Chapter seven
Monday morning had come all too quickly for Sam Carter. She was simply not ready for this, and she wasn't sure if it was having to think about someone else besides herself, or just going back to work after a two-month break that was making her crazy! In the past she had always been punctual and organized. But it seemed like now that she was a mother, she had become one of those perpetually late, disorganized people that she had always despised! Just when she thought she had everything she needed for her first day back at the SGC, she realized she had left one important thing at home. And there was no way she'd have the time to go back after it!
Janet was walking down the hallway toward the day care center, when Sam rushed up to her from behind her, carrying her sleeping infant snuggled to her chest in a fabric pouch.
"Janet! I've got a problem!" Sam shouted.
"Which one? The little person strapped to your chest, or that crease in your face? You look worse than I feel!" Sam looked tired, and she had a long line running from her eye to the bottom of her left cheek, obviously the result of sleeping with her face in her pillow.
"Gee, thanks, Jan! I love you too! I know I look awful, but it's not that. I left my breast pump at home!" she hissed, bending down to whisper in the much shorter woman's ear.
"Ah, I see!" Janet snickered, although she could see how that might be a problem.
"You wouldn't happen to have one around, would you?" Sam asked her hopefully, as they swept into the nursery. Her left breast was already beginning to ache, since she'd not had time to express her milk that morning.
"No, sorry, Sam, the SGC hasn't begun requisitioning those just yet. Put Amy in any free bed," she told her, and Sam went to one and began to remove Amy from the cotton pouch.
Three women were already there, each depositing her offspring into a baby bed. After a quick round of introductions, Janet gave Sam a form to fill out, and a release paper for her to sign. "We can't have you suing the SGC for libel, if your kid gets sick or injured. But I can tell you that in the eight months we've been open, I haven't had any complaints!" Janet assured her.
Sam changed Amy's diaper with trembling hands, as she felt the other women's curious eyes on her and her baby. The women had seemed friendly enough, but Sam suspected she and Amy would be their main topic of conversation at lunch and on breaks for quite some time. This was going to be harder to do than she thought. Was the job really worth it?
"Hey, steady! I can do that, if you're in a hurry," Janet offered. She had never seen Sam so frazzled before.
"No, I've got it. I'm late anyway, so I may as well make her comfortable before I go see the General and get chewed out," Sam told her. Sam rolled her eyes when she heard her name being called over the loud speakers. Apparently the chewing out had already begun!
"I'll put her clothes back on. Now go!" Janet said, pushing Sam's hands away. Janet began snapping the legs of the terry cloth sleeper.
"Okay! See you later, sweetie pie!" Sam told Amy as she gave her daughter's tummy an affectionate pat. And then she dashed out of the big room, as two other women were just entering.
"Hey, I know her!" one of the women said, following Sam's departure with her green eyes. Then she turned back and was greeted by Janet's smiling face.
"Good-morning, ladies!"
"Good-morning, boss! Wasn't that Captain Carter?" the red-haired woman asked.
"Yes, it was...only it's Major now." Janet had expected there would be some raised eyebrows and questions, once it was known that Sam had a kid. She was almost glad she didn't know very much about Sam's personal life anymore, and it would be easy and honest to simply say she didn't know, when people asked her the big one. Just who was Amy's father? She wanted to know too!
The two women noticed the new baby immediately and went to take a look at her, once theirs were safely put into a playpen and bed. The red-haired nurse named Sandra reached down and stared at Amy, while the other one read the name tag that Janet had just put on the bed where the baby lay. Then she put a matching, sticky label on the front of Amy's one-piece outfit. The baby gurgled and cooed at the women, and then laughed outright.
"Amy Carter? No other last name, just Carter? Hmmmm. You don't suppose Carter finally had a moment where she wasn't thinking, do you? I wonder why she let her daddy get away? If this is an example of his work, then I wanna meet him!" Sandra said with a laugh, and Janet just rolled her eyes. If she knew Sandra, the woman would not only want to meet him, but she'd have him in her bed on the first date! Janet sometimes wondered why the woman had ever allowed herself to become pregnant, when she seemed so happy living the single life. At least her son got a lot of attention when he was here in the center. As for what happened at home, Janet shuddered to think!
"So, was Sam married or what?" Sandra asked. They were all gonna find out eventually anyway, so Janet decided to tell them as much as she knew.
"No, Sam wasn't married. She had the baby while she was assigned to Nellis. She's been on maternity leave for the past three months. That's all I know," she said, hoping that would end Sandra's questions. But Janet knew it wouldn't end the gossip. Even though this woman was the subject of a lot of rumors herself, she was still happy to help spread gossip about others.
"Well, will wonders never cease! Just when I thought that woman was exactly what everyone said she was, she goes and surprises me!"
"What did everyone say she was?" the other woman, an airman named Patti, asked.
"We used to call her 'the ice princess', because she wouldn't go out with anyone on base. And apparently she didn't date much at the Academy either, if the stories were true."
"Okay, you two! This is not a social club, so get to your posts!" Janet ordered, although she said it with a smile. The personnel here were great people, but they did need a strong, disciplining hand from time to time. She stayed until the person who was watching the kids that morning arrived, and then she went to her office to prepare for a briefing. She was going to be attending a meeting of Sam's new team later that morning, and she was really looking forward to it. Theirs would be the first all-scientist team!
Sam had reported to General Hammond's office ten minutes late. She stood at attention while he finished a phone call.
"At ease, Major. Major Carter, it's not like you to be late," he admonished her. "I'm sure you won't let it happen again."
"No, sir! I'm very sorry, Sir. I've got no excuse."
"Good, because I wouldn't want to hear any. Your team is waiting in the briefing room, along with Col. O'Neill, who will be going over some things you will need to remember. You must realize I'm not totally comfortable with sending an all-scientist team through the stargate, but it's what the Joint Chiefs and the President want?"
"Yes, sir, I understand that. But with proper recon by other SG teams beforehand, I believe our team can function quite nicely...on its own," she said diplomatically. She had wanted to say, 'without the interference of people whose main goal is not scientific discovery but the confrontation and possible destruction of new life forms and entities,' but she thought better of it. She was being given a chance to prove her point, why flaunt it in his face?
After all, Hammond was pure military; he couldn't be expected to think like a scientist like she did. But why was Jack going to be at the briefing? Did Hammond really think that Jack or anyone needed to remind her that things could go wrong? Before she could decide whether or not to ask him, he pointed her toward the briefing room door and followed her inside.
Sitting around the big, shiny table were Dr. Jay Felger and his assistant Chloe, Col. Jack O'Neill and three people she didn't know. Sam sat down in the vacant chair across from Jack, and nodded her head at each of them, as Hammond made the introductions. Two of the three strangers were scientists who had been chosen to be on her team. Dr. Darcy Moore was a botanist, and Dr. Major Kenneth Baker was a geologist. The other person was a man named Colonel Ryan Blake, and he was Hammond's new 2iC. After Hammond went over some of the new rules that she and her team were to follow, Jack took over, pointing out off-world protocols and guidelines that hopefully would keep them as safe as possible. He stressed, at the end of his talk, that they were to concern themselves only with survival...to seek shelter and abandon all scientific equipment and samples, if anything threatened their lives.
"I cannot stress enough that you are not to engage any enemy or place yourselves in harm's way...not even if it is to try and save the life of one of your own. You are to contact the SGC immediately, and we will send help. Is that clear?" Hammond asked, and four heads nodded in agreement. Sam didn't nod. In fact she was shaking her head negatively.
"Sir, I respectfully disagree! Sometimes quick action is needed to save a life. You can't expect me to run and hide, if one or more of my team is threatened!" Sam announced. "I have just as much experience and training as the airmen on the regular SG teams!"
"Major Carter, I understand your concern and your attitude, and this has been a major concern of mine. But, as I told you before, the Joint Chiefs and the President want to try this in order to reserve our combat trained personnel for where they are more greatly needed. While I acknowledge your abilities as a soldier, you are more valuable to us alive than dead. And since your team will only be sent to planets that have already been thoroughly scouted by advance teams, I see no reason not to agree to these guidelines. Remember also that your team is the first of its kind and will be the model for all future scientific teams. In other words, if the guidelines fail, there will be time for changes to be made. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir, crystal!" Sam stated, but she still didn't like being asked to cower behind a rock until another SG team came to save her ass!
"Alright. In that case, I'll let Col. O'Neill take over this briefing. He'll fill you and your team in on your first destination. Blake, you're with me," Hammond said as he rose, and his second-in-command followed him out of the room. As soon as the two commanding officers were out of ear-shot, Jack made one of his usual disrespectful comments.
"God, I never followed him around like that, did I Carter? I almost expected Hammond to yell 'heel!'" Sam put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile. Jack didn't seem to notice, and began to fill them in on P2X122. After Jack told them about the little planet they'd be visiting the following day, he asked if there were any questions. There were none, and so he left, allowing Sam to finish up with her crew.
"I'll be meeting with you at 14:00 hours to discuss what we will be taking with us," she told her crew. "Until then, get your equipment ready. Make sure you have everything you will need to run on-the-spot tests as well as gather samples," she told them, and then she dismissed them. She was the last to come out of the briefing room, and Jack was waiting for her in the hallway.
"How about a cup of coffee?" he suggested, hoping to talk to her in private for a few minutes. He had gotten some pretty strong vibes from her last night, and her hasty retreat inside the house had really puzzled him. It was almost like she was afraid of him, or of herself, and he wanted to know which it was.
"Okay. I could use something," she admitted. She always tried to drink plenty of fluids, and although coffee was not on her list of acceptable ones, she could have a glass of juice or milk.
"I was just wondering if I'd done something I shouldn't have...last night I mean," he drawled, the inference obvious. "You kind of ran out on me...again. I'm not used to women running away from me. It's usually just the opposite." Luckily they were the only two people in the elevator, or he never would have asked her something so personal or said something so cheeky. She thought he had a lot of nerve, but she also thought it was as hot as could be!
"I'm not running away. I'm right here. You were a perfect gentleman...last night I mean," she said softly, deliberately copying his phrasing and inflection. "I just needed to get to bed early." He was flirting with her, and she was flirting back. Should she be? Did she really want to give him the wrong idea about her? She wasn't that foolish young woman any longer. She had responsibilities now!
"I assure you I would have gotten you to bed...early," he said with a smirk that made Sam blush. Damn the man was a wicked bastard! The door opened and for one beat Sam considered making a dash for safety. Jack was just too dangerous to be around when he was in one of his flirtatious moods.
"I bet you would have," she agreed without looking at him. In fact she kept her eyes on the floor as they walked. She was thankful when she saw that there were quite a few people in the commissary, even in the middle of the morning. At least now he'd have to watch what he said, and she wouldn't be tempted to play his game!
"There must be a lot of people in need of caffeine this Monday morning," Jack joked, going to collect two cups. Sam quickly followed along behind him.
"No! No coffee for me. I'll just have some juice," she said, reaching for a glass of apple juice.
"No coffee? What are you on, some sort of caffeine deprivation regime or something?"
"You could say that." Jack paid for both drinks and followed Sam to a small table back in the corner. As they sat down, Daniel, who was sitting with Janet and two nurses at a table nearby, waved to them. Sam could feel the man watching her and Jack, and it made her a bit uneasy. She knew that Daniel was curious about her and Jack and what had happened between them, and now here she was sitting with Jack and stirring up all of those old memories and questions again. She could have kicked herself for being so foolish. Why couldn't she have simply told Jack 'no' when he asked her to have coffee with him? Why had she accepted his invitation last night?
"A penny for them," he said, watching her expression. Jack knew she'd been a mile away...or at least a few yards. He suspected that seeing Daniel just now had sent Sam's brain into think mode. But what exactly was she thinking about?
"You know Daniel meant well, when he was so angry with you...when I left the SGC. He knew me well enough to know that I was hurting, and he also knew how much I loved my job here. He was only trying to help. I guess he thought if he knew what went wrong between us, he could moderate some sort of truce or something. You know how he is...always wanting to arbitrate people's problems?"
"Yah, and I got that. I really did! But I was angry too. He wasn't the only one blaming me for you leaving, you know. I blamed me too. I still feel really bad about it. I should have tried harder to make you stay."
"Don't worry about it! Things worked out very well for me. I got a chance to tinker with more alien technology that any scientist could ever dream of! And now I've got a chance to head my own team. I'm not sure that would have happened, if I hadn't gotten months of supervisory duties under my belt. You have nothing to feel badly about, Jack," she assured him, and she meant it. She still felt responsible for the whole sordid affair, but at least some good things had come from it.
TBC
