Author's note: Once more, thanks to all, who reviewed (again) and all, who added this story to their alerts!
This chapter has been one of those M-rated. I tried to rewrite it to fit the T-rating, but I didn't want to take out too much, so this could still be bordering on M… Anyways, enjoy!
Around the regs
Chapter Four: Happiness
Still in complete gear – minus the weapons two SF's had thankfully relieved them of – SG-1 filed into the briefing room. General Hammond looked up from what seemed to be a deep discussion he was immerged in with several scientists of the SGC.
For a moment Jack wondered if they were supposed to be here, but then again the order had been to immediately return and report back.
"Sir?", Jack asked, slightly confused. Behind him, Daniel and Sam stopped, both apparently as irritated as the Colonel. Only Teal'c seemed to take it in with his usual calm.
"Ah, SG-1. Welcome back.", the General greeted composed, and instantly all heated conversation between the various scientists ceased, all glancing back to the SGC's flagship team. Jack tried his best to oversee that the majority of their gazes settled onto his 2IC, who stood patiently waiting at his side.
"So?", the Colonel prompted. "What was so important that you had to call us back from our mission? Not that I didn't enjoy diggin' through those fascinating ruins and all this technobabble Daniel and Carter were afflictin' on me, but…"
The General motioned for them to take a seat and SG-1 complied. Again Jack could see a few scientists glancing hopefully at the free seats besides them – Felger even called out for her – but to Jack's silent pleasure Sam didn't seem to register and sat down next to him habitually.
"The reason why I called you back…", the General set to explain. "…is that we need Doctor Jackson's and Major Carter's expertise on this here."
The General pointed at some kind of artifact that was placed strategically on the table, all scientists gaping at it wondrously. Immediately, Jack saw the familiar glint in Daniel's eyes that told the Colonel that his interest was picked, and next to him, Sam leaned forwards, her eyes already examining the thing. Jack gazed at it with modest enthusiasm. Another artifact, yippee… Not that this one hadn't rescued him from the archaeological site he'd been stuck on earlier, but yeah, still another artifact…
Jack gazed it up and down. It was fairly large, but not overly. It had a square shape with intricate embellishments and fine lines of writings in an unfamiliar language sculpted in between. Through the adornments shone a relaxing soft white light that seemed to come out of the artifact. The light pulsated in a slow rhythm, growing lighter and then dimming in an unhurried pace.
"What is it?", Carter asked from beside him, leaning forwards to study the artifact curiously. Of course, all eyes went to her the moment she spoke, but her whole attention was captured by the object.
"To be honest? We don't know.", the General admitted. "SG-6 brought it back from our recent associates on P45-G98. It was a… gift to us in honor of our alliance."
"P45-G98?", Jack asked confused. Hell, why couldn't they just name the planets they were visiting? Who was supposed to remember all those letters and numbers and actually relate them to the right planet? Aside from Carter, of course.
"A peaceful planet named Herradon, which has an uniquely long area of lasting peace.", the General explained. "Although they're not that much advanced technically, they have an exceptional society, characterized by a deep contentment and harmony. SG-6 made contact with them about a month ago and was fascinated."
"Yeah, it sounds really… fascinating.", the Colonel stated dryly. In his opinion it was too good to be true. There had to be a catch somewhere!
"Well, the people they've encountered were nothing but friendly and when SG-6 returned to the SGC, they presented them with this artifact in the hope that we would learn to understand them better with its help.", the General went on.
"What does it do?", Daniel inquired, his eye shifting from the artifact to General Hammond to Sam. The scientists of SG-1 were exchanging glances on a regular basis, communicating silently with each other. Jack was used to it by now and knew that they weren't acknowledging anything outside this new toy anymore. Their whole attention was taken. Oh joy.
"We don't know yet.", General Hammond explained. "And until now I haven't heard anything apart from wild theories."
Jack chuckled at the obvious reprimand it was to the other scientists. Apparently they'd failed to come up with some solution so far, which was why General Hammond had seen himself forced to call back the geniuses of SG-1.
"Sir, could I…?", Sam asked the moment Daniel called out: "General, I'd like to…!"
