This is something that I've been working on off and on for several months. I'm always interested in the thoughts and emotions of the characters at pivotal moments, and it was too tempting to write of Carter's first night in command of Atlantis, with a few literary licenses put in place, of course. I hope that this is something that everyone can enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know. Gregg.
Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchises. No copyright infringement is intended.
Colonel Samantha Carter sat back in her new quarters and sighed. It had been an eventful day, and she was not sure she was ready for the coming days ahead. She was the new Mission Commander for the City of Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy, and had arrived that morning. The reception had been pleasant, but she was very aware of the feelings of remorse, and a certain level of trepidation that came with replacing a commander such as Elizabeth Weir. Her loss was an open wound to the city and its inhabitants that would not be easy to get beyond.
She had to laugh, though, at Rodney. His antics about their 'supposed', and residing totally within his own mind, relationship was priceless, as was his rapid announcement that he had a girlfriend and that he hoped that they could all work well here. Little did he know, or anyone else for that matter, that she was married now. A pang of sadness engulfed her when she thought of Jack and how she would miss him while she was stationed here.
Major General Jack O'Neill. Who would have ever thought that the tough as nails ex-Black Ops soldier would ever be a two star General??? While he would argue it into the ground that he was a misfit who hated it at the Pentagon, he was flourishing and succeeding there as if he was born to it. No wonder the President kept turning down his retirement requests. He, of course, was not happy about it, but kept on regardless.
Who would have ever thought that they would actually get married after all the years of waiting, missed opportunities, and foolish attempts at moving on with someone else. But Jack had surprised her one month before when the war with the Ori had ended.
One Month Before, Home of Colonel Samantha Carter, Earth
Sam had just returned from checking on Cam at the SGC where he was slowly recovering from the serious ass kicking that that super Replicator had given him. She'd taken the time to make him some macaroons and he had seemed to appreciate the gesture. He'd better considering the time she'd put into making them! She'd told him she had to get going, but it hadn't been true. No plans, no date, no nothing, but she'd had to get out of the SGC for a while. This last mission had hit a little too close to home the reality that the very people who were supposed to support and help them, namely the IOA, were nothing more than a bunch of incompetents.
The last two years had been difficult. Jack had left the SGC and was now the Head of Homeworld Security based out of the Pentagon. General Hammond was retired, and while active, the last time she had seen him he hadn't looked very well. She knew that his retirement was for medical reasons, but she hoped it was nothing too severe. General Landry was a good CO, but he was still not of the caliber of Hammond, or Jack. He was learning, though, and the time spent at Jack's cabin with SG-1 had been beneficial once the danger had been eliminated.
And her personal life? That first year after she had ended her engagement with Pete she had been on a few first dates, but no second dates with anyone. After the fourth or fifth one she had decided to not date at all for a good long while. It wasn't worth the aggravation, and as for sex she certainly wasn't going to effectively jump into bed with some guy as she essentially had with Pete after only a couple of dates. That had been so out of character for her, and the fallout in terms of her friendship with Jack had been severe. Daniel and Teal'c had sat her down once she broke it off with Pete, and Jack had been reassigned to the Pentagon, and told her just how badly Jack had really taken her involvement with Pete. For the last two years she had been relying on her trusty vibrator for any sexual relief she needed. Not much different from the first seven years she had been at the SGC, so she was no stranger to that.
Picking up the phone, she called the Science Dept. at the SGC.
"Hi, Bill, it's Sam," she said after Dr. Bill Lee picked up. She respected him a great deal, despite his sometimes outlandish suggestions for various problems they were called on to solve. "I just wanted to make sure that you got the list of equipment that I forwarded to your e-mail that we'll need ready when we gate to Midway Station in three days."
"I just opened the memo a few minutes ago," Bill replied. "Most of it was already prepared, but a third naquadah generator needs to be readied, and I wasn't aware that some new macros had been developed, so I need to get those transferred to our tablets and back up discs. Other than that we're good to go."
"The macros were completed by me and Rodney McKay only a week ago just before SG-1 left on our latest mission," Sam explained. "I also wanted to let you know I won't be in tomorrow. I'm taking a day of downtime to rest up. We'll probably be on Midway for a couple of weeks."
"No problem, Sam," Bill assured her. "If anything comes up, I'll let you know. Have a good day tomorrow."
