The Counsellor
I have started a new series of which this was the first I wrote. However there are at least three prequels to this. I keep coming up with ideas and just need to have time to put them to paper. The stories assume that the TV series runs as cannon and some episodes will be referred too, however there is one MAJOR change so this is AU.
"So! How are we all today?" The woman asked once the group had sat in front of her desk.
"Jack and Sam are having issues." Daniel slumped back in his chair.
"Daniel!" Jack tried to silence the younger man.
"Well, you are, aren't you?"
Jack glared at him. "This is not the time or the place," he said very slowly with controlled anger.
"No." Daniel sat up straight in his seat. "This is exactly the time and place!"
"Daniel, please..." Sam started to plead with her friend.
"NO!" Daniel stated emphatically, glaring at Jack. "This has been going on for weeks now and Teal'c and I just let it go on." He turned to face Sam, realising he'd get nowhere with Jack. "You promised we'd discuss things if they became an issue for the team. Well, guess what? They've become an issue!"
There was a strained silence in the small room. SG-1 were sitting in a semi-circle facing the counsellor that the SGC had hired for team sessions. Teams had been coming to her sessions for almost a year now but Katie had never seen such tension between these team mates before.
SG-1 had been part of the reason for the change in the regulations at the SGC and, for the most part, that change had been very successful. Katie, a counsellor who had spent several years as the head counsellor at the local high school, was now permanently stationed at the SGC. Following the change in regulations, teams that had members who were now in relationships were required to undertake regular meetings with her. This was to ensure that these relationships weren't creating any problems for their teams as a whole and that every member of each team felt comfortable with the changes. If Katie deemed that there was an issue, or even a possible issue, then she recommended further counselling or, in one extreme situation, she'd had to recommend the dissolution of the team. Katie turned her focus back to the team in front of her.
"Daniel, I said we'd handle it!" Jack again snarled at his team mate.
Daniel whirled in his seat to face his CO. "Really? When? Because it hasn't been handled since the last time I spoke to you." Daniel waved his hands in frustration.
"Daniel, just leave it." Jack's tone began to sound a little like pleading, but with a bite.
"No, back me up here, Teal'c. It's been 'affecting our unit cohesion'," Daniel replied, using air quotes as he quoted the new SGC regulations back at his CO.
Teal'c, unwilling to involve himself in the row but understanding the situation needed to be discussed, merely nodded.
"See, even Teal'c agrees!" Daniel crowed, pointing to Teal'c with a flourish.
Jack inched menacingly closer to Daniel. "So help me, Daniel, if you don't…."
"STOP IT! Just stop it!" Sam yelled, standing to address all three of her team mates, before uncharacteristically slumping back down in her chair and bursting into tears.
Katie looked on. It was almost like the slow motion part of a film. First Teal'c, then Daniel, and finally Jack all looked towards their crying team mate. Teal'c was his usual stoic self while Daniel looked contrite at having caused his friend sorrow. However, it was Jack whom Katie watched. He sighed, wiped his hand down his face, then turned away from his team.
Katie decided it was time to take control. "Gentlemen, perhaps you should let Sam and I have a private discussion." She stood up and moved over to stand beside Sam, who was still quietly sobbing, and gently put her hand on her shoulder.
The guys of SG-1 quickly bolted for the door, but it didn't escape Katie's notice that Jack was the first to get to the door, even if his two friends were close behind him. Clearly none of them really knew how to cope with a weeping Samantha Carter.
Katie moved away from Sam and pottered about her office for several minutes, letting Sam calm down. Once she heard the sobbing subsiding she turned from her filing cabinet and sat down beside Sam. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No," Sam said, then sighed. "But I know I need to."
Katie sat back and relaxed. "You want some coffee?" She nodded to the small kitchenette in the corner.
"Do you have any Diet Coke?"
"Sure." Katie stood and walked over to the fridge and took out two cans of Diet Coke. She walked back and handed one to Sam.
"How about we move to the sofa? Far more comfortable for a chat than these chairs."
Sam nodded and moved over to the large leather sofa that lay along the length of one wall.
Once they were sitting Katie tried again. "What's wrong, Sam?"
"It's all falling apart," Sam replied tearily.
"You and Jack or SG-1?"
"Maybe both," Sam whispered.
"How about you start at the beginning so I can understand a bit better."
Sam took a large gulp of Coke and settled back in the sofa. "About a month ago General Hammond had us update our next-of-kin forms. I decided to make Jack my next of kin." She paused, looking away, and Katie looked blankly at her, not really understanding the relevance. Sam looked back at Katie. "It's standard procedure to review the details on your form. I used to have Dad and Mark, then when Dad joined the Tok'ra I made Janet my contact. But I just wanted someone who really knows me to go on my form."
