Chapter Six
"Colonel!"
"General!" Lazily spinning around on one foot, Jack jogged back to meet Hammond, who was coming toward him.
"Walk with me, Jack." Not waiting to see if O'Neill followed, Hammond turned a corner.
"Sir?"
"I read your report on your double; I don't think I've ever read a more jumbled mess of ifs, maybes, and perhapses."
"So I have a few reservations…"
Halting, the General looked at Jack. "Do you think she's a Goa'uld spy?"
"I dunno." Jack threw out his hands. "I wouldn't put it past them, but if she is, I don't think she knows it."
"We could try the Tok'ra za'tarc detector, see if she's hiding anything."
Jack nodded slowly. "That might work…"
"I'm inclined to think she isn't, but it won't hurt to give it try. I'll let you know when I get an answer from the Tok'ra. Meanwhile, we'll try a test of our own. Set up the alpha site village for an incursion exercise. You'll commence at 0800 tomorrow." With a nod of dismissal, Hammond strode away.
Looking thoughtful, Jack went in the other direction to inform his team.
~~~~~
At the knock on her door Joanna called out 'Enter!', not looking up from her task.
Jack sauntered in, stopping short at the sight of her clad in an olive green tank and shorts, her damp hair in a thick braid down her back, and one knee tucked up by her cheek as she expertly applied a dark rose lacquer.
"What are you doing?!"
She gave one last stroke with the brush and screwed the cap back on the bottle, finally looking up at an indignant Jack and an amused Teal'c. "Putting on nail polish. What does it look like?" Leaning down, Joanna gently blew on her toes.
"Those are my toes! Get--take it off!" he blustered.
"They aren't your toes, Jack, they're mine. And since I can't wear it on my fingers, it goes on my toes." She smiled at the rhyme. "What do you want?"
"I—"
"Colonel," an airman panted as he appeared in the doorway, interrupting Jack.
"What?" Both Jack and Joanna answered, causing the startled young man to freeze.
"Umm, Major Carter is looking for you, sir."
"Fine." Halfway out the door, Jack turned back to see Teal'c wasn't behind him. "Coming?" he asked the Jaffa.
"I will stay with this Colonel," Teal'c replied, bowing slightly in Joanna's direction, wordlessly asking her agreement. She shrugged.
Eyes narrowed, Jack glared from one to the other before leaving, shutting the door a little harder than necessary.
"I trust that our sparring session in the gymnasium left no lasting damage, O'Neill?" Taking a seat in the armchair and steepling his fingers in front of him, Teal'c looked at her kindly.
"No, I'm fine." Still feeling somewhat self-conscious about Teal'c's blatant admiration, Joanna stretched her foot out and examined her toes, obstinately checking her handiwork.
"I am familiar with the human practice of painting one's nails," commented Teal'c, taking her foot in his large hand. Her sole was cradled in his palm, his thumb caressing her instep as he looked closer at her toes. "However I am not certain I comprehend why."
Joanna watched him, nerves on fire at the erotic sight of him holding her leg. "Careful, they're still wet."
Softly he blew across them, his breath making her gasp lightly at the warmth.
Slowly Teal'c's gaze moved up the swell of her calf, the curve of her thigh. It lingering at the open neck of her tank where her dog tags lay against the swell of her breasts, rising and falling with each nervous breath she took. His eyes finally came to rest on her face, his hand tightening gently around her foot; the intense want in his dark eyes sent shivers down her spine.
"Teal'c…" came out on a sigh.
Placing her foot on the carpeted floor, Teal'c stood, causing her to look up. "Until tomorrow tonight, Joanna O'Neill."
The old familiar adrenaline rush went through Joanna as he loomed above her; in a twist of what usually happened when she and her Teal'c met, Joanna stifled the feeling of alarm, and let the one of desire through. Silently she watched as this Teal'c bowed in departure, taking his leave of her.
And even though she had just finished with one, she went to take another cold shower.
~~~~~
Later Joanna stood in the doorway to Jack's office, watching him plow through a pile of paperwork. It looked as if he enjoyed it as little as she did.
"What can I do for you?" Jack finished what he was writing, then looked up at her, his expression unreadable.
"You came to see me," she shrugged.
"Oh yeah." He waved at a chair.
Taking a seat, Joanna noticed a framed photo on Jack's desk. Looking at him for permission, but getting neither a yes nor a no, she picked it up to see a tow-headed boy with dark hair.
"Who's the kid?"
"Charlie." Joanna glanced up at the soft tone in Jack's voice. "My son."
"Your son?" Looking back down at the picture, a smile of tender longing crossed her face. "You have a son?" She touched the glass, searching for signs of them in Charlie's face.
"Had. He's dead. Shot himself with my service pistol."
Joanna's head snapped up, her eyes meeting Jack's. His despair was mirrored in her own. "God, I'm so sorry." Blinking away tears, she ducked her head to study the photo again.
"I never had children." Joanna placed the frame back, giving it a wistful look. "What was he like?"
"He was a good kid." They both stared at Charlie as Jack spoke. "I'd take him to the cabin to 'fish', we'd go to baseball games-- he'd push his limits like any kid, but overall… Sarah had bad postpartum depression, so I took care of Charlie a lot in the early months. She wouldn't breastfeed, so we played formula roulette; I wore a hole in the carpet walking him every night.
"When it happened… Sarah and I had a good marriage, but Charlie's death… she forgave me, but just couldn't forget. I was a daily reminder. We grew apart." Jack trailed off. "That's why they picked me for the original Stargate mission. Assess the situation on the other side, and blow up the Gate if there was a threat to Earth."
"What happened?"
"Guess I had a stronger survival instinct than I thought." Jack smiled humorlessly.
Thinking a moment, Joanna looked at Charlie's picture. "Sarah? You married Sarah Thompson?"
"Yeah. You knew her too?"
Joanna shrugged. "We were friends, good ones I thought, but we had a falling out and never seemed to