Both looked at each other shortly and Jack had to fight to keep a straight face. Then both glanced at General Hammond like little children waiting for their Dad to give the okay.
The General smiled generously. "Experiment away."
Jack wasn't surprised that he didn't even get to blink, before Daniel and Sam had left the room, the artifact tucked securely under the arm of his 2IC. He imagined he could still feel the gusts of wind in their wake, but not even the sounds of their feet were still heard. The baffled looks of several scientists remained on the stairs, but Jack didn't even bat an eyelid, when he turned towards the General and asked: "Permission to leave, sir? I'd like to remove my gear…"
"Of course, Colonel.", the General approved.
The Colonel nodded at the other scientists still seated around the table and together with Teal'c, he left the briefing room.
Well, he mused, there was one advantage to the whole another-alien-artifact-discovery. Although he wouldn't get to see Carter all too often in the next days and would probably get annoyed with another technobabble-lecture by Daniel somewhere along the way, he'd also get to spend some downtime on base. No archaeological excavation for the next time! Such a shame…
SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ
Daniel was in his lab, bent over innumerable photos of the language inscribed on the device's surface, trying to translate it. He'd never seen anything resembling this language and it was intriguing as hell. Finally a challenge! It actually made him excited beyond words, leaving him with the irrational urge to jump up and down giddily. Never mind that he had been looking at these symbols for over a day without making any progress in identifying them, but Daniel's natural confidence in his work assured him that he would, eventually.
A crash in the hallway in front of his lab's closed door made him look up. Grumbling over the interruption, the archaeologist got up and stuck his head out of his lab. A few feet down the hallway stood an assistant of one of the other scientists, a young, unremarkable woman with dull brown hair that Daniel didn't know the name of, looking down at what seemed to be the remains of some scientific procedures. Shatters of glass and various liquids were forming a wide-patterned cluster of stains on the hard concrete.
Daniel narrowed his eyes. "Do you intend to clean that up?", he asked the young assistant pointedly.
The mousy woman looked at him, seemed to pondered his question and then shrugged her shoulders uninterested, before leaving the corridor altogether.
Daniel returned to his lab, banging his door for good measure. Well, he certainly wouldn't clean up that mess! But then his eyes fell on the photos once more and he forgot all about the young assistant. This was so much more important!
The next day Daniel went to Sam's lab, stepping through the shards of glass still lying in front of his lab without noticing, a bunch of photos in his hands, while he scribbled on them as he walked through the hallways.
"Sam?", he asked when he reached her lab without looking up to her. "How far have you come with the readings on the device?"
Her eyes didn't leave her laptop, when she answered: "I have the first report on it done."
"Really?", he inquired, while making a few notes on one symbol. "You wanted to send that to me?"
"Oh.", she shrugged, uncaring. "I guess I forgot. There's a printed-out copy lying on that work bench over there. Take it."
Daniel stepped over to the mentioned counter. There were two copies lying, one with a memo that read 'General Hammond' and another one with a note that said 'Colonel O'Neill', scribbled in Sam's handwriting. For a moment Daniel thought it strange that she would give him a copy intended for someone else, but then he found it wasn't his place to care. She could always print out another one. But he needed those readings for his work. So he took the one labelled 'Colonel O'Neill' and headed back, neither saying good-bye nor thanking Sam in any way. She didn't seem to realize, though. She didn't acknowledge in any way that he left her lab.
Another day later, Daniel was headed towards Janet's office. From Sam's report he knew that the Major had gotten the good Doctor on board with their analyses and Daniel was curious, if she had managed to make any progress in coming up what the device from P45-G98 was for. It still eluded him and he wasn't making any significant development in translating the language, either. But he couldn't stop working on it! It fascinated him as none other artifact had until now.
On his way to the infirmary the alarms for an incoming wormhole blared out with red light flashing through the corridors. Daniel raised a brow, waiting for Harriman's voice to announce "Unscheduled off-world activation", but it never came. Shrugging, Daniel continued on his way. Maybe the Chief Master Sergeant had taken a day off. Normally and in such cases, there had to be a replacement, but Daniel dismissed the thought. He really didn't care for the military ways right now. He had far more pressing things to do. This translation, for example.
