A/Note: I'm back. Oh, this chapter: goodbye Warner! *shameless happy dance* But first, a misunderstanding creates some friction. With shippiness. Yes, it's possible. Warning: tiny Jonas Hanson Cameo. Also, we learn Darrel's connection to Jack. Enjoy!

~ 11 ~

0921h
Tuesday, 6th February 1996
Level 16, SGA

Due to the discomfort of the burn on her shoulder, Sam had suffered a restless night. At around six in the morning, she dressed in the jeans and brown jacket that Janet brought her the previous evening and began to walk through the different levels of the base, one at a time. The exercise felt good and the mental stimulation of seeing new parts of the base was pleasantly distracting. Her pockets were full of tissues in case she began to cry again. She hadn't made it down to level sixteen yet. She'd skip that one. If she went anywhere near her lab, she'd cry and never leave.

She realised that she had been staring at the ground and looked up. Two Airmen were standing by a door; one of them rattling a large set of keys as he opened it. Sam slowed her pace. If her understanding was correct, this level housed the base's brig.

"Time to go, Staff Sergeant," The taller guard, a Captain, spoke to someone in the cell. The other man, a lieutenant, pulled a set of handcuffs from his pocket and entered the room.

Sam stood in the hallway, undetected by the Airmen, curious to see who was going to come out. Although she had been bound to the infirmary all night and she had been so focused on Leslie, she hadn't heard of any arrests being made. Then again, after the morbid events of yesterday, someone being thrown in the brig seemed nearly inconsequential in comparison.

After a minute, two men emerged from the room; one, Sam instantly recognised.

"Darrel?" she gasped incredulously. What the hell was going on here?

As soon as her gasp escaped her lips, the three men noticed her presence. The guards continued to carry out whatever orders they were given, grabbing Darrel by the elbows and walking him towards her. Sam held up her hands, stopping the men in their tracks.

"I'm sorry, but what's going on?" she looked to the guards. She could now read their nametags; Captain Francis and Lieutenant Hanson. Hanson gave her a once-over, but Darrel was the one to answer her.

"I'm under arrest, Sam..." Darrel spoke quietly, his voice low and holding an angry edge. Sam opened her mouth to speak. Why? What had Darrel done? By whose order?

"We need to take the Staff Sergeant to the surface Ma'am. He's bound for a special hearing at Peterson," Lieutenant Hanson added gruffly. He was giving Sam too much attention and she did her best to ignore him.

"Just the General and his problems." Francis pulled at Darrel's elbow roughly, warning him to watch his words. "I made a mistake. That's all. O'Neill flew off the handle at me last night. You want answers: try him."

Francis pushed Sam out of the way. "That's enough. Excuse us, Ma'am." He pulled Darrel down the hallway and towards the elevator. Sam was still rooted to the ground as Darrel gave her a desolate look, the elevator doors closing in front of him.

Before she considered her actions, Sam was powering towards the elevator and punching the button for the lowest level. Why on Earth would the General have Darrel arrested? Something wasn't right. If Darrel and General O'Neill shared some history, then that was one thing. It was entirely another to allow that history to affect the Commanding Officer's judgement.

She needed some answers.

~ SJ ~

Jack stood at his desk, leaning over to sign another form that demanded his attention. Actually, it was the official incident report for the SNAFU yesterday. As he dropped his pen onto his desk, the door to his office flew open. He looked up to see Doctor Carter storm into his office and slam the door behind her. What was it with this woman and bursting in?

"I just ran into Staff Sergeant Warner! He's under arrest!" she growled. If she wasn't so prosaically infuriated, he'd have found her flustered appearance endearing. In this case, he felt conflict was imminent and he hated the fact that he would win. She had already formed an opinion about a situation she didn't understand, which, he could only assume, was thanks to Warner. If she had spoken to him, whatever impression she was now acting under would be seriously manipulated.

Jack simply stared at her as she huffed angrily in front of him. Well, she might as well know the truth. She certainly deserved it. Why, he wasn't sure. Perhaps because she should be the one lying on a gurney. Or because she'd lost a friend.

He turned and went to the grey metal locker in the corner behind his desk.

"Surely there's some kind of mistake. I know you and he have a past but there's no need to blow this out of proportion!" she argued. Did she really know what the hell she was on about? Jack guessed not.

