Here is a new chapter where Sam will be confronted with a totally unforeseen thing from her memory.
Thanks for your reviews and thanks to Stephanie!
CHAPTER 10
At seven o'clock Sam asked Daniel to join her for breakfast in the mess. It had just opened and they would surely find Teal'c there – he loved to take his time eating, and he was always the first there when the mess opened. – Sam also hoped to see her father there. The day before, Jacob and Freya had presented their new teleportation device and she was not able to attend, 'too dangerous and a concern with regards to the leak of information' Anise had said. Today, they would all work together with Thor, and Sam put all her hopes in them. She prayed she would be able to rest in the evening without reliving frightful memories.
Daniel and she went to the mess when, in the corridor, they met Jack. Given the late hour Sam had gone to rest, he looked at her with accusing eyes.
"Hey you. Already awake Carter?"
"Good morning General. Oh you know me, I never wake up late..." she replied, trying to sound convincing.
He frowned before answering.
"Three hours of sleep doesn't seem much to me."
Sam blushed and looked at Daniel, glancing at him hoping he wouldn't mention the time they had already spent together this morning, which would considerably reduce her estimated amount of sleep.
"We're going to eat, care to join us?" The archaeologist asked.
"With pleasure Daniel, if Teal'c hasn't eaten all the pancakes!" Jack finally replied playfully.
"Oh yes it's Sunday. I like this new menu in the mess." Sam said.
"Ah I told you, with me as General there would be some changes." Jack replied with a wink.
They entered the mess in a lighter mood, and discovered Teal'c sitting with his meal, accompanied by Jacob and Freya.
"Sam!" Jacob said, rising to kiss his daughter.
"Hi dad. Everything's okay?"
"Yes, we've finished exposing the device to your colleagues, we'll be able to join Thor and you today. Did you find something interesting?"
"Not yet, but Thor worked on it alone when the General ordered me to go and rest."
Jacob turned his head towards Jack, his gaze interrogating him.
"Ah you know Jacob, there are orders I have to give that sometimes go beyond me." Jack said with a smile.
They all began to smile then, surely due to fatigue Sam chuckled. It was true that having to order her to go to bed might seem completely out of place in a military base. Her laugh was contagious, and it was soon a laugh which took them all. It was good after so much tension in the last few hours. They settled down at Teal'c's table, smiling at the hilarity of the situation. Freya on the other hand remained stoic, not understanding the reason for their laughter. The breakfast continued in good humour, then the two tok'ra and Sam headed for the lab. Thor awaited them.
"Good morning Thor. I hope you've not been waiting long." Sam said, a little embarrassed.
"Good morning, Colonel. Don't worry, I teleported myself when I saw you leave the table after your meal. I have some information that should interest you. I was able to synthesize a device." Thor replied.
Sam's heart leapt. Finally she would be able to be free of her burden. But she did not stay happy for long…
"It still remains to find the right frequency." Jacob said.
"Well, that's what I thought before I did a few calculations."
"Oh." Sam said.
"Yes, and it's a 'Oh Oh' Colonel Carter." Thor replied.
If the situation had not been so critical, Sam would surely have smiled at Thor's phrase.
"What do you mean?" Freya asked.
"If we use the wrong frequency, it could have irreversible effects."
It was at that moment that Sam's cell phone rang and she pick it up.
"Carter. ... Yes, today? ... I don't know yet ... I ... Yes I know..." then she hung up as the phone in her lab rang.
"Stay on line."
She walked over to the phone on her desk.
"Carter. Yes Sir. We've made progress but it'd be better that Thor comes to debrief with you and the rest of us... Yes in 10 minutes. I tell them ... Yes, Sir."
She hung up and then picked up her cell phone again.
"In two hours ... Yes. See you later."
She hung up and raising her head, was met by three pairs of eyes.
"The General will be waiting for us in the briefing room in ten minutes." She said to them.
So they went out of the laboratory headed for the briefing room, meeting Daniel on the stairs. They advanced in silence, Sam and Daniel leading the way. When they reached the room, they saw a woman in Jack's office. She smiled sweetly, a smile that Jack returned. Not a "special Sam" smile, but still a smile.
"Who is that?" Sam asked Daniel.