Sam hung up the phone after that and went back to her wine. She smiled as she thought that a good soak in her new hot tub would do wonders for her mood. Too bad a certain Major General wasn't here. If he was, she'd be tempted to simply tell him 'fuck the regs' and invite him into the hot tub for a naked soak. Oh well. That's what an imagination was for, along with a good vibrator, which would definitely be seeing some use this night. Just thinking of Jack was enough to make that a forgone conclusion.
She was coming out of her bedroom wearing only a satin floor length robe and carrying a fluffy towel to head out to the hot tub, which she had already taken the cover off of and checked the water temperature, when the doorbell rang.
"Damn!" she cursed as she set the towel down to go and answer the door. She opened it up abruptly and stared at who was there. Jack! Her eyes flicked up and down his frame and she liked what she saw. He was wearing his khaki slacks, white v-neck sweater, and his black leather jacket which went down to mid thigh. His black shoes finished the ensemble. He looked positively edible, her lascivious mind told her, and she could feel her nipples harden and some moisture gathering between her legs.
"Carter!" Jack said happily, though he looked nervous, and a bit startled at her appearance.
"Sir!" Sam said instantly. She looked down at herself and blushed slightly. "I was just about to get into the hot tub," she explained as she noticed his eyes wandering over her. It only served to increase her arousal knowing that he liked what he saw, if the now growing bulge in his slacks was any indication. It wasn't tenting the pants or anything, yet, but it was pretty obvious nonetheless.
"So I guess dinner's out?" he asked, sounding a bit disappointed.
Sam's eyes almost bugged out. Had Jack O'Neill actually asked her out on a date??? "Oh my God! You retired!" she exclaimed unhappily. She didn't want him to retire for the sole reason that he wanted to be with her. It would make her feel guilty.
"NO!" he hastened. "Actually, Carter, I wanted to see if maybe you wanted to give a tired old soldier like me a chance now that I finagled this from the Commander-in-Chief." He held up a signed piece of White House stationary.
Sam took the paper and read the typewritten note once, twice, and then a third time before actually believing it.
Pursuant to my powers and authority as Commander-in-Chief of the United States Military, I hereby revoke the fraternization regulations as they relate in any form to Major General Jonathon O'Neill and Colonel Samantha Carter in consideration of services rendered well above and beyond those expected or hoped for in the United States Air Force. It is expected that their same level of dedication to duty and the superb manner in which they perform their duties will continue as before. Any questions or concerns regarding the above shall be directed to the undersigned personally.
Henry Hayes
President of the United States
Commander-in-Chief
"I've been a coward the last two years, Sam, and after this latest near miss on your life, I decided to take a chance and ask for something personal for once," Jack tried to explain. He knew he had to say this without stuttering and stammering. He had to show her he was fully with this and wanted this. There could be no sense of uncertainty in this conversation. "If I haven't ruined any chance I ever had with you when I didn't say anything about your relationship with Pete, and then staying away most of the last two years, I'd like the chance to do something right with my personal life."
Sam let him stew for a couple of minutes, during which she saw him get visibly more nervous. She didn't want to upset him, but a small amount of payback was called for after the last two years, she figured. Frankly she was impressed at the speech he had just delivered. Normally he was very terse and to the point. Finally when she had felt he'd suffered enough, she let him off the hook.
"Do your knees feel like a soak in my hot tub?" she asked.
"Sweet!" he replied as he realized what she was really asking, and sent up a silent prayer asking for the strength to not screw this one chance up.
"Then come on in," she told him as she stepped aside to let him through. She stepped ahead of him and added one last thing. "By the way, Sir. There's a no clothes allowed rule in my hot tub." She giggled as she heard him stumble over his feet when she said that.
"No giggling, Carter," she heard him growl.
Present, Quarters of Colonel Samantha Carter, City of Atlantis, Pegasus Galaxy
Sam smiled as she put her favorite picture of Jack on her bedside table. It was one taken a few years before when his hair was not quite as silver as it was now, and before a number of events had began to put some distance between them, such as his torture at the hands of Ba'al.
Ping.
Sam looked up at the sound and realized that it was the door chime. She would have to get used to that soon.
"Come in," she said out loud and the door slid open to reveal Teyla and Dr. Jennifer Keller. She smiled at the two ladies. "Hi," she said as they handed her a bottle of wine.
