Author's note: This is the longest chapter and also one of my favorites. It also brings it full circle to the conversation between Jack and Elizabeth Weir that inspired this entire fic (Originally: "Next time, consider bringing Carter with you."). Hope you like it and, once again, thanks for all the reviews!
Jack entered Elizabeth Weir's former office as the woman looked around the now-empty room.
"Getting all settled in?"
It must be weird for all of them to be back here after what had happened, and without all the items and people that had probably made it feel like home the past few years.
"Easily," Weir replied. "Although their decorating? Little bit spartan for my liking. But the Replicators did do a fine job on rebuilding Stargate Operations back to its original state. How about yourself? Do you check out okay?"
He realized that she wasn't aware of his results yet, although it should have been obvious by the fact that he wasn't being followed by several marines as he wandered around the city.
"Apparently I don't have any little tiny robots floating in my bloodstream," Jack replied, "which is always nice to hear."
He still had a headache from the mind probe, but knew from experience that it would fade in time. His muscles were also sore from all the running and swimming around the city he'd done recently.
Still, it was nice not to have to worry about nanites. The experience he had being infected with them before held bad memories. He and Weir shared a look that told him she felt the exact same way.
"That it is," she replied. "So what now?"
As much as Elizabeth wanted to stay on Atlantis, Jack wanted to get the hell out of here. He and Carter were planning to catch the next puddle jumper out and then book what he assumed would be insanely expensive last minute tickets to the Bahamas after a debriefing at the SGC. They'd stop at home first, of course, to grab necessities and change. Jack needed to take a shower too, both because he was overdue and because it would warm him up. He was still feeling chilled from his swim earlier.
"Oh, a jumper ride home to the SGC," he answered, "followed by a hot shower, followed by a hot toddy, followed by…"
He shut his mouth, barely catching himself before he completed the anaphora with the words "a hot blonde." No need for Elizabeth Weir to know exactly how he planned to spend his long overdue leave.
Jack knew that Sheppard had figured out his relationship with Sam - it would have been kind of hard not too given the way he freaked out after McKay's message - but he was fairly sure that the rest of the Atlantis team was still in the dark.
"I was thinking a little more selfishly," Weir said. "What are the chances of my team staying here in Atlantis?"
He sighed. Did no one understand that he wanted to take a break from work right now? He was exhausted and technically off duty and all of this should be someone else's problem at the moment.
"Oh. Elizabeth, if it were up to me, I'd-"
"It is up to you,' she interjected.
"Right." It wasn't really up to him. He wasn't actually the leader of Earth. It was up to the bureaucracy that he represented. Still, he fought for her to stay on Atlantis before. He supposed he could do it again. "You can stay."
"Really?"
She looked like a kid on Christmas day.
"You're probably still gonna have to get the rubber stamp from the IOA, but since you saved Woolsey's ass and you did a fair job on mine, I don't think that'll be a problem."
Nobody would have faith in Woolsey to run things on Atlantis at the moment anyway and he suspected the man wouldn't want to be based here right now even if he was asked.
"Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say thank you very much."
It was nice to get a thank you. So different from Rodney McKay claiming a thank you that wasn't offered and forgetting that Jack almost drowned saving his ass.
"Hey, you came back to rescue me," Jack admitted.
The rescue had been unexpected. He'd had so many miracles in his life that sometimes he wondered how many of them he actually deserved.
"Hmm," she replied. "Yes, we did."
In those hours he'd been hiding with Woolsey, Jack had been preparing to die. He still had some regrets, but not nearly as many as he used to. At one point he'd flashed back to that time with Carter in Antarctica when he told her he'd regret dying. It would have been the same here. He also would have regretted not having more years with her.
"Of course," he cautioned Weir, "next time, consider not interrupting my vacation to bring me to Atlantis in the first place."
She smiled, and he could tell she'd go along with just about anything he said because she was so happy to be back.
"Welcome home," he added.
Jack was about to walk past her when she threw her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. He wasn't used to such displays of emotion, especially at work, and awkwardly patted her back until she released him.
"I'm really happy to be back."
"Really?" he said with a straight face. "I couldn't tell."
She was still beaming when he walked away and went down the stairs.
He planned to go to his room and pack up his suitcase before he forgot he even had one here, but he was waylaid by Richard Woolsey in the hall.
"General O'Neill, I wanted to say thanks."
"For what?"
Jack rubbed his forehead and wondered how long this conversation would be. It was nice when people thanked him and all, but now that he knew he was allowed to go home, he didn't really want to draw out his time in Atlantis.
"I realize that I wouldn't have survived if I'd been here on my own. I must have made it more challenging for you and I appreciate that you stuck with me."