The incessant shrieking of the alarms continued, even as Daniel stepped into the infirmary. He couldn't find Janet straightaway, so he settled to wait at her office. On his way there he passed two male nurses. Involuntarily, Daniel caught glimpses of their conversation. They weren't really trying to hold it between them, anyways.
One of them, a Sergeant, just complained to his friend, a Lieutenant: "I'd rather be at home, anyway. In a week my wife's due to give birth to our first child…"
The Lieutenant whistled sympathetically. "Didn't you apply for time off?"
The Sergeant sighed. "Yes, but we're lacking staff. The General told me I could go as soon as I got the word from my wife that the time has come, but still! I can't help but wish I'd be with her right now."
"I understand.", the Lieutenant agreed.
Suddenly, the Sergeant straightened up. "You know what? To hell with it. I'm going home!"
And with that he left the infirmary, hurrying towards the elevators. The Lieutenant looked after him unmoving, acting as if that was supposed to be normal behavior.
Tsk, Daniel remarked inwardly, Janet had had her staff under better control before. But then again, that wasn't his problem. His only concern right now was her medical expertise on the device…
On day four Daniel managed to not explode on Teal'c, when the loyal Jaffa strode into his lab, effectively interrupting Daniel's work.
"Daniel Jackson.", the large man greeted composed.
"What?", the archaeologist snapped gruffly.
"Have you seen O'Neill or Major Carter?"
At least the Jaffa came down to the point immediately. "No, I haven't.", Daniel brushed him off.
"I see.", Teal'c concluded and then made to leave. At the door frame he turned back. "Daniel Jackson? Does the general behavior of the people in this base seem strange to you?", he inquired with an almost noticeable amount of curiosity in his voice.
"Huh? No.", Daniel denied. He saw no need for him to watch the people's behavior, anyways.
Teal'c left without saying another word. Maybe he'd made some gesture, but without having looked at him, Daniel didn't know. He was just glad he'd gotten his usual calm back, so he could work!
Little did Daniel understand that he should have paid better attention to the people's behavior. Because then he would have noticed. He would have noticed what was bound to become a problem…
SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ
"Carter!"
She actually jumped. Surprised, she turned around. "Sir!"
He stood leant against the door frame to her lab, an eyebrow raised at her jittery behavior. Then he strolled in, appearing as comfortable as if he owned the place. He stopped next to her and stared down at the object from P45-G98 that sat innocently on her desk, hooked up with uncountable wires to her faithful laptop. He frowned down at the peaceful artifact that seemed to imitate a desk lamp, illuminating her work place in a soft light.
Sighing, the Colonel raked a hand through his hair and then turned towards Sam. His dark eyes bored into her, and although Sam had the clear feeling that she was in for some reprimand, she couldn't help but acknowledge, how good he looked. His intense gaze lingering on her left her with an atypical urge to squirm, and suddenly she felt as if someone had raised the temperature in her lab. She felt a blush crawl onto her cheeks and in the same moment was annoyed with herself. God, she wasn't some teenager anymore! And over all, this was her CO she was talking to, right now!
Get a grip, she told herself.
The Colonel crossed his arms over his chest and Sam's hold on her self-control immediately slipped; shoved to some unknown corner deep within her mind. God, it should be forbidden to see such a standard black BDU shirt seize so nicely around such strong biceps and curve so definitely over the muscular chest underneath…!
"Carter…!", the Colonel growled in warning, not picking up on her drifting thoughts.
Oh heaven, did he sound alluring, when he rounded in on her! Had he always sounded like that when scolding her…?
"Yes, sir?", she swallowed heavily.
"Please tell me you did not spend the past four days holed up in your office working on that!", he demanded angrily, pointing accusingly at the guiltless artifact.
Sam gnawed on her cheek, careful that he didn't notice. Of course she had been here working on her newest project. In fact she had been completely captivated by the object. It had been the most fun a challenge had provided her for some time and she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. Somehow, though, she had the distinct impression that this would be the wrong thing to tell the Colonel.