Inside his locker were two vests on coat-hangers, covered in clear plastic covers. Before he pulled them out, he took a calming breath and spoke.

"Do you understand criminal negligence, Doctor?"

"Criminal negligence?" she asked, surprised by the odd question. "No... No, I-" she struggled to understand the connection, "I don't understand. I mean, look, I don't know what he did. He said it was a mistake..."

'It was a mistake to give him this posting.' Jack thought.

"...and I know you guys don't get along after something about his nephew-"

"What did you say?" Jack snapped as he snapped his head around to glare at Sam. Christ! What did Warner tell her?

"What?" She stopped, startled by his outburst. "He said he felt you were partly responsible for something that happened to his nephew..." she shrugged, now uncertain about what Warner had said, "...and he said you 'flew off the handle' last night..."

By now, Jack was fuming. He roughly grabbed the two tactical vests handing in his locker and threw them towards her. They landed and slid across his desk, pushing papers off the end.

"You want to know why I arrested Warner? Because he failed to check the vests, and Dawson is dead because of it!" he yelled as Sam stood in silence, bearing the brunt of his rage. He walked around the desk, driving his prosthetic into the corner of the antique.

"I made the mistake of giving him the promotion and offering him this post," he growled as he loomed over her. At this distance, he could see the tiny beads of sweat forming on her smooth forehead. "He swapped the vests. If he did his job, you, Doctor, would be dead."

As soon as he spoke the words, he regretted them. But God, he needed her to understand the reality of what could have been. The implications of Warner's incompetence. They were dealing with people's lives here. You just can't make these kinds of mistakes. You can't get it wrong.

He could see the effect of his blunt explanation. Carter's hand had found its way to her mouth and she was starting to cry. Jack relaxed and his anger melted away. As for whatever comment made about his son, she obviously didn't know that Darrel was Sara's brother. They may not have been family when he applied for a posting in the SGA armoury, but Jack still felt bound to the man. Even if Darrel had made his feelings regarding Charlies death known.

Jack was the kind of man that thought about his actions before he implemented them. So when he imagined himself pulling the sobbing Doctor into his arms, he chose against it. Not because he didn't want to. It was because he did. Considering how Jack had let his feelings for this woman influence him last night, when he had barked and raged at Warner, he decided that touching her would only make the situation worse.

He could only hope these feelings would pass. His self-esteem wasn't high enough to get involved with anyone.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions..." Carter sniffed. Jack pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. Tissues annoyed him. She accepted it and when she tried to return it, he waved a hand, indicating she could keep it.

"We're okay?" he asked awkwardly, gesturing between their bodies, which he now noticed were only a few inches apart. Sam nodded and blew her nose again. "How's the burn?"

"What? Oh, um, fine. Janet is letting me go today. I think she wants to give me a few days off."

"That's good. Give you time to go to the funeral and sort yourself out."

"I guess. I'll be back next Monday." Sam began her retreat towards the door. At the last second, she turned back, "But I did have an idea when I was walking this morning.

"Oh yeah?" Jack placed his hands on his hips.

"Yes. I was thinking about a barrier for the Stargate. Like the stone one. Something to stop anyone from coming through the gate. We can build an iris using titanium, and it we can place it a few microns about the event horizon, it will allow wormholes to form without the 'Kawoosh'."

Jack blinked at her.

"You thought of that while walking?" He asked, lifting his eyebrows questioningly. Sam smiled and nodded. "Well alright then. Come back to me with some plans and we'll get this iris thing installed." Jack opened the door for her.

"Thank you, Sir," she nodded as she stepped out of his office.

"Don't call me 'Sir',"

"Why?"

Oh, Jack. You are so busted. He didn't want her to use that honorific. It fact, he'd quite enjoy it if she called him by his given name once in a while.

"Because you're not one of my Airmen. You don't have to call me 'Sir'. It's just safer if we stick with 'General' and 'Carter'."

Thankfully, she seemed to agree. Once she was gone, Jack fell back against his closed door. Dammit! The powers that be would never cut him some slack. He was actually in danger of falling for the Sam Carter.

~ SJ ~

Now, off to netball training! We made it to finals! XD This chapter took much tweaking. Next chapter... Oh boy. Pete cameo. Yes, Pete the Stalker. And a Rodney McKay ref. And more shippiness. Sam stands up for Jack too.