I don't own Stargate SG-1 and its characters:

They are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions.

I'm just borrowing their characters for a while to play; I am not making any money from this;

it's just to freeshare with my ff friends.


AN: Sorry for the delay ~ hope to get the next part up quicker ~ Enjoy


Spoilers for Reckoning Part I; Reckoning Part II; Threads


...

Chapter Seven - Resolution

Jack recovered very quickly from his ordeal, and the doctors were very pleased with his progress and released him home on the following day. Sam took two weeks leave and went to stay with him at his house to make sure he rested and didn't use his arm too soon. She stayed in his spare room though, and they kept their interactions as platonic as they could

They had both decided that after waiting so long, they could wait a little longer. They hadn't flaunted regulations in all the years they had served together, whatever some people thought, and starting now, so close to them being actually 'legal', seemed stupid and pointless. Jack sent off his second actually posted resignation of his career, and Sam continued to puzzle over a way for them both to stay at the SGC.

They were both due to the SGC together. Jack would be on light duty only, but he said sitting at a desk would hardly be a hardship. He was antsy and appeared very happy to be getting back, if only temporarily. Sam argued that it proved he needed to still be in the USAF and especially the Stargate program, but Jack countered that after he properly left, it would be different because he could start doing other things he didn't have time for at the present time.

The day before the return day, Jack received a notification from General Hammond to attend at the SGC, and he also requested that Sam come to the meeting as well. Hammond had returned to the SGC temporarily while Jack was out sick, and it was with a sense of deja-vu that they approached Jack's office and saw their old C.O. sitting there.

The General smiled at them both and after checking how Jack was feeling after his accident, asked for them to come into the briefing room, where they found Paul sitting waiting for them. Hammond started the meeting without preamble as soon as they were seated.

"The President is not prepared to accept your resignation, Jack."

"With all due respect, Sir, he can't do that. I have very valid reasons, and I…!"

"I know the reasons, Jack. Colonel Davis has filled me in."

Jack scowled over at Paul. "Has he now, well…" but Hammond interrupted him again.

"Just hear us out please Jack, and if you still want to resign when we have finished, then I will give due consideration, and I will ensure the President does as well." Jack pursed his lips and then nodded.

"OK, fair enough. But if it involves Carter resigning instead of me, then…"

Hammond sighed. "Just listen, Jack. I assure you Colonel Carter is too valuable to lose as well." Getting another nod from Jack, he turned to Paul and said, "Colonel, as this is your idea, perhaps you would like to explain it."

"Well, I thought of this because of the way I am posted to the mountain. I work as a liaison to the Pentagon, and fulfill diplomatic duties with regards to our off-world allies and new contacts, but although I mainly work out of the SGC, I am separate from the Command, and report directly to General Hammond at Homeworld Security. I suggested to the General that perhaps Colonel Carter could assume a very similar role, but with scientific duties as opposed to diplomatic, and also report directly to General Hammond. This would place her outside the chain of command at the SGC."

"I saw merit in this suggestion and put it forward to the President with a strong recommendation that we put it into place. Therefore, Colonel Carter,please accept a posting with immediate effect as a liaison to Area 51 with your main responsibilities being to oversee all investigation and development of alien technology and then to decide to which area they need to go to be developed further. You will be attached to the SGC for the majority of your time and will report directly to me at Homeland Security. Your duties will occasionally merit off-world duty attached to various teams but mainly SG-1 and will also require two to three days per month spent at Area 51 to ascertain progress."

"So…" said Jack slowly. "Carter will still be based here, but will not be in my Command?"

"Exactly, General. And this also means that as you are in different commands, you are free to pursue a relationship with each other."

"Sweet!"

General Hammond went into a little more detail with Sam and then asked her to report to his office in Washington the following week in order to go into more detail on her new duties. In the meantime, he asked her to assess her lab and requisition any new equipment she believed would be beneficial to her new job. He said he was finishing things up and returning to Washington that evening. Jack and Sam took their leave after thanking Hammond and of course Paul, and returned to Jack's house to finish up the last day of leave. All the way down the mountain they were both silent and deep in their own thoughts, but the truck was filled with an expectant excitement. As they entered Jack's house, Sam couldn't hold it in any longer, and she stopped in the middle if the room. Turning to look Jack straight in the eye, she spoke to him breathlessly.

