"—and then Jack 'accidentally' tripped Mahem, and that pompous Chancellor and his roaming hands went face first into the mud!" Sam waved her arms about as she demonstrated the bureaucrat's fall from grace while Joanna howled in laughter. "Daniel and I stared in shock, Teal'c raised an eyebrow, but Jack –he just stood there with his 'Was that my fault?' look on his face and finally offered up a very insincere 'Sorry!'"
"Oh Christ …" Sitting up off the floor Joanna wiped the tears from her eyes. "I haven't laughed that hard in years." She held out her glass for another refill, almost putting her hand in a bowl of pretzels. The two women had gone and raided the commissary when they suddenly got hungry; their spoils littered the room.
"So." She let the whisky slide down her throat. "Anything between you and Jack?"
"What? No -" Sam emphatically shook her head. "He's my CO!" She stared at Joanna, puzzled. "Why?"
"I didn't say you were having an affair with him, just wondering if there was something between you two. You and I were best friends in my universe; thought maybe that closeness might have turned to something else since Jack's a guy." She shrugged and took a drink.
"No. Not in this universe, trust me. Although…"
"Hmm?" Looking up from contemplating the amber color of the whisky, Joanna frowned at the half-smile Sam was trying to hold back.
"So you and I were good friends, and the Colonel and Teal'c have the same relationship here. Were you and he…" She trailed off suggestively.
"Was I sleeping with the enemy?"
Having learned from Jack that sometimes you let the other person answer their own question, Sam didn't say anything, just continued to look at Joanna. The alternate universe colonel grinned, knowing exactly what Sam was doing.
"I never slept with him, if that's what you're asking."
"But…?"
Joanna stared at the floor, picking up stray pretzels and cheesy poofs. "We had a love/hate…no, more like a lust/loathe relationship. You've seen him," she lifted her eyes to meet Sam's serious ones. "He subjected himself to Apophis, but he's an alpha male in his own right… that air of command he has… add to that he's dammed good looking." Joanna gave a short laugh. "But…my Teal'c was not a nice person, Sam. There was a coldness, a ruthlessness in him that turned my stomach."
"What about him?"
"He felt it too," Joanna chuckled. "And hated himself for it. That he could want a Taur'ri who would dare oppose his Gods…a year or two ago we got captured and Teal'c told me that if I pledged myself to Apophis he would get me my own symbiote so we could serve his God together. I said as soon as he figured out that two-bit, boom-box voiced, jumped up snake wasn't a God, we'd talk." Rubbing her cheek, she remembered his reaction. "He wasn't too happy with my answer."
"It must be hard seeing our Teal'c." Sam's voice was low in the quiet of the room. "Here's a version that did renounce the Goa'uld, who's fighting against them, everything you wanted your Teal'c to be; but you're a stranger to him."
"Yeah. Most of me freaked out seeing him in the Gateroom, apparently alive and kicking. But a very small part was weirdly happy he wasn't dead, even though I wouldn't have hesitated to kill him again if I had to. And I know he'd certainly do the same to me."
~~~~~
"What the--? Son of a bitch…three minutes for tripping? He skated right into him!"
"Do you believe your team finally has a chance this year to adequately compete in the battle for Lord Stanley's Cup, O'Neill?" Teal'c tossed another peanut up into the air, neatly catching it in his mouth without having to move an inch.
"Maybe if they get their sticks outta their asses…I can't believe they're losing to Washington…"
"That had to hurt." Daniel winced as a defenseman got cross-checked.
~~~~~
"I should get going before we drink the entire bottle." Sam stood up slowly, waiting until she was sure she wasn't going to fall over before beginning to pick up scattered snack products.
"Did you get what you came for?" Looking up at Joanna's dry tone, Sam met the colonel's shuttered eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"I'd be very disappointed in Hammond if he didn't send you here to try and figure out if I am who I say I am. You've only my word as it is."
Sam and Joanna gazed at each other; their previous camaraderie spoiled by this new tension, until Sam relaxed with a wry grin.
"Do you blame him?"
"Not in the least," Joanna said with an answering smile.
Hand on the doorknob, Sam turned back. "I don't know what the General has planned for you tomorrow, but would you like to have breakfast with Daniel and me? 0800?"
Joanna nodded. "Thanks."
"See you then." Sam gave a little half wave, then slipped out the door.
Sighing, Joanna let her gaze slide over the room. She wandered over to the bookcase and pulled a slim hardback out at random. Flopping down in the armchair, she opened the book, ready for Daniel to explain Evolution Of The Usage Of The Ma'at Emblem In The Reign Of Amonthose The 3rd. Ten minutes later she was still on the first page when a knock came at the door.
"Ma'am?" an impossibly young voice called through the door. Eager for a distraction, Joanna yanked the door opened so suddenly the airman on the other side jumped back in fear.
"Major Carter sent this over, ma'am." Thrusting a small cardboard box at her, the boy's Adam's apple bobbed nervously as his voice broke. "There's a robe in the bathroom, ma'am; if you want me to send your clothes to the laundry they'll have them ready by tomorrow morning." A bright red flush crept up his thin cheeks.
"Thanks." Shutting the door and opening the box, Joanna smiled as she saw the scented soap and other items Sam included. Humming happily, she wondered how much hot water the Mountain had.