"I did leave my lab, sir!", she assured him hastily. He narrowed his eyes on her suspiciously and, yeah, she should not find that so hot, should she?
"To sleep and eat?", he guessed.
"Yes.", she affirmed. At least occasionally. She may have spent a night or two here in her lab or forgotten a meal. Accidentally, of course.
"Regularly?", he prompted immediately and Sam couldn't meet his gaze. She was a bad liar and she couldn't lie to the Colonel even if her life depended on it. Apart from the fact that he would see through it straightaway, she would feel more than bad about it.
"Carter!", he threatened furiously, when she failed to answer. "For cryin' out loud! Do I have to drag you out of here every damn time so you don't forget to eat?!"
Oh, she wouldn't mind him coming for her more often…! But dutifully, she answered: "No, sir."
"What were you thinking?", he fumed.
"Actually, sir…", she admitted. "I wasn't really thinking about it. I just had this overwhelming urge to solve the mystery around this object. I just couldn't stop working on it!"
And it was the truth. She had worked nonstop on it, engrossed in it for hours and hours on end. She literally had had no spare thought left for eating or sleeping. Solving the mystery of this artifact had seemed way too important to forego it for something as mundane as food or sleep. She had almost felt obsessed with the artifact.
The Colonel raised an eyebrow. "And? Any closer to resolvin' it?"
Dejected, Sam shook her head. "I have picked up on certain electromagnetic waves radiating from the object. They are light and harmless, but seem to permeate even the thickest materials. From my readings they've passed through the whole base and–"
Jack waved her off with an edgy movement. "Carter, I'm in no mood for another lecture!", he shut her down. "What does it do?"
"I don't know yet, sir.", she answered. "Janet and I are currently analyzing the effects and Daniel is still trying to translate the writings on it."
"Great. I see you've made a whole lot of progress…", the Colonel said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Hm, his sarcasm. She had a soft spot for it.
Silence descended upon them, while Jack busied himself with shooting death glares at the offending item.
"So…", Sam drawled. "What brings you here, sir?"
At least he would have some reason for being here, wouldn't he?
"Well, since apparently my 2IC has forgotten that there's still a world outside her lab, I've come to remind her of that!", he grumbled with a familiar tone. Sam's gaze softened. He had been worried about her! Hah, she felt all warm at that realization.
"Did you miss me, sir?", she teased, before she became aware of what she had said.
Sam paled, when his head snapped up and his gaze locked on hers. Oh god, she hadn't just said that to her CO, had she…? Heaven help, how did she get out of this one?
She opened her mouth to do some damage-control, when he stepped closer, his eyes roaming her face intensely.
"What if I did?", he inquired.
Immediately something inside Sam shattered and warmth flooded through her. Had he really just said what she had understood? What about the distance they normally tried to maintain between them? This proverbial door they always slammed shut whenever something threatened to bubble to the surface?
"I'd be glad. I missed you, too.", her mouth was running away again without her brain catching up in time. But the moment she'd said it, she knew it was accurately true. She had really missed him and not just because she hadn't seen him for four days. In the last time, they had grown more and more distant, paradoxically because they had had become too close, and each day they remained at the strictly professional distance had made her miss his presence in her life even more. She missed the closeness they had.
Her eyes roamed his familiar face, taking in all his usual features. His whole attention was focused on her and for once, his eyes burned with feeling. Feelings for her.
Sam felt her eyelids fall half-closed and without noticing, her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Immediately his gaze zeroed in on her lips and he stepped even closer. Now he was standing near enough that her arm brushed his chest when she inhaled. God, where had all the oxygen gone? Sam had distinct trouble breathing.
Suddenly Jack reached out and with a complicated expression on his face ran his fingers over her cheek. Sighing contently, Sam leaned into his touch, savoring it.
"Sam…!", Jack murmured with a heavy, raspy voice. Oh, not Carter anymore! She shuddered warmly.
Then Sam looked up at him, her head feeling dizzily clouded. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew there was something wrong about what they were doing here, but in all honesty, she couldn't care less right now. Jack was here, with her, and finally the nearness between them was back. Not to mention the telltale tension…!