This time when Sam stopped she didn't look like she was going to continue, so Katie spoke up. "What happened?"
"He went pale, said no, and walked away. We haven't talked about it since."
Katie sat back and watched the woman in front of her as she wrung her hands together. "Why do you think he did that?"
Sam stood and started pacing. "Because he's scared of commitment, scared of actually letting someone in."
"I'm not sure, Sam. All the conversations I've had with him suggest he's very committed to you."
"Well, he sure has a funny way of showing it. You know he still doesn't like admitting that he loves me?"
"How do you mean?"
"I mean, when we're in public or in a group or, heck, most of the times when we're alone, if I say it he just fudges a reply. He very rarely actually says the words." Sam sat down again, her energy suddenly drained.
"And his unwillingness to be your next of kin has brought all of this to the surface?" Katie surmised.
"I suppose… actually, no, I can mostly accept the way Jack is... I love him, you know? It's just… I assumed we were going somewhere."
"You mean marriage and all that?"
"Yeah, maybe… I mean, I spend most of my free time with him but when I suggest moving in together he gets all evasive."
"Do you stay together on your down time?"
"Sometimes he stays at mine… usually only one night at a time, though. He hasn't even taken up my offer of a drawer in the dresser!" Sam smiled a little then scowled; she hadn't planned on revealing that amount of information. Damn, she knew Katie was good but this was ridiculous.
Katie watched Sam's eyes harden and she knew it would be hard to get any more information from her. So she tried another tack. "How has all this 'affected unit cohesion'?" she asked quietly, repeating Daniel's words.
Sam sighed, remembering why she was actually here. "I try really hard not to let it. I know that our personal and military lives have to be separate. But it's hard to follow him unconditionally in the field when he's screwing with my emotions back home."
"So Daniel and Teal'c have picked up on the tension?"
"Yeah, I guess. They haven't said much to me but Daniel's sympathetic acts have increased, as have Teal'c's reassuring small smiles."
"They're good teammates."
"Yeah… but it's not fair to put them through this. Can you talk to Jack?" Sam asked very quietly, not overly willing to pass the buck in this situation but unsure what else to do.
"Sure, but you know my one simple rule: I won't tell him what you told me and I won't tell you what he tells me. I'll simply encourage you to talk to each other… once I've pushed you both in the right direction." Katie smiled, causing Sam to laugh.
"Well, that should be interesting, you pushing the great Colonel in any direction."
"Just wait and see, Major… I have my ways."
Sam smiled and stood up. "Will I send him up to see you?"
"Sam, you know as well as I do that he'll be at the end of the corridor waiting for you… like he is every single time you and I have a private talk."
Sam ducked her head, blushing. "We'll see." She walked to the door and opened it, quickly sticking her head out, catching Jack exactly where Katie had said he would be. "You were right." She turned to see Katie coming to the door.
Katie stuck her head around the door. "Oh, Colonel… I know you're hiding there… It's your turn now.
Both women could hear the "D'oh" from round the corner and smiled. "Off you go, Sam. I'll see if I can get to the bottom of this."
Sam waited to see her colonel walk slowly down the corridor. She tried to smile at him but he wasn't giving anything away. Sam sighed, turned away from him, and headed to her lab. She knew that if they couldn't get through this, then things would have to change.
Meanwhile, Katie threw the door open for Jack to stroll in.
"Look, Doc, I know we have to talk but it's not as bad as Spacemonkey made out."
Katie watched as Jack surveyed the room, as he did every time he was forced into one of these meetings. "What do you think Daniel was talking about?" She sat down behind her desk, knowing full well that Jack wouldn't sit on the sofa and drink a Coke with her.
"Well, Doc, I think he was sticking his nose in where it wasn't wanted," Jack snarled then sat down opposite her.
"Colonel… perhaps before we go any further I should remind you that I am not a 'Doc', as you well know, and Daniel has every right to his opinion because you agreed to that when you chose to start a relationship with your 2IC. Now, can you cut the crap and the attitude and talk to me?!"
Jack visibly relaxed in his chair. "Sorry, Katie… self-preservation thing, you know?"
"Yeah, I do," Katie responded quietly. "What's going on, Jack?"
"What did Sam say?"
"Jack, you know it doesn't work like that. I'm not your go-between. I'm here to make sure the team functions properly."
"Yeah, I know… but it was worth a try." Jack smiled his crooked smile and, not for the first time, Katie totally understood why Sam Carter had fallen for him.