"Kerry Johnson, I think. CIA liaison officer." He replied, a little astonished to see her here.
Jack said something and Kerry laughed in Jack's office. Almost imperceptibly, Sam clenched her teeth, her heart pounding. It was no surprise that after clinging heavily to a chair she found herself on Edora. Jack didn't look at her. Jack wanted Laira to return with him to Earth. And Sam's heart tightened so badly. She had spent three months without him, almost had no sleep, eating just so her brain would not stop thinking and finding a way to get him out of there. And he ignored her, entirely and miserably. She clenched her teeth with pain.
When she opened her eyes, she noticed with relief she was not on the ground. Always firmly clinging to the chair. Daniel looked at her, and without a word, took her hand to hug her. A gesture that was just reassuring, but also questioning. He wanted to know if his friend was okay. She gave him an encouraging smile, but deep inside herself, she was in pain. Did he hurt when she was with Pete? It was a silly question, since Kerry Johnson smiled in his office, to her CO. Her CO. Sam gave herself a mental slap. She had to stop thinking. Then Jack turned his head after looking his watch and he saw that he was expected in the briefing. He opened the door of his office and he let Kerry pass in front of him, and then followed her into the meeting room.
"I'd like to introduce Kerry Johnson, the CIA liaison officer. The President asked for her presence with regards to the situation we are facing." Jack started.
They all sat down around the table.
"The problem more precisely." Kerry said. " Is Colonel Carter happens to be a real security risk to this base. Therefore she's a problem to the security of the country and more specifically, Earth."
Daniel did not know if Agent Johnson had seen Sam before, but something told him that in the next two seconds she was going to see her, and not in her best light.
"I beg your pardon?" Sam squeezed her teeth. "The PROBLEM, as you call it, is in this room, by the way."
Sam's tone was on appeal.
"I'm sorry Colonel Carter, I'm just trying to expose the facts." Kerry defended herself.
"And the fact is that the 'problem', as you call her, is above all a human, and a member of our team. I think the word 'problem' is dramatic." Daniel said.
"If you want." Kerry replied.
"So Thor, have you found something?" Jack asked to cut short the altercation.
"Indeed O'Neill, but as I explained to Colonel Carter, the device that I synthesized must be used at the right frequency." Thor said.
"So you're looking for the right frequency and the trick is played?"
"No. If the device isn't used at the right frequency, it may cause irreversible damage."
"What does that mean?" Jack asked.
"It would burn my brain." Sam said.
"Ah. Yes indeed it's a pr ... a worry." Jack said, catching himself.
He did not wish to suffer Sam's wrath.
"I have a device, however, which allows me to plunge the Colonel into a controlled memory. This would allow us to see how often Ba'al used his device." Said Thor.
"Is that safe?" Jack asked.
"Yes."
"Perfect, when can we start?" Sam asked.
"I can come back in a few hours with the device."
"Good." Jack said.
Thor teleported with a nod.
"Pending the return of Thor, it would be more prudent if the Colonel stays in her quarters." Kerry said.
"Excuse me?" Sam said indignantly.
"Every minute you may reveal secrets about this base, working in your laboratory is too dangerous. I therefore recommend you all stop of your duties until the situation is resolved." Kerry explained.
That was too much for Sam who stood up and pointed to Kerry.
"I won't reveal anything at all! You don't know what's going on inside my head agent Johnson! How dare you accuse me?!"
"Colonel, sit down." Jack said calmly.
But Sam did not listen.
"The 'problem' as you have so well named me, saved the Earth's buttocks, and therefore yours, more than once. So unless you know nanotechnology better than me, I'll go to my lab and try to save my own life!"
Sam walked away to the stairs and Jack followed her.
"Carter back in the briefing."
"No, General!"
"No, General?" He asked, not sure if he had heard her right.
"No, General." She said again, staring directly into his eyes.
She was astonished not to fall into a memory with so much anger in her, but she accommodated herself very well. She finally went down the stairs under the watchful eyes of Teal'c, Jacob and Daniel. The latter apologized and went off in pursuit of Sam.
"And not a word about the insubordination General?" Kerry said, offended.
"Briefing's over." Jack said to the whole team.
They all got up to leave the room.
"Johnson. My office." Jack said dryly.