"We thought we would come and see how you are settling in," Teyla said with a small, but genuine smile. From what she had seen of this woman, both before and during this day, she was impressed at the calm strength and power that radiated from her. John Sheppard had told her about Colonel Carter and the stories about the legendary original SG-1, and the fact that this woman was on a very fast track to being a General officer and likely the replacement for General O'Neill when the older man retired.
"The wine is from a planet we were on a few months ago helping with a refugee problem," Jennifer offered.
"I'll get the glasses, and we can share it," Sam said, thinking that it would be good to have a Girl's Night. She hadn't had anything like that since Janet had died almost three years before.
"This is General O'Neill, isn't it?" Jennifer asked when she saw the picture.
"That was taken about five years ago," Sam confirmed. "It's my favorite of all the pictures I have of him." It had been taken a few months before she had met Pete and made such a mess of her friendship with Jack.
"How is General O'Neill?" Teyla asked. "His stay here the last time was not a good one, and he looked fatigued when he was able to return to Earth."
Sam wasn't sure how much to tell them about anything related to Jack, but Teyla was asking a legitimate question as she had been part of the unauthorized rescue mission to save Jack and Woolsey from the Replicators. Once they had gotten together a few weeks before, Jack had told her about the increasing weariness he'd felt since that time and also the nightmares that had plagued him since his time as a POW in Iraq. But he was recovering, and doing well.
"He's doing better," Sam replied guardedly. Jack guarded his privacy zealously, and she was just as determined to help him maintain that privacy.
"Is he married?" Jennifer asked.
Sam almost laughed. This was quickly becoming a Q&A session about Jack O'Neill. Jack would be all embarrassed, and try to brush it aside saying that there was nothing all that special about him, but Sam knew that there was. God was he special!
"Actually he just got married four days ago," Sam revealed. "That is not for public consumption, though."
"Of course," Teyla replied, noting that Jennifer nodded in agreement. "Were you at the wedding?"
Now Sam did laugh. She walked over to the satchel that held her photos and pulled out the small framed wedding photo that was of her and Jack, in their Mess Dress uniforms (she had decided to forgo a wedding gown) kissing just after the Air Force Chaplain had proclaimed them Husband and Wife. It was clear in the photo that she was the bride.
"You could say that," she chuckled as she handed the photo over. She enjoyed the surprised look on the other ladies' faces.
"Congratulations," Teyla smiled. They looked like a very good match.
"Wow," Jennifer looked up. "Some girls have all the luck. He's what my last room mate would have called a Silver Fox. How long have the two of you been together?"
"Technically only one month," Sam told them, "but the sad truth is ten years. Want to hear the story?"
After the others nodded, she launched into the rather brief, but detailed history of the relationship of one Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter. She hesitated a moment when she got to the point where she went out with Pete and was engaged to him. Pete was a good guy, but she should have known that it was not a good idea to give in to her brother's matchmaking attempts, especially since she had so obviously misinterpreted the hallucinations she had suffered on the Prometheus just before her brother had once again tried to set her up with a friend. When it came to them Jack wasn't complicated and he was a safe bet. All she would have had to do was let him know what she wanted, really wanted, and it would have happened. Thinking back on what Daniel and Teal'c had told her once it was all over made her emotionally unsettled, to say the least. Shaking her head, she continued with the story and culminated in the quick wedding a few days before so that it would be official before she left for Atlantis.
"I'm not trying to make any real judgments about this Pete guy, but what were you thinking continuing to be with him when he had a background check done on you and your team, and then followed you guys on an Earth bound mission?" Jennifer asked. "He already knew that you were involved in highly classified work and what he did showed a serious lack of trust and a potentially very controlling nature."
Sam leaned back and sighed. She had asked herself that a lot in the last two years. "I guess that the idea of having someone to share my life outside of work with was too enticing," she finally replied.
"I hadn't had a personal life in nearly seven years, and having a man to come home to, even if it was only on the weekends because he lived and worked in Denver, made up for a lot and let me close my eyes to even more. The last few months we were together I knew I'd made a mistake in agreeing to marry him, but it took my Dad not liking him to make me do the right thing. I hated hurting Pete when I told him it was over, but it would have hurt him worse if we had gotten married and then divorced a short time later." And would have eliminated any chance whatsoever of possibly being with Jack, she thought, but didn't add.