"Jack!", she answered thickly, hearing her own emotions and desire seep through in her voice.
All of a sudden, his face hardened, giving him a dangerous look. But before Sam could react or understand, he'd already descended on her.
With long, purposeful strides he'd backed her up against the nearest wall in her lab, his body closing her in against the cold concrete. Sam shivered in anticipation and hurriedly threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer. Their lips found each other with almost adept accuracy, crashing together with need. Jack didn't waste any time and pushed her mouth open to let his tongue slip in. Sam moaned eagerly and caressed his neck to show her approval and excitement about his rather surprising attack on her.
God, how long had she dreamed of this? How long had she tried to imagine, only to shut herself off, before she could go somewhere she wasn't supposed to go with even her thoughts?
But now there was no stopping. Although her attention was mostly occupied, Sam still realized that she was making out with her CO in her lab. And boy, did they make out! His hands were roving over her body, being everywhere at once. And her own hands were mirroring his, skipping over the muscles of his body, acquainting herself with him. Their tongues were continually fighting for dominance, making it hard for them to breathe.
He pushed closer to her, as if he couldn't stand the smallest of distance between them, and Sam felt the hard planes of his chest press against her upper body. She should feel caged in, but she didn't. Instead she reveled in the wonderful feeling of this strong man closing in on her, almost curling around her. His hips pushed against hers, one of his thighs slipping between her legs, when she adjusted her stance to accommodate their difference in height. She got on her toes to get closer and one of her hands took hold of his jaw to pull him impossibly closer. Her other hand fisted in the BDU shirt on his back, drawing him in to her even more.
Suddenly, he broke apart from her, breathing heavily. Sam could feel her own chest heave with the need for air and her head spun from the slight lack of oxygen, but she immediately missed his close proximity.
"Sam…!", he drawled, looking down on her with glazed eyes.
Sam possibly felt on top of the world when she saw the emotion dancing through his expressive eyes. For once he didn't hold anything back, but let her see it. She smiled up at him, encouraging as much as appreciating.
He was just about to round in on her once more, when a sudden, unexpected thought made her pull back. Could it be…? Was this somehow… wrong? She had the distinct feeling that they shouldn't do this… But why? It felt so amazingly good! Surely something feeling so very right couldn't be wrong?
Confused, she laid her forehead against his, effectively stopping him from coming any nearer to her. "Jack… I feel like… we shouldn't be doing this…!", she explained, while inhaling deeply, trying to bring her tumbling thoughts back on track.
Yeah, now she was sure. That thought had occurred to her, before. Somewhere. Some when. But astonishingly, she didn't feel any need right now to get to the bottom of it. At all. The only thing that counted was he. Them. Them being together. Right now.
"Frankly, I don't care!", he told her bluntly, before he let one of his hands trail over her throat and collarbone, while the other went around her waist to cup her six and press her even tighter against his hip. Sam's eyes fluttered close, while an involuntary groan escaped her lips, when she felt an unmistakable sign of his interest in her press against her. And there went her rationality…
Smiling appreciatively, she shoved her hands under his shirt, caressing his stomach. "Apparently, me either.", she stated, before he caught her mouth once again in a passionate, heated kiss.
Sighing, which soon turned into a moan, Sam gave up on the thought that had just seemed urgent, somehow. She wanted him. Just as much as he wanted her. Glad, they agreed on this one, Sam pondered idly, before all her conscious thoughts were drained away and pure instinct and feeling took over.
SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ
Daniel rushed down the corridors of the SGC with an alarmed expression on his face. He had to get to General Hammond, and he needed to get there fast! About the lines of yesterday, preferably.
Daniel passed the control room and froze momentarily. Sergeants Harriman and Siler were sitting there, patiently playing a game of chess, the chess board placed on top of the invaluable computer controls that monitored the Stargate, with Siler having his feet thrown up at the keyboard, while Harriman contemplated his next move carefully. Neither of them even spared a glance at the monitors they were supposed to oversee.