"Not a problem, Richard. Think nothing of it."
Jack started to walk away and then Woolsey spoke again.
"You know, a few years back, when you led SG-1, Senator Kinsey tried to tell the President that you and Samantha Carter were involved in an inappropriate relationship."
Jack stopped and turned to face Woolsey.
He wasn't exactly surprised, given all the other actions Kinsey had taken against them, but the insinuation still pissed him off. They had followed the rules for so long, to their own detriment, and Carter didn't deserve to have those rumors following her around.
"Do you have a point, Woolsey, or did you just want to spread baseless lies about a woman who just helped save your ass?"
Woolsey looked offended, as if somehow Jack had impinged on his honor instead of Woolsey threatening Carter's. Jack turned to leave.
Woolsey grabbed his arm to stop him.
"You may not believe me, Jack, but I consider myself to be a man of integrity. I try to do what's right. I was uncomfortable when Kinsey brought those speculations into our conversation. President Hayes felt that people were entitled to their feelings and I agreed for the most part. There was no evidence that any regulations had been broken."
"No regulations were broken," Jack insisted.
He wondered if he should just walk away from this conversation before he got himself in trouble. Just in case, he shoved his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't be tempted to punch the man in front of him.
Woolsey nodded. "I assumed as much. I read your mission reports back in the day. Your tendency to break the rules only popped up when you were under an alien influence or when it was for a greater cause. You never seemed the type to break the rules for personal reasons."
Jack lifted his eyebrows, well aware that Woolsey used to argue against breaking the rules in any situation, regardless of how justifiable the cause.
"I don't know if I ever considered how much some of you have given up personally to help defend Earth," Woolsey continued.
Jack didn't like to think about all the sacrifices he'd made. He only liked to hope they were worth it in the long run.
"Again, do you have a point?"
Woolsey straightened, holding himself with more confidence than he'd displayed for most of their time together here. He also gave Jack a hint of a smile.
"I just wanted to say...it must be nice to have a girlfriend who would travel to another galaxy to save you from certain death, even after you canceled your trip with her twice."
He should have known that Woolsey would figure it out. Jack was just surprised that he looked pleased about it.
Maybe Woolsey did feel like they were friends now. Surviving death together did seem to give some people that impression.
"Three times now," Jack corrected, "what with the Replicator attack and all."
Woolsey laughed.
"She'll forgive you. I saw the way she looked at you in the control room."
And here Jack assumed they'd pulled it together so well after their impromptu save-the-day makeout session.
Jack never thought of himself as the sharing type and he certainly never had any interest before in confessing anything to Richard Woolsey, but he found himself opening his mouth and sharing what he personally felt was the biggest news in two galaxies.
"Sam'll have to forgive me. She just agreed to marry me."
Woolsey looked stunned.
"Nice talk, Richard."
As he walked away, Jack heard a belated shout of congratulations.
He almost made it to his room when he ran into Rodney McKay. Jack gave a terse greeting and continued into the room, making McKay follow him.
"Didn't you have some diagnostics to run?"
"Already started," McKay said. "I just have to check the results once they're done."
"If you want to thank me for something," Jack grumbled as he walked towards the bed, "I don't care."
Jack picked up the suitcase and threw it on top of the comforter. Then he stopped.
Why was he standing here with McKay and packing when he could be in this perfectly serviceable bed with Sam? He must be tired. There was no other reasonable explanation for the fact that he decided packing was a high priority.
"I'm not here to thank you for anything," McKay responded as he watched Jack pack, confusion evident on his face. "I'm here to ask if we're going to be able to stay on Atlantis."
Jack added the chess set and the pack of cards on top of the first layer of clothing.
"I already told Weir yes. Is that all?"
McKay didn't answer so Jack turned around. The scientist was still there.
"What?"
He didn't care if he sounded irritated. He just wanted Rodney McKay to leave.
"I thought I'd see if you were doing okay," McKay said, shifting nervously.
That was shockingly kind coming from a man who usually was much more focused on himself and his ideas than others' feelings.
"Okay about not dying? Yep, I'm okay with that."
Jack grabbed his socks and tie from the drawer and threw them in the suitcase. His service dress uniform, which would desperately need dry cleaning to remove all the wrinkles, went next.
"I meant," McKay continued, "the whole message that Sam asked me to tell you that made you think she was injured."
Jack grabbed the next set of clothes and moved them over to the suitcase.
"Oh that?"
He grabbed his dress shoes from under the bed and added them to the pile before looking back at McKay.
He was fidgeting a little and looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"I wanted to make sure you weren't heartbroken when you found out it was all part of the plan. That the message was only meant to distract you. That she didn't mean it."
