Last chapter! I know this was short, but I hope you still enjoyed it :) Thank you for reading!
Sam was not having a good day. First, nothing was going right with her research. One of the new scientists messed up the experiment, so now they had to start all over again. Then, when she finally got to take a break and work on her motorcycle, Cam decided he wanted to "help". She finally got him to leave by hinting that the infirmary was mostly empty today. He still thought no one knew about him and Carolyn, silly boy. She decided to call Jack to see how his day was going, but when he answered, he sounded flustered and seemed eager to get off the phone, which confused her. It seemed to her that their admittedly unorthodox relationship had been going well. Living several time zones apart made it difficult, but she thought they were getting the hang of it. She hoped nothing was wrong. She had decided not to worry about it. She would just end up over-analyzing the situation and getting worked up for nothing. So she went back to work. Or at least tried to. After that, Landry called to tell her shift in the control room was moved up, and when she tried to talk to him about it, he shut her down and said she had to be there, no questions asked.
So there she was, in the control room, running diagnostics, bored out of her skull. She leaned back in her chair while the computer ran some tests and combed her hair back with her fingers. She'd started growing it out again, and it was just below her chin. She was liking how it looked, but sometimes it drove her nuts. It was long enough to get in the way, but still too short to tie back. She'd also tried bangs, and now they were getting too long and were hanging in her eyes. She knew she looked ridiculous, but she couldn't help staring at them and trying to blow them out of her eyes. And all of the talking was driving her nuts. If everyone would just be quiet, she could get some work done.
Wait. She froze. People. Lots of people. She looked up from the computer and down into the gate room. Everyone was suddenly very busy, checking charts and, trying to look occupied. They weren't very good at it. She could see most of the charts were upside down, and lots of people were chanting "peas and carrots" over and over, or just mouthing nothing at all. She tore her eyes from the gate room below and shifted her gaze to the rest of the control room. It was packed. People who had never even entered the room before were there, attempting to look busy. Weapons trainers were intently studying meaningless flashing lights, and the geologists were staring at a blank monitor as if it was their latest find off-world. Several SG teams were there, as well as scientists she knew, and some she didn't. The rest of her team was there too. As soon as Sam looked their way, Vala quickly turned and pretended to be intently studying the light switch. Daniel rolled his eyes at this and smiled reassuringly at Sam. Teal'c nodded at her, and Cam waved at her, looking confused.
She checked her watch. It was 15:55. As turned around to ask someone what the heck was going on, someone started to descend the stairs from the conference room. A hush to fell over the room, almost as if everyone had been waiting for this moment.
Each step seemed significant in Sam's mind, which was a weird and un-Sam like feeling. Three people came down the stairs one by one, their bodies appearing from the feet up. First was the familiar gait of General Landry. Then there was the equally familiar, yet more surprising shape of General Hammond. But the sight of the third person blew all the other surprises away. First, she saw an old, worn out pair of combat boots. Then an even more worn out pair of BDU pants, followed by a black, short-sleeved t-shirt and a familiar, silver-haired head.
"Hey Carter," said Jack smiling.
"Umm hi, sir."
After an awkward pause where Jack grinned at her and she smiled back confusedly, he cleared his throat. "Um, sorry about the crappy clothes," he said, looking down at his attire. "I would be wearing my civies, but ironically, the Air Force lost my luggage."
"Sir, it's great to see you," she said standing up. "But, um, what are you doing here? I thought you had meetings today?"
"What, you aren't glad to see your old CO?" he teased, causing her to grin. "Well you were right, but I rearranged my schedule a little bit. I think I'll let Landry explain." He turned to the general and handed him a letter. "Hank, do you mind?"
As the general unfolded the letter, grinning, Jack turned to face a still confused Sam, and Landry began to read. " 'According to his own wishes, and taking into consideration his many accomplishments in all his years of service, on this day at 18:00 hours-' "
"16:00 here," interjected Jack.
" '-General Jack O'Neill will be officially retired from the Air Force. He will still be a consultant for the Stargate program, but he will no longer serve as a general within that program.' Signed, President Hayes. 'P.S. "Go get her Jack." ' "
Jack's eyes never left Sam as the letter was read.
Sam looked stunned. "Are you sure, Sir? I mean, you love being in the Air Force. You shouldn't give that up for…" She looked down, leaving the phrase hanging.
Jack stepped closer so they were a few feet apart. "Carter, I've enjoyed my time in the Air Force. But I don't want to waste any more time. It's been long enough."
