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Chapter 3 : Just To See Your Smile***************
Carter gazed at O'Neill.
"Why did you change your mind sir ?"
"I..." He hesitated, could he tell her that pretending to be married with her didn't bother him so far.
"I felt pity for you." He replied with a mischievous smile.
"Thank you sir." She replied ironically but somehow relieved that he'd saved her from being humiliated.
"You owe me one Carter. A big one." He said.
"I know sir." She sighed. "I know. But , what are we going to do now ?" she asked.
"We've got a mission scheduled for tomorrow Carter. Already forgotten ?" He asked a bit surprised.
She shook her head. "I meant, about Archer sir. We'll have to tell him the truth one day or the other."
"Hey, I don't know. You've got the brains here. Not my job."
She smiled and kept silent but O'Neill knew by the look in her eyes that she'd thought of something.
"Sir... I just thought of something."
He couldn't help but was suddenly afraid to know her that well.
Though she didn't notice his reaction.
"We could pretend that all this, was just a masquerade, a way to test his capacities to keep a secret."
O'Neill stared at her for a while and raised his eyebrows.
"Carter, he's been judged able to keep the Stargate secret. Do you really think they're gonna believe in your excuse ?" he asked in disbelief.
She frowned and thought harder.
"We could...still say it was...to see if he could keep personal secrets, if we could trust him a friend and colleague." She tried to convince him.
O'Neill seemed thoughtful for a while before replying.
"How would you explain that you told him you were married without even knowing who he was ? He won't believe it. It won't work."
"Unless we tell him a part of the truth sir... I just need to say that I was...huh...that I said we were married without thinking of the consequences. Then we would tell him that we thought it could be the perfect test, that he would never have been able to discover it as far as I provoked it involuntarily." She concluded with a small smile.
O'Neill tried to recapitulate all she'd just said.
"Got a better idea sir ?" she interrupted him in his silent thoughts.
"I guess not." He replied giving up.
"Good." She said standing up. "Be in my lab."
"Okay." He nodded still thinking of her plan.
She left the office but before she closed the door, looked back at her C.O.
"Sir ?" she said quietly.
"Yep ?"
"Thank you." She flashed him her special smile.
He smiled back and she closed the door.
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Archer was lying in the infirmary bed, waiting for his results.
Frasier had been cleaning up her surgical instruments for the third times and he could feel that she was particularly tensed.
The doctor couldn't believe what she had heard in O'Neill's office. Not that she wasn't happy for them, she was just disappointed that Sam didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth.
"Doctor Frasier ?" Archer made her jump slightly.
"Yes Captain ?" she asked turning back to face him.
"Something's wrong ?" he asked cautiously.
"Nothing captain." She replied.
He nodded and waited.
Janet turned again but stopped and turned back to Archer after she'd checked that no one could hear them.
"Is that true Captain ?" she asked impatiently.
Archer surprised, looked up into her eyes.
"What, ma'am ?"
"Come on, that the colonel and the major are, you know, married. " she added that word almost whispering.
The young captain lowered his eyes.
"I overheard your conversation in the colonel's office." Janet said as an explanation.
"Oh." He only managed.
She took it for a yes.
"I can't believe it ! I mean you're here for only two days or so, and they trust you enough to tell you that..." She stopped talking realizing that she was beginning to speak a bit too loudly.
"Well, Major Carter told me." He corrected her thinking it'd calm her.
"I thought she was my friend." Janet said sadly.
Archer bit his lips and quickly added. "But, when she told me she had no clue that I was a marine ma'am. She thought I was a civilian she'd never see again."
Janet smiled sadly and sighed.
"She certainly didn't want to risk your career by telling you something that could result in a martial-court." He tried to comfort her.
"Do you really think so ?"
"That's what I would have done if I were in their position." He nodded.
"Well, I'm glad for them." Janet smiled happier.
"Doctor, you've got to promise that you won't reveal it to anyone." Archer said suddenly.
"Is that an order ?" Janet asked looking at him strangely.
Archer winced : "Of course not ma'am. It's just that I promised them and..."
"I was kidding captain." She cut him off, "But, I want you to be my personal informer."
Archer couldn't believe it. He'd never questioned the alien's existence or the presence of other inhabited planets but if he'd been told that the base doctor was looking for gossips and that two members of the most famous team were secretly married, he'd have never believed it.
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To be continued
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