Jack started laughing and it took a while before he was able to stop.
"General? Are you okay?"
He looked at Rodney McKay, who for some reason seemed to be concerned about his well-being.
"Sorry, I've probably been up for more than thirty hours now. I'm a little punchy."
Now that he thought about it, with the medical tests and conversations with Caldwell and making out with Carter at the end of the pier it was probably way more than thirty hours.
Jack looked over at McKay's hesitant face and nearly laughed again.
"Heartbroken. God, I've got to tell Carter you said that. She'll get a kick out of it."
Sam would think this whole conversation was hilarious. Who would have ever thought that Rodney McKay would be worried that he helped Sam Carter break Jack's heart?
"So you're okay then? That it was just part of the plan?"
Jack tossed the final items from the drawers in his suitcase and zipped the thing up.
"McKay, I know exactly what Samantha Carter thinks about me. No need for you to worry."
Speaking of, he needed to get to Sam so that they could take a jumper back home. The Atlantis team would be staying a few days with the Daedalus crew to inventory the damage to the city before heading back to Earth, but Jack planned to get the hell out of here as soon as possible.
McKay took a deep breath. "Okay, good. Just didn't want to get on your bad side because of the whole situation."
Jack nodded. Now it made sense. He didn't want this to impact his projects or budgets or future with the Stargate program.
"If you're on my bad side, it's only because you left me in that holding cell. And because my clothes are still kinda damp from that swim I had to take for you. Probably other things too."
Jack realized he should have changed clothes before packing, but then decided he'd do that once he got back to the SGC.
McKay winced.
"You're not on my bad side for giving me Carter's message, though," Jack added.
"I am sorry," McKay said. "For all those things."
"Want to make it up to me?" Jack asked. "Take my suitcase to the jumper bay. The one that's not underwater."
He handed McKay the suitcase.
McKay gripped the luggage by the handle automatically, but looked at it in surprise. "Uh…"
"Thanks, McKay."
Jack clapped him on the shoulder and walked out of the room.
On the way back towards the control room, Jack ran into a marine who informed him that he and Colonel Carter had the go ahead to return to the SGC through the Stargate via a jumper. They'd have to provide Carter's codes as well as visual and audio confirmation of their identities at Midway Station before they could proceed to Earth. The woman was apologetic about the additional steps, but Jack was just happy they'd be able to return home soon.
In the control room, Jack had a final, brief conversation with Colonel Caldwell about next steps for the Atlantis base. He let the Colonel know that he should remain in orbit for the next several days while a full inventory of damage was conducted and then contact General Landry for further instructions.
"I'll be on leave," Jack happily announced, "so I'll be completely incommunicado."
"Enjoy your time off, sir," Caldwell replied. "We'll try not to blow up the city while you're gone."
Jack would have done a double-take if Caldwell had been there in person.
"Colonel, was that a joke?"
"Just a statement of intentions, General."
Jack wondered if the lack of sleep was affecting him more than he realized. Or maybe Caldwell was feeling a bit punchy too.
"Sounds like a good plan, Colonel. Thanks for cleaning up the mess here."
Jack said goodbye and signed off, feeling a sense of relief that this whole ordeal was finally over. He and Sam could head home and then spend two full weeks together without having to worry about saving each other or the universe. If anyone tried to call either of them, he'd throw their phones in the ocean.
They just had to get through the 'gate and through a debrief at the SGC and then they were home free. If anyone tried to stop him and get him to do any work, he'd just flat out quit.
He was almost to the jumper bay when he saw Sheppard and McKay rounding the corner.
"General O'Neill! I left your suitcase right inside. Let me know if there's anything else I can do."
"No need to suck up, McKay. You're all staying, at least for now." He turned to Sheppard. "How are the jumpers?"
"Colonel Carter and I tested three of them and they're all fully functional. You should be good to go."
That was a relief.
"Good." He looked at both of the men in front of him. "As fun as this has been, I hope I don't see either of you for a long time."
McKay frowned and Sheppard grinned.
"Perfectly understandable, General."
"I was wondering if we could discuss the timeline for when the rest of the Atlantis staff will be able to return to -"
"Ah!" Jack interrupted McKay with a raise of his hand. "Ask Caldwell. Aside from what I'm sure will be a lengthy debrief at the SGC, I'm on leave, which means no more questions about work."
"But-"
"No questions, McKay. I'm on vacation."
"Going to the tropics, sir?" Sheppard asked with a knowing smile.
"I just might do that, Sheppard. Somewhere with a beach at least."
"Have fun."