"Jack, why's there a problem with your team?"
Jack squirmed in his seat, then calmed as he came to decision. "Okay, so Carter wants me to be her next of kin." He sat back as if the conversation was over.
"So?"
"Well… it's a bad idea," Jack added weakly.
"Why?" The squirming was back so Katie decided to go easy on him. "Who's your next of kin, Jack?"
"Well, it was Sara, then when I got settled here I changed it to General Hammond."
"Why did you pick Sara?"
"Huh… well, Doc, she was my wife for over 10 years."
"And because you loved her, trusted her with decisions, and wanted her to know when something went wrong."
"I suppose…" Jack could feel the net closing in and began surreptitiously to look for a quick exit.
"So, if Sam has the same reasons for asking you, why can't you be her next of kin?"
"It's not that simple."
"Can you explain it to me?" Katie asked, realising that the reason must not be what Sam believed.
Jack looked everywhere but at his counsellor. "I can't do it," he finally whispered.
Katie thought Jack looked like a little boy lost. Well, at least for a nanosecond, until he got control of himself again. She cleared her throat to get his attention. "Can't do what, Jack? Talk to me, or be Sam's next of kin?" she asked gently.
"Both." Jack sighed.
"Do you love Sam, Jack?"
Jack sat up stiffly and looked directly at Katie. "Of course I do, Doc. You more than anyone on this base should know that," he answered bristly.
"And she loves you," Katie continued, ignoring his tone. "All she wants is to know that you care enough to make decisions for her if there's ever a problem."
"I care," Jack spat out, jumping up, "And that's the reason why I can't go on her form!" He flopped back in the chair and ran his hand down his face in the gesture Katie realised he used when frustrated.
Katie sat back as well and gave Jack a few moments to gather his thoughts. They both knew that his statement was far from the end of the conversation. Jack abruptly stood and walked away from Katie's desk.
"Look, Doc, I don't need to hear it."
"Hear what, Jack?" Katie asked, genuinely confused because she had no idea what she was going to say.
Jack started to pace as he spoke. "Whatever it is you want to say to make me become her next of kin, 'cause it ain't gonna happen."
"Jack, you know as well as I do that I can't make you do something you don't want to do."
Jack seemed to relax at her statement, but the counsellor wasn't finished.
"However, I can do the one thing that General Hammond has commissioned me to do… take your team off rotation until you and Major Carter have solved your differences."
Jack stopped pacing and stood stock still, staring at Katie like she was his worst enemy. "You wouldn't do that," he said deceptively quietly.
"Jack, you and Sam have something incredible. People around here only have to look at you two to know that. But for some reason you're willing to throw that away over a stupid Air Force form that everyone, including me for some reason, has to fill in. If you don't want to be Sam's next of kin, well, that's up to you but she deserves an explanation as to why not. Until you have that discussion and resolve the situation it's my recommendation that you're off the mission rota."
Katie focussed on her computer screen and didn't look up as the door opened and then slammed shut. She smiled as she picked up the half empty Diet Coke can and sat back in her seat. She knew that she was playing with fire winding up the great Colonel, but it had been very clear that nothing would change until Jack felt he had no other option. Anyway, they would clearly be useless in the field at the moment. Daniel's outburst an hour before had proven that.
Katie quickly opened her email and drafted an email to General Hammond.
Subject: SG-1
General Hammond, I regret to inform you that due to personal issues I am recommending that SG-1 be stood down for an initial period of one week. I will be scheduling extra counselling sessions for Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter as well as the rest of the team over the next week.
As always I will keep you informed.
Katie Woodman
SGC Chief Counsellor
Katie knew full well that she'd get an almost instant reply to that email so quickly composed another to the members of SG-1.
Subject: Stand down
Colonel, Major, Daniel and Teal'c,
After our meeting today I feel that your 'unit cohesion' is being affected and until the situation between Jack and Sam is resolved I have recommended you be off the mission rota. I have told General Hammond it will initially be for a week. Jack, Sam, please report to my office tomorrow at 1100 hours. Daniel and Teal'c, we will have a team meeting if the meeting between Jack and Sam is fruitful.
Katie
Well, that should set some cats among the pigeons, as her father would say. If nothing else it would hopefully force the colonel to start speaking to his girlfriend.
AN: I've been away from the site for awhile, the muse disappeared to mars. It came back with this series which started with a dream - go figure! This is the first of two parts for this story. Hope you have enjoyed, I would be interested to know what you think of this new series. Thanks to all who have reviewed or favourited stuff in the last few months.