Daniel was well aware that Sam had been hurt by Johnson's words, but surely more by the fact that Jack did not say anything to defend her. He passed his head through the door of Sam's lab, and saw her pacing in front of the white board. There were tears at the corners of her eyes threatening to roll down her cheeks. He knocked to warn her of his presence and she turned to him, then back to the white board. Daniel knew it was her way of inviting him to come in. He closed the door.
"She was a little too strong with you" He said.
Sam gave a little nervous laugh.
"I'm a 'problem.' Do you realize that?!" Sam exclaimed.
"Sam you're not a problem."
"She seems to think otherwise, and the General did nothing to contradict her." She replied dryly.
And there they were. Daniel had guessed it was Jack who had hurt her the most.
"I don't think so. He summoned her to his office after the briefing ended." Daniel said.
"I can see her smile from here Daniel." Sam replied.
"Are we still talking about what she told you or what you saw before the briefing?" The archaeologist asked his friend.
Sam lowered her head.
'Touched.' He thought.
"Excuse me, Daniel, I'm losing one's temper for nothing." She said wiping a tear away with the back of her hand.
"Hey." He said as he approached her. "You don't have to apologize. No one can understand what you're experiencing right now. I understand that it's complicated to manage."
He hugged her and rocked her back and forth. His friend seemed totally lost, and it hurt his heart. Someone knocked at the door, and they moved away from each other.
"Come in." Sam said.
The door open and she saw her father poke his head through the opening of the door.
"I not disturbing anything?"
"No dad, come in." Sam replied.
"I'll leave you with you family." Daniel said.
He kissed Sam on the forehead.
"Hold on, we'll find a solution."
He walked out the room and closed the door behind him. Jacob looked at his daughter.
"You're both close." He said with a smile.
"Yes, Daniel is..." she began, raising her head and seeing her father's smile. "He's here for me right now. What are you going to imagine?"
She hit him on the shoulder with a smile.
"I didn't say anything, I just made the remark that you were close."
"You should see him with Janet then." she replied with a wink.
"Daniel and the doc?" He asked, surprised.
"The bets are going well."
Jacob put his hand and her shoulders while looking at her.
"I trust you. Are you ready for the session with Thor? This may be a bit painful for you."
"It'll be okay. It's necessary if I want to get rid of the nanites."
"So... Pete?" Jacob asked
"Pete?"
"When were you going to talk about him?"
Sam panicked. Had her father learned about the proposal?
"Uh, I…" she sputtered.
"He's good for you?" Jacob asked.
"Not too bad." she replied.
Jacob winced.
"Are you happy?"
"Yes. Dad you don't have to worry I haven't answered yet, you'll be the first to know." Sam said.
"To know what?"
'Crap!' she thought.
"Well to know when it'll be serious. With someone." she replied.
Jacob looked at her. He did not quite understand his daughter, but decided not to pay attention.
"You know Sam you can have whatever you want if you really want it." Jacob said.
"You already told me that."
"I did?" He asked surprised.
'Crap again!' she thought.
She had completely forgotten that her talk with her father on the Prometheus was not really real. She was tired.
"I'm a little tired daddy... Pete will arrive from any minute now." Sam said to him.
"Pete' coming here?" Jacob asked.
"Yes, we have to talk." Sam replied.
"Oh..."
The laboratory phone rang and Sam answered it.
"Carter. Yes... I'm coming thank you Sergeant."
She hung up and looked at her father.
"He's here." She said.
"I'll let you go. See you later sweetheart."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Just after the briefing, Jack had summoned Kerry to his office.
"What was that exactly?" Jack asked dryly.
"Insubordination, and you choose to ignore it." Kerry replied.
"I'm not talking about the Colonel. That's my problem. I'm talking about your speech." He said dryly.
"I told the truth Jack."
"You questioned her integrity!" Jack yelled.
"You know that she represents a danger." Kerry said, not impressed.
"Carter doesn't have to be in her lab to run her brain."
"No, but there are tools to help her to do that."
Jack sighed. Kerry approached him and hugged him.
"Listen, I'm sorry. I was a little too strong with her." Kerry said.
"Ah really?" Jack replied still not looking happy.
"I'm going to apologize to the Colonel."
"Thank you."
Jack lowered his head and kissed her.