"But now you have General O'Neill," Teyla remarked with a smile.
"After two more years of relative stupidity on both our parts," Sam added.
"What took so long after you broke up with Pete?" Jennifer asked as she refilled her wine glass.
"It didn't help that Jack accepted a reassignment and promotion to replace General Hammond as Head of Homeworld Security almost right afterward," Sam supplied. "Then with my reassignment to Area 51 to head up R&D, and the start of the war with the Ori it just never seemed to be the right time."
"That sounds suspiciously as though you are rationalizing the delay," Teyla presciently pointed out.
Sam chuckled. "I guess I am," she admitted. "Both of us are to blame really. Jack was very insecure about the idea of approaching me after my relationship with Pete, and frankly, I wanted this to happen because Jack approached me, not the other way around. If we'd only been honest with each other right then, or, better yet, years ago, then we'd have been together and happy long before now."
"You got married four days ago, so when did you find out about being assigned to command Atlantis?" Jennifer asked.
"We knew I'd been placed on the short list immediately after the loss of Dr. Weir," Sam explained. "The reality is, though, that Jack and I both thought that the IOA would choose Colonel Sheppard for the position. We decided to go ahead with the wedding and only the day before yesterday while we were starting our honeymoon at Jack's cabin in Minnesota did we find out that I'd been chosen and that I had to come today." She laughed at the memory of Jack's facial reaction when they'd listened to Woolsey on the phone together appointing her to the post. "If Woolsey had been there in front of us I'm sure that Jack would have strangled him."
"Control room to Colonel Carter."
"Carter here," Sam said as she tapped the earwig.
"You have an incoming transmission from Earth, Colonel," the technician on duty replied. "Shall I transfer it to your quarters terminal? It's video as well as audio."
"Give me a moment, please," Sam ordered and cut the transmission. "Sorry ladies, but I'll have to cut this short. I'm afraid Jack must have discovered the little surprise I left for him." She noticed the curious looks on their faces. "I'll explain it tomorrow. Breakfast at 0800?"
A couple of minutes later her quarters were her own again and she turned on her terminal. She gave the order for the transmission to be relayed. As she suspected, Jack's very welcome face was staring at her, and he had a look of longing, as well as a bit of frustration.
"Jack," she said with a smile.
"You got rid of my shrine, Carter!" came the expected angry exclamation. "Imagine my complete horror as I came home from the office from hell and go to the back room where I can bask in my shrine to the glory that is the Simpson's and instead of the wonderful face of Homer on the far wall, I find all my Simpson's collectibles gone and instead a shrine to the Carter list of best Science Geeks in history in it's stead! No Simpson's comic books, no Simpson's dolls on the shelves, no fan club stickers, mailings, or T-shirts. No nothing! Homer's probably looking down on me from Simpson's Heaven laughing his ass off that I can't even protect one simple thing!"
"I'm fine, Jack, how are you?" she giggled.
"Lonely and horny as hell, Carter, and what have I said about giggling?" he blurted, then got back to the task at hand. "Now back to the important stuff. Where the HELL is Homer and all the rest of my prized possessions??? I can't even find the damn DVDs and tapes of the episodes! Now this just isn't fair, Carter! I know I said for better or worse, and I meant every damn word, but this is a disaster of apocalyptic proportions!"
"Jack?" she said finally. "Take a moment and go into the room right next door to the former shrine. I think you'll like what you see."
She smiled as she heard him moving from what was clearly the living room of his DC townhouse to the room she had specified. While he had been working just before their wedding, she had made a project of his 'Shrine'. The prior shrine had been small, and lacking in some essentials, so she decided to add a few features and make a new room for it in the larger guest bedroom. The sudden shriek of joy she heard right then told her that she had done very well.
"Carter!" Jack said loudly. "This is awesome! When the hell did you get this done???" His loud voice carried from the back of the townhouse all the way to where his laptop was set up.
Sam thought about the new room. A 54" wall mounted plasma flat screen television dominated the facing view upon entry, with shelves below containing a brand new DVD/VHS dual player and all the currently available seasons of the Simpson's on DVD and the episodes after that that Jack had faithfully recorded on VHS. A new massage recliner with all the extras was suitably placed for optimum viewing. Around the rest of the room were glass shelves with almost every imaginable Simpson's paraphernalia that was available. She'd noted what he had and then added some more from some online purchasing with next day delivery. His beloved large poster of Homer was framed in a new frame and surrounded by a cornucopia of multi-colored lights to highlight the image. In essence it was a high class shrine for Jack's obsession.