"Hear hear!" interjected a voice that sounded a lot like Daniel, resulting in some snickers and a number of assents.
Jack glared in that general direction, but then looked at Sam and continued, "Plus, being a consultant means I can still do all the fun stuff without being tied to a desk." Sam still didn't meet his gaze. "Hey, look at me Carter. This is what I want." He paused, a sudden look of panic on his face, "Is this what you want? Cause I didn't even think about- I mean- for cryin out loud-" She laughed at the look of fear on his face and nodded vigorously. He smiled, obviously relieved.
"Good. Hey Walter?" he asked, keeping his eyes on Sam. "How long til 16:00?"
"Already on it, sir," said Walter, smirking as he pressed a key on the computer, revealing a timer counting down to 4 pm on all monitors. "About 30 seconds, sir!"
All of the base personnel began to count down together. The whole time, Jack and Sam just stood there, looking at each other and smiling. They looked like they thought they were the only two people in the world.
"5…"
Mitchell looked around and counted down with everyone else, but he still looked confused.
"…4…"
Vala bounced up and down in excitement, squeezing Daniel's arm.
"…3…"
Daniel didn't even mind. He just smiled at her and returned his gaze to his two closest friends and whatever insanity Jack was about to pull.
"…2…"
Teal'c looked contentedly at his friends, the only one who knew what was about to happen.
"…1…"
Jack reached out and took Sam's hand.
"…0!"
The whole base cheered as Jack stepped closer to Sam, put one hand on her waist and the other on her neck, and kissed her. They roared louder as he dipped her and continued to kiss her. Sam looked a little startled at first, but she soon recovered and put her arms around his neck.
Still leaning over, they pulled away and grinned giddily at each other.
"Very dramatic, Jack," Sam said, still smiling. "Very well done."
"It was, wasn't it?" said Jack, rather pleased with himself. He gazed at her tenderly. "Just so you know, I love you, Samantha Carter."
Sam's eyes started to well up and she grinned. "I love you too, Jack O'Neill." She kissed him again. They stood up to the wild cheers of the base personnel.
Vala rushed up and tackle-hugged Sam. "Congratulations!" She squealed.
"Took you long enough," teased Daniel, smirking.
"Indeed," agreed Teal'c, wearing an uncharacteristically large smile.
"Thanks, guys," said Jack. Then, in a louder voce, he added, "Hey, everyone, I set up a little party in the commissary. Let's go eat cake and red and blue jello!"
Everyone cheered as he turned to Sam and held out his arm. "Shall we?" She placed her hand proudly on his arm. "We shall!"
Almost everyone headed straight for the party, including a rather pathetically confused Mitchell, comforted by Carolyn. But many who had been on the base for years, including the rest of SG-1, stayed as Walter pulled out an old, battered money box and a rather tattered notebook with a long list of names and dates and immediately started sorting through the long-standing betting pool. As it had grown, it had to be reorganized over and over to accommodate the large number of bets. Most of the people in the room had lost money a long time ago and were just curious to see who won. Daniel and, surprisingly, Vala did very well, but Teal'c blew them all out of the park, being the closest by far. Not that anyone was surprised.
"Congratulations, Teal'c," said General Hammond.
"Thank you, General Hammond."
"Remind me to ask you next time I make a bet," chuckled the general, who hadn't done very well, miscalculating by several years.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting that I help you cheat, General Hammond?"
"No, no," laughed the general. "More like, friendly guidance."
Teal'c nodded. "If I were ever to make such a suggestion, I might advise my friend to place his next bet quickly."
"What do you mean?" asked the general, confused.
Teal'c didn't respond, but merely glanced over at the crowd surrounding Walter.
General Hammond followed his gaze, his eyes finally locking on Daniel and Vala. She was jabbering happily at him as she counted her winnings as he responded and rolled his eyes. When she had safely tucked her money away, she grabbed Daniel's arm and pulled him to the door to head to the commissary. To the general's surprise, Daniel smiled tenderly at the back of Vala's head as he let her pull him out the door.
General Hammond looked back at Teal'c, surprised. "Really?"
Teal'c nodded solemnly.
"Has Dr. Jackson figured it out yet?"
Here, Teal'c smirked and shook his head.
The general grinned. "Here we go again!" he said as he headed straight for Walter, pulling out his wallet.
"Indeed," said Teal'c. And he left to join his friends before all the cake was gone.
THE END