"So…"

"So…"

"We're both still in the Air Force."

"And at the SGC… For the most part."

"But NOT in the same chain of command!"

"Mmm… that's true. Maybe we should think about getting back in the same chain though."

"What?!"

"On a personal basis only… a small chain of two!"

"And just who would be the superior officer?"

"Well, perhaps we should take it in turns? What d'you think?" he raised his eyebrows and peered down at her.

"I think I like that idea," she said with a small smile. As he returned the smile with a smirking grin, she softly added, "I want…"

"What do you want?" he said just as softly. She considered him silently for a few moments and then continued,

"Take me to your room and I'll show you."

"Ooh, Colonel, I just love it when you take command! Come on let's go… I can't wait for my personal presentation!" She smirked at him and then took his arm and led the way to his bedroom.

The next few months were some of the best of her life for Sam. She reveled in her job which gave her all the time she wanted to look at new technology found off-world, without it being whipped out of her control to Area 51. Even when it was moved, she had a great deal of control over what then happened to it, under her new responsibilities with regards to Area 51 itself. The icing on the cake was that she still went through the gate from time to time usually attached to SG-1, renewing and building old and new bonds with Daniel, Teal'c, Cam Mitchell and her protégée Jennifer Hailey.

Having a dream job meant her working life was, for the most part, perfect , and as if that was not enough, when she went home things were even better. The freedom to finally be with Jack in the way she had wanted for so long, even more than she had ever let herself admit, meant that her home life was damn near perfect as well. They had occasional arguments, but any disagreements meant they then had make-up sessions which were phenomenal, adding a spice to an already wonderful sex life.

So all in all, Sam was living in a bubble of near ecstasy when her wayward Dad finally resurfaced, bringing news of the start of the deadliest battle they had possibly ever faced, even more dangerous to the Earth perhaps, than when Anubis attacked and Jack saved them all with the weapon in Antarctica.

The Replicators were coming and on the way they had launched an all-out attack on the Goa'uld. If the Goa'uld couldn't stop them, the Replicators would easily overrun the Milky Way Galaxy in a matter of weeks. And as the Asgard had not been able to completely stop them, the chances that the Goa'uld could were slim indeed.

Close behind Jacob's arrival, Thor also appeared and offered the Asgard's help to try to defeat the Replicators. They were very conscious that they had made Earth known to the Replicators by asking for SG-1's help in the first place. Sam and Thor started to work together to try to work out a way to disrupt them.

Teal'c and Bra'tac then approached Jack and told him they were going to use Ba'al's absence and distraction to attack a sacred temple he held. O'Neill asked them why seizing that temple was so important when they faced such a big threat from the Replicators. Together they explained.

"The temple at Dakara is sacred to all Jaffa."

"It is rich in historical significance. Legend tells it is the place where Anubis rose from the dead."

"It is also the site of the first Prim'ta ritual."

"It is that rite of passage that has bonded us in servitude, ever since. For thousands of years the Jaffa have viewed Dakara as the holiest of sites, the very cradle of our existence. It is the place where the Goa'uld first gave Jaffa their strength and longevity."

"And you really think this place is going to make a difference?"

"Seizing control of the temple there would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Goa'uld do not possess the power of the Gods."

"Even the most stubborn Jaffa would have to question his loyalty to the Goa'uld."

"Listen to me, O'Neill. This war must be fought on two fronts. We will re-ignite the uprising and conquer our oppressors, while you find the means to stop these Replicators. Let us each fight the enemy we know best."

Jack was determined to give them the time they needed; and this led to a disagreement with Jacob, who while still hating the Goa'uld and all they were, also saw the Replicators as even worse. He wanted to warn Ba'al of who they were really facing and advise him to withdraw. Jack was worried this would then give Ba'al the chance to destroy the Jaffa before they had a chance to win.

The use of the Replicator disruptor, that Sam and Thor had developed, worked at first on the few Replicator ships they had tried it on; but then they had adjusted and it no longer worked. Thor barely had time to beam Sam back down to the SGC, before he rapidly accelerated to try to lead them away.