Next to them Lieutenant Simmons was immerged in writing a letter, scribbling down furiously, before erasing it again, muttering under his breath something like "No, it has to be more specific!" and "Would she like to hear that?". Daniel was afraid to even imagine, what or more precisely, who the Lieutenant addressed with his letter. Jack would undoubtedly pop a vessel, if he knew that!
But it matched. Daniel was aware it matched the picture of slow insanity that had taken over the SGC. On his way to General Hammond's office he had passed SG-2 playing soccer in the commissary, Janet Fraiser on her way out, claiming to be in dire need of a vacation with her daughter, Doctor Felger looking up wedding rings on the internet with a dreamy expression on his face, two nurses running down a hallway giggling for some reason Daniel didn't even want to know, and Colonel Dixon ignoring his work phone as well as his cell phone which rang with the timely precision that told Daniel that the Colonel's much-beloved wife was calling.
To be honest, it was bizarre to no end. Nobody was actually working anymore. No phone calls were answered, no e-mails read. No one monitored the Stargate or even bothered to acknowledge it, when the alarms for off-world activation blared out. Two SG teams had already returned without so much as anyone batting an eyelash or even thinking of closing the iris, until they had confirmed it wasn't an enemy that was knocking on their door! In fact the iris stayed wide open, no one bothering to close it, so that anyone and anything had every possibility to get into the SGC. Moreover, neither of the arriving SG teams was debriefed or examined post-mission. In short, nothing was going as it should.
It had all gotten out of hand, and frankly, Daniel felt as if he was the only one still sane on this base.
He didn't know, how or when it had all begun, because he'd been holed up in his lab without a break, but he suspected he had managed to find out the cause, why these strange occurrences happened, even if he assumed it to be pure coincidence. All in all, it had taken him a week of working ceaselessly, without a break, until he found out, but eventually he did. But when he tried to rush to Sam and tell her of his discovery, he couldn't find her anywhere. Daniel had searched in all places he could vaguely imagine Sam to be, but she seemed to have disappeared. Then Daniel tried to find Jack but with the same outcome. Both officers seemed to have vanished, although Daniel had at least gotten out of the bored airman at the entrance that they hadn't left the base.
Still, Daniel feared he didn't have the time to comb through the whole SGC, before some catastrophe was bound to happen, so he decided to go straight to General Hammond.
Rushing into the General's office, Daniel was once more presented with a strange picture. Humming happily, the General appeared to be packing…!
"Um, going somewhere, General?", Daniel inquired cautiously.
The General looked up, smiling widely. "Yes, indeed, Dr. Jackson. I'm going on a vacation with my granddaughters!"
Daniel swallowed audibly. "Now? You can't go now, General! We're having problems here!"
The General waved him off carelessly. "What problems, Dr. Jackson? Everything is going as it normally does. They can manage without me for a week or two."
"No, General, this won't do!", Daniel contradicted. "Actually nobody's working here anymore! Nothing gets done!"
The General sighed, but then said: "Well, I can understand my men. It's really not interesting to watch a huge metal ring all day! And being under the earth for such a long time gets depressing. Let them have their fun!"
"Let them…?!", Daniel echoed flabbergasted. "General, we're at the front lines here! Enemies could come here anytime and nobody would stop them right now!"
Daniel couldn't believe it that he, of all people, had to say this to a man of the military!
"Yes.", the General nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe they should just take over earth, then we'd be freed of this hassle and could do whatever we want!"
"Take over?!", Daniel nearly choked on the words. "General, you have to understand! This isn't really you talking here! It's the object! We're all under alien influence!"
"I don't really understand?", the General admitted, sounding only mildly interested. Daniel could see that his attention was already on his forthcoming vacation with his family and he knew he had to seize this chance. It probably was the last he'd get!
"General, it's the artifact SG-6 brought with them from P45-G98!", Daniel explained hastily. "I finally found out what it is used for! It's an object given traditionally as a gift, because it ensures happiness! It reveals the user's wishes and desires and makes them act on them, so they will become happy! But I fear it has seriously gotten out of hand here! We can't handle it anymore!"