"You pleased?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Pleased?" he asked in astonishment as his face came back into view. "I'm ecstatic! And the Plasma TV? It's huge! Now I can see Homer and the gang in style! Just wait until you come for a visit Carter! It'll be Simpson's 24/7!"
Sam raised a brow. "24/7?" she questioned. "I've heard of a married couple's sex life tapering off after a few years, but this kills it entirely after only a few days. You sure about that 24/7 Jack?"
Jack backtracked almost instantly. "Kill it off?" he squawked. "Hell no! Not when I've got the hottest woman in the universe! Though I think maybe this new easy chair is strong enough that maybe we could have a bit of fun christening the shrine! Maybe even watch some episodes while doing it?"
"You must really want a divorce, Jack O'Neill," she said with a laugh at his antics.
"So no on the whole Hot Monkey Sex while watching the Simpson's, huh?" he teased.
"Good guess," she grinned as she got out some shorts and a Hockey shirt to sleep in. How anyone could get turned on watching a cartoon was beyond her, but Jack was obviously one of a kind on that score.
"So how was your first day in command?" he asked, turning serious.
"About as good as can be expected," she admitted. "They all really admired Weir. It's a lot like when Landry replaced you at the SGC. Good people, but a bit wary. Teyla and Dr. Keller stopped by a little while ago and we visited for a bit."
"They're all good people, Carter," Jack told her, agreeing with what she had said. "My advice is let them do what they know to do. Sheppard's a great 2IC for you, and I know that Weir used Teyla as an Admin. Aide in addition to all that she does regularly."
"I know," Sam sighed. "Ronon will be a tough sell, though."
Jack laughed. "Ronon is a lot like T. He may be fierce, but he's damn loyal. The timing may suck, Sam, but you've earned this. Trust me."
She told him about the potential problem that was developing with respect to Ronon and how unsure she was about how to handle it. "If he decides to fight an order to remain with Atlantis, there's no one here who could stop him, Jack. It would be either let him go or kill him as he tried to get away," she sighed.
"That's the part about command that nothing ever prepares you for, Sam," he sympathized. "I can't tell you what to do. You'll have to figure that one out for yourself. I will suggest not letting those bastards at the IOA get wind of this. They'll only make it worse."
Sam didn't even want to think of the IOA. She still had a bad taste in her mouth after the whole replicator issue from a month before. She was sure that it would be a long time before she actually trusted anyone from that organization again, if ever.
"I better get off of here, Carter," Jack said sadly. "I just wanted to check in with my favorite lady and make sure she was okay."
Sam smiled widely. "Thanks, Jack," she told him warmly. "The only thing better would be you here with me making love in my new bed."
"Carter!!!" Jack whined. "Did you have to give me that image when you're in another freakin' galaxy??? Now I'll never get to sleep!"
"I'm not the one who made us wait ten long years, Jack," she pointed out. "So suck it up, Airman and do your duty. If you're a good boy, maybe I'll come and visit for a weekend when things settle down. Maybe give the IOA personal progress report as an excuse to Gate to Earth."
She chuckled as she heard him grumble about it having been her stupid idea to 'leave it in the room' all those years ago and that if she hadn't been serious, which she hadn't, then she should have made it clear to his obviously brain dead self.
"I love you, Jack," she cut off his grumbling.
"I love you, too, Sam," he told her with a very sexy smile. "You know if you need me for anything, I'm only a call away, right? And SG-1, too?"
"I know, Jack," she said as she offered him her most brilliant smile, the one she knew he loved the most. "Good night" she said as she cut the transmission.
Sam quickly got into the shorts and hockey jersey, then slid under the warm covers of her bed. Being alone in bed may not be the way she wanted to end her day, but the conversation with Jack had made the long, and nerve wracking day a positive one. Jack had confidence in her ability to be successful in this command, and she knew that if she followed his advice and let these incredible people do what they knew how to do, then it would all work out, including the potential situation with Ronon. She fell asleep thinking of Jack, and what they would be doing if they were back at the cabin on their honeymoon. A smile graced her face for most of the night.