And then came the biggest surprise of all, when Ba'al's hologram appeared through the gate. Despite the threat they were all facing, O'Neill couldn't deny himself the satisfaction of mocking the Goa'uld who had repeatedly tortured him.

"I am aware that you assisted the Asgard."

"Yes?"

"I wish to know what means you possess to fight the scourge?"

"I'm sorry; we must have had a bad connection there for a second. It almost sounded like you were asking me for help."

"The Replicators are a threat to everyone, including the countless humans who populate worlds throughout this galaxy. Now, I propose that we work together, to defeat our common enemy."

"My, this is an occasion. You know that bitter taste in your throat? It's kind of wrapped around your uvula? That's what's left of your pride."

"Perhaps you could curb your amusement for a moment."

Ba'al went on to tell them that he had learned of a hidden weapon on Dakara, which had been built by the Ancients, and was capable of destroying the Replicators. The problem was it would also destroy all other corporeal life in the galaxy. As the Ancients were non-corporeal it would not destroy them, and this probably included the partially ascended Anubis. He wanted O'Neill and his people to find and destroy the weapon before he got back to Dakara.

Ba'al would never admit he was frightened of another Goa'uld, but the hidden subtext in what he was saying was that Anubis wanted the weapon used and was sending Ba'al back to reclaim Dakara from the Jaffa, who had just managed to defeat the few troops left there by Ba'al, while he and the majority of his forces were fighting the Replicators. Anubis wouldn't hesitate to use it, thinking that he could then reseed the galaxy with peoples stolen from other galaxies, and thereby giving him a Replicator free galaxy filled with people who would worship him.

However as one of the beings who WOULD be destroyed by the weapon, Ba'al was obviously not in favor of its use, but could not destroy it himself because then Anubis would know. If the weapon was already destroyed before reaching Dakara then he could just tell Anubis he had not arrived in time. He was coming to Dakara to attack the Jaffa, but was certainly coming a lot more slowly than he could.

Jack hated doing something that Ba'al wanted but he knew they had to find a way to destroy the weapon before Anubis used it on the galaxy. The biggest problem, as Sam pointed out, was that the weapon was hidden, and before they could destroy it, they would have to find it. Being Ancient, it was probably protected by a shield, which meant that bombing the temple, or even the whole planet with nuclear weapons would probably not destroy the weapon.

As those best able to decipher hidden messages and then to work out how to destroy the weapon, Sam and her father went to Dakara, hoping they would also enlist Teal'c's help.

Sam and Jacob DID manage to find the weapon, and Jacob also discovered a way to change it so that it only destroyed the Replicators. Reluctantly they enlisted Ba'al's help to send the signal through all of the gates simultaneously so that all of the Replicators were destroyed at once, denying them the ability to adapt to the weapon.

They were down to the last minutes, but they got it to work, and the Replicators were destroyed. The Jaffa were also victorious. Ba'al unfortunately escaped, but his troops were turned, and the Jaffa were finally free. As for Anubis they discovered a little later that Oma Desala could no longer stomach his treachery and destruction, and she turned on him, locking him into an endless battle where neither can win, but both were locked in for eternity. The galaxy was safe from Anubis at last.

With the remnants of the Goa'uld dominance in shreds, the Replicators defeated, and the Jaffa free, the SGC entered a state of relative calm. The missions were either exploratory or diplomatic, and Paul was kept especially busy. Sam started to look to the future, one she was eagerly anticipating, and she realized that she had many of the answers she had been searching for. She decided it was time to tell Jack about their search for him and what she had discovered in his study.

They needed to move on and build the life she was sure they both wanted; a life together and with a family. Their time together since the abduction had been wonderful, but she knew they had skirted around some issues and not talked about them. Their overdue conversation could be put off no longer. It was time…


AN: A HUGE thank you to Firestar385 for beta reading, Americanizing and generally correcting this work. Any remaining mistakes are mine!

Reviews please, I would love to know what you think. All constructive criticism is welcomed - I want to improve and the best way is to take on board other people's comments.

I hope you will enjoy the reading journey as much as I am enjoying the writing one.