The General's forehead creased gloomily as if Daniel had just spit into his soup. Which, figuratively speaking, he probably had.
The General seemed to wrestle with some thought, before, finally, military training and the sense of urge Daniel emanated, seemed to win.
"What do you suggest we do, Doctor?", he asked with visible strain.
Daniel resisted the urge to sigh relieved. They weren't safe yet. "From what Sam has detected, the radiation from the object is able to pierce through any material. So we have to get it away from the base. Probably even from this planet. I suggest returning it to the people of P45-G98."
The General nodded. "Assemble SG-1 and do it.", he ordered.
Daniel winced. "Ah, there's a little problem, General. I haven't been able to get a hold on Jack or Sam…"
The General looked confused, but then seemed to remember the situation they were in. "Well, I'd say we don't have the time to wait for them to surface. Take Teal'c with you."
Daniel nodded and shot out of the door, intend on going through with the order immediately. The faster they got rid of this thing, the better!
SJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ
Teal'c stepped out of the audio vision room calmly. Finally he had finished going through the video material they had on the recently passed days.
As the only one unaffected by the artifact's impact due to the Goa'uld larva in his stomach, General Hammond had ordered him to look through all material they had on the past days and determine what each person had been doing under the influence of this alien artifact. The General had to know, if there had been any serious breaches of protocol he would have to report. If the Jaffa didn't find anything the President was willing to let it slip, because for now it seemed as if the SGC's personnel had only acted out minor desires like skipping their work and playing instead.
The Jaffa raised a brow, when he stepped out into the hallway only to find SG-1 assembled there. Daniel was sitting at the cold ground, while Jack and Sam leaned against the wall next to each other.
"Daniel Jackson. Major Carter. O'Neill.", Teal'c greeted composed.
"T! You finally finished?", Jack inquired.
Teal'c inclined his head in affirmation. "Did you wait for me?", he asked.
"Of course.", Daniel said warmly and Sam smiled to that: "We weren't allowed to help you, so we thought, we could at least show some moral support."
"Yeah, and General Hammond only allows us back on the roaster, when you're finished.", Jack added.
"Jack!", Daniel admonished.
"What? It's true!", the Colonel defended himself.
"Still, you didn't have to…!", Daniel rounded in on the other man, but Jack shooed him away, ticked off.
Teal'c smiled slightly at their usual antics. "So has all gone back to the way it has been?", he inquired.
"Yes.", Sam confirmed. "Thanks to Daniel."
Daniel looked smugly at Jack from Sam's praise and the older man rolled his eyes. "Now that we're talking about it…", Jack began, turning towards Daniel with a curious gaze. "I understand Teal'c, but how come, you weren't infected by that alien technology?"
Daniel scratched his head. "Um, to be exact, I was infected. But when it happened, I was studying the artifact and I really wanted to find out, what it was doing, so my desire for knowledge got enhanced by the artifact."
"So, do I get this right?", Jack drawled. "You only happened to find out, because you were obsessed with your work? And it made you happy to study that thing?"
"Something like that.", Daniel admitted.
"For cryin' out loud, Danny-boy, get a life!"
Daniel scowled at the Colonel. "Hey, I'm surprised Sam wasn't the first one to find it out!", he defended himself. "After all, she was also studying the artifact!"
All eyes shifted towards Sam and the Major swallowed uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, I got… distracted.", she evaded.
"Really?", Daniel asked curiously. "What did you do under the influence of this alien technology?"
Sam turned endearingly red. "I was… sleeping.", she exclaimed.
"Sleeping…?", Daniel echoed surprised.
"Yes.", Sam confirmed and the Colonel chuckled to it. She shot him a withering glance.
"Then you must have been in dire need of a break, if you slept through the last days.", Teal'c concluded, effectively ending the topic.
"Probably.", Sam eluded vaguely, her blush deepening almost unnoticeably.
Again the Colonel snorted and Daniel turned for him. "What did you do, Jack?", he wanted to know.
"Me?", the Colonel questioned, pointing at himself.
"Yeah, you.", Daniel affirmed.