Jack gave him a nod and escaped before McKay could try to ask him any more questions.
He entered the jumper bay and there she was, standing next to his suitcase and looking like everything he'd ever wanted.
"Hey, Jack," Sam said with a smile. "Can I hitch a ride?"
He was reminded of her half-hearted attempt to hitchhike when they were in 1969. If she'd thrown any of those drivers the smile she gave him now, it would have worked.
"I think I could manage that, Sam. You and I are going home."
She walked towards him with confidence and threw her arms around his neck.
"It's about damn time."
Jack placed his hands on her hips as she leaned in for a quick kiss.
"So how was your tour?" he asked.
"It was fine, but we cut it short to come here and test out some of the jumpers. That's our ride home."
Sam pointed to the jumper behind her with its cargo hatch already lowered.
Jack released her and picked up his suitcase. They walked over to the jumper.
"So, I had some bizarre conversations while you were gallivanting around the city with Sheppard."
Sam tilted her head. "Oh really? Like what?"
Jack barely knew where to start. Eventually he decided to go in chronological order.
"Weir hugged me. It was a little unexpected."
Sam laughed.
"Doesn't she know that I'm the only one allowed to do that?"
"I am one hundred percent sure that she has no idea, Carter," he teased back. Elizabeth Weir was way too focused on Atlantis to be thinking about someone else's love life. "Although it turns out Richard Woolsey is in the know. Told me it was really cool I had a girlfriend who would travel to another galaxy to save me from certain death."
Sam's jaw dropped.
"He did not say that!"
Jack shrugged.
"I'm pretty sure he thinks we're buddies now."
"You and Richard Woolsey? Buddies?" Sam asked, voice full of disbelief.
Jack set the suitcase down on one of the cargo benches and secured it.
"Oh yeah, Carter," he replied with a straight face. "We bonded over our love of paperwork and now he's going to be my best man."
"Well, now I know you're lying. You like paperwork just about as much as you liked the Goa'uld."
He grinned at her and raised the rear hatch of the ship.
"Sheppard knows," Sam admitted. "He caught us making out on the pier."
Jack laughed.
He knew that they should probably be embarrassed that Sheppard saw him because of some bullshit about professionalism and proper comportment for high ranking members of the military. Quite frankly, he didn't give a damn. He almost died and he'd kiss Sam Carter anytime she'd let him.
"Well, I hope he enjoyed the show."
Sam blushed. "He was really nice about the whole thing, actually."
Jack wasn't surprised. Sheppard seemed like a nice guy who was good at his job and tried to mind his own business. He appreciated that.
"Good thing I'm not firing him then."
"So, Woolsey and Sheppard…"
Sam looked over and waited, as if this were some game of announcing who was aware of their relationship and it was his turn to share the next name.
"McKay is convinced that you've left me heartbroken and that he was your partner in crime."
Sam's face scrunched together the way it did when she was confused about something.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Jack smirked.
"Genius that he is, Rodney McKay somehow convinced himself that passing along the message that you loved me was only a distraction and that I found out that you don't actually feel that way about me and now I'm just going to be pining away for you like all your other admirers."
Sam leaned back against the interior wall and crossed her arms.
"Huh. And to think I mainly asked him to do that because I thought it would make you laugh and hoped it would get him to stop hitting on me."
It wasn't the time now for him to talk about what his original reaction had been to McKay's message. They would talk about that later when they had more distance from the events of the past day.
"He wanted to make sure that his assistance in breaking my heart didn't affect the standing and budget of his projects. Or get him banned from Atlantis."
The side of her mouth tugged up. It was close to a smile.
"Now that sounds like McKay. You know, he asked if I came on this rescue mission as a way to ask him out. He looked so arrogant that I almost flat out told him about us."
She looked over at him and he wasn't sure what exactly she wanted. Reassurance, perhaps, that he agreed McKay was a nuisance? Or an agreement that she should have told the man about their relationship? Or maybe acknowledgment that telling McKay she loved Jack was closer than she usually came to admitting their relationship with co-workers and that the guy was an idiot for not figuring it out?
"Now I don't feel bad about forcing him to carry my luggage to the jumper," he eventually replied.
Her laugh was how he knew that he'd gotten the response right.
"Let's go home, Jack."
Sam's voice was soft in a way it rarely was off-world. It reminded him of the feel of her skin against his under freshly-laundered cotton sheets.
"I've missed you a hell of a lot, Sam."
He took a step towards her and ran a hand down her arm in a restrained caress.
"I think I might've missed you more," she replied.
They had spent way too much time apart recently.
It occurred to Jack that almost two months ago he was complaining that the President didn't think he was up for being a test pilot anymore. As realistic as the Commander-in-Chief's comments might have been, they'd stung. They made him feel old, like he was being put out to pasture.
The experience in Atlantis, as awful as parts of it had been, had him feeling young again. Being around Sam again had a similar effect.
"Ever wanted to have sex in a puddle jumper, Carter?" he suggested, keeping his voice light.
It wasn't a fantasy Jack realized he had until right this moment. As much as he wanted to get back to Earth, he'd be more than willing to delay their departure if she had any interest.
He could just imagine pressing Sam up against the bulkhead door or watching in awe as she straddled him while he sat in the pilot's chair.
And those were only the first two ideas off the top of his head.
To Jack's surprise, Sam actually seemed to consider his suggestion. She shot him a heated look and then glanced around the jumper and finally looked at her watch.
Then she frowned and he remembered that she was much more responsible than he was.
"They don't have a fully functional jumper back at the SGC right now. We can't really justify keeping it for personal purposes. Even if we are both technically off duty."
He knew she was right and it was only a half-baked idea anyway. Just because it would have been awesome, didn't mean it was practical.
"That's a shame."
She looked apologetic as she sat down up front.
Jack moved to the pilot's chair and got to work readying the jumper. Once he was ready, he contacted the control room and let them know they'd be heading down to the 'gate soon.
"You know," Sam said as he lifted the puddle jumper into the air, "I bet if we came back to visit, Weir and Sheppard would let us borrow one to visit the mainland."
Jack looked over to where Sam wore a speculative expression that was suddenly one of his top five Sam Carter looks.
"Oh really?" he drawled.
She tilted her head and the corners of her lips tipped up in a slight smile that was far more seductive than it had any right to be.
"Just a thought."
Well, now he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to leave Atlantis yet. He was tempted to take a trip to the mainland and his brain was rapidly adding additional fantasies for future puddle jumper sex.
"If I haven't told you this recently, I really like the way you think, Carter. That brain of yours really does it for me."
She smirked and shook her head at his comment.
"Only because I can use it to fix your problems."
In the broadest sense, Sam was right. He did like how she could always find a solution to a problem. In this specific instance, he liked that skillset of hers even more.
He had no idea how he'd been so lucky as to end up with a woman who'd devote her extensive smarts to fulfilling one of his fantasies. He must've done something right.
"What can I say? I'm a simple guy with simple needs."
She snorted in response.
They sat there, just looking at each other, while the puddle jumper hovered in the air. Jack tried to calculate how long it would take to get home.
A little over thirty minutes to get to the SGC. Ten minute post-mission check-up in the infirmary...abbreviated because they'd already been checked over by the Daedalus team. About an hour for the briefing. God, that would kill him. Security to get out of the mountain would add extra time. Twenty minute drive home - fifteen if he didn't entirely adhere to the speed limit.
It was just too damn long.
Sam's thoughts, apparently, had gone in the same direction.
She stood up and took a step towards him. Her hand reached out to cup his cheek and she pulled him towards her as she leaned down.
Jack's eyes drifted shut as Sam pressed her soft lips to his. He threaded his fingers through her hair, and tugged slightly until she opened her mouth. Sam gave a soft hum that ran right through him as she tangled her tongue with his with a familiarity that still excited him.
He was going to marry this woman.
Sam's hand slid down his neck and burrowed under his collar. He lost himself in their kiss. Then she caught his bottom lip between hers and playfully flicked out her tongue.
The jumper dropped precipitously and Sam pulled away. Jack leveled out the ship just before it hit the floor.
"Maybe we need to add a no mid-flight making out rule to join our new no mid-mission making out rule," Jack suggested, doing his best to concentrate on operating the puddle jumper.
"Or you could learn to multi-task," Sam quipped as she returned to her seat.
"I'll show you how well I can multi-task when we get home."
Sam looked over at him and Jack raised his eyebrows suggestively. She flashed him a brilliant smile. He had really missed flirting with her.
The panel in the floor of the jumper bay finished opening and Jack moved the jumper over and lowered the ship through the hole until they hovered in front of the glowing Stargate.
Jack hit the comms button. "Atlantis, this is Jumper One. Do we have a go?"
"The SGC is awaiting your contact once you arrive at Midway Station. Jumper One, you have a go."
"Acknowledged, Atlantis."
Jack looked to his side. He still couldn't believe that Sam had come all the way here to pull his ass out of the fire. She was exhausted and disheveled, but he'd never seen anyone look more beautiful. Woolsey was right; it was nice to have a girlfriend - now fiancée - who would travel to another galaxy to save him from certain death.
"Let's go home, Sam."