the SGC. Many people, from kitchen staff to nurses to SFs to SG teams, gave him strange looks. Some were of well concealed pity, while others ranged from amusement to anger. Everyone with whom he spoke was friendly, true, but none of those people lost these emotions, when talking to him. He didn't know why they did it and it was not until he had reunited three of the four original SG-1 team members under him that he began to have an inkling as to why.
Cameron was aware that all three didn't really want to be there.
Doctor Daniel Jackson was about to go to Atlantis, when he had missed the Daedalus due to the space thief Vala, who had practically handcuffed the archaeologist to her and dragged Daniel, him and the other two former SG-1 members onto a ridiculous quest that ended with them in an old tomb with neither gold, nor technology or other riches. It had been a waste of time.
Teal'c and Colonel Carter would have disappeared again to Area 51 and Dakara, respectively, if there had not been rumors of another dangerous Goa'uld with powerful technology and the ambition to conquer the galaxy. Both of them along with Jackson were not pleased, indeed.
It was decided that they would be SG-1 with him as team leader.
They could have accepted him.
They didn't.
Perhaps it wasn't even consciously. All of them were polite and friendly with him. They spoke about some past missions, laughed and joked but he couldn't help the feeling that something was missing.
It was only when General O'Neill decided to visit his old hounds and get together with his old team that he saw what was not there.
It was morning and he had walked into the mess hall. Carter, Jackson and Teal'c were eating there almost every morning, instead of having breakfast at home. This was such a normal morning, except for one thing. General O'Neill was sitting with them, laughing and joking.
It shouldn't have been different.
It was.
In a split second of brilliant understanding everything that had bothered him since assuming the role of commander of SG-1 slid into place. The reason why all the looks on the whole base were either amusement or pity, when directed at him. Why, when he made a decision in the field, he saw Daniel and Teal'c look covertly at Sam to see her approval or disapproval. Why sometimes all three looked at him like at an indulging child. The reason why the angry whispers that fell silent when he neared but which he still heard - about Colonel Carter not getting her rightful command - followed him always. Why he couldn't laugh and joke with the rest of SG-1 freely.
It should have been obvious from the beginning. He had simply deluded himself into believing a dream that he wanted too much.
He was a usurper and they didn't trust him to watch their back or let him in.
He wasn't the SG-1 leader.
He was neither Jack O'Neill nor Samantha Carter.
It shouldn't have hurt.
It did.
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Author's Note: The first of my little ficlets. What do you think? I never truly liked seasons nine and ten as much as the previous seasons. Another thing that bugged me a lot was that they made Mitchell commander of SG-1, when Sam not only had seniority but also eight years more experience and qualifications to do the job. Come one, what qualifications did he have? He was simply a pilot - a good one, true – that had never even been on an SG team or had other combat experience. Making him leader was just stupid and I don't think that the whole base would have simply let this go. Cam is not a bad character but awfully impulsive, running straight into danger without thinking, and not really leader material. Sorry for the little rant.