The Colonel inhaled deeply and then a playful grin spread over his face. "Oh, I've been doing some… physical exercises I haven't participated in for a while…", he stated. Sam practically choked at his words and Daniel threw a bewildered glance at her. But when she didn't say anything further, the archaeologist decided to let it drop and bother Jack instead.
"Physical exercises?", he inquired confused. "Like what? Some sort of sports?"
Jack smiled smugly. "You could say that.", he drawled.
"Sports?", the linguist probed anew, still sounding puzzled.
"Yes, Daniel, sports.", Jack said in a certain, definite tone that normally ended their conversation.
"Really? Sports?", Daniel couldn't just let it go.
"Am I not makin' myself clear here…?", Jack quipped. "What's so hard to understand about that?"
"I… I just can't picture it!", Daniel admitted. "I mean, what were you doing? Playing baseball with yourself in your quarters…?"
Jack rolled his eyes at the archaeologist and bickering with each other, they began to walk down the hallway.
Sighing, Sam stepped up to Teal'c. Looking up at him warmly, she stated: "It's good to have SG-1 complete once again."
Teal'c nodded, before turning towards her. "Major Carter."
"Yes?"
Teal'c reached into his pocket and pulled out a video tape, handing it over to Sam. Puzzled, she looked at it, then at the large Jaffa.
"While I logically understand the Tau'ri's reason for such things as regulations I still am dissatisfied with the one that is refusing you and O'Neill to act on your feelings. And while you both clearly were under the influence of alien technology, I do not wish for any of your reputations to be tarnished, so I am terribly sorry to have to inform you that a part of the audiovisual footage concerning the last days has irretrievably vanished."
Sam gaped at him and the Jaffa smiled down at her secretly.
"I believe it may be due to the fact that the audiovisual room was unmanned for an uncertain amount of time. The equipment was not adequately monitored.", Teal'c continued as if musing out loud.
"Thank you, Teal'c.", Sam said, swallowing hoarsely. "We… we've been both prepared to get court-martialed for it…! We have… I have…"
"I understand, Major Carter.", Teal'c interrupted her calmly. "However, while I remain loyal to General Hammond and have obediently followed his order, I feel it is my duty to ensure that two of the most capable officers in the Stargate Program, who are link to many allies throughout the universe, the Free Jaffa included, will not be removed. It is, as I believe you say, in the greater good."
With tears glistening in her eyes, Sam whispered: "Thank you, my friend.". Teal'c nodded.
Jack took this exact moment to glance back over his shoulder, while Daniel next to him rambled on and on about something. Sam waved shortly towards him with the video tape, before letting it disappear under her wide BDU jacket. Jack's eyes widened surprised and his gaze shot over to Teal'c, who glanced back reassuringly. Then Jack smiled relieved, relaxing visibly.
Without bothering with Daniel, Jack let himself fall back, until he walked next to Sam, clapping Teal'c on the shoulder in a silent thank-you, when the Jaffa passed him. Teal'c and Daniel carried on, heading towards General Hammond's office to report that nothing unusual had happened during the whole incident, while Jack fell in step next to Sam.
"So…", Jack drawled. "The only copy?"
"Yes, sir.", Sam answered confidently.
He grinned at her wolfishly. "Show me some time?", he suggested playfully.
"Depends.", she replied coyly.
"Really? On what?", he immediately wanted to know.
"Whether there'll be a time, we'll be allowed to watch this.", she explained, hinting at their not-really-existing relationship.
"Some time, Sam, some time.", he guaranteed her assuredly.
She smiled, trying her best not to yearn for it. Those past few days had been heaven and it had definitely shown her what she was missing out on. "I hope so.", she clarified.
Jack patted her shoulder and then quickened his pace to catch up with Daniel and Teal'c. Sam followed him, although at a more sedate pace.
Suddenly, Jack turned back towards her. "Oh, and Carter?", he asked with the slightest tinge of insecurity.
"Yes, sir?", she inquired, trying her best to not let her disappointment sound out, when he demoted her from 'Sam' back to 'Carter'.
"We're still good?", he wanted to know.
This time, she smiled. Wide and honest. "Oh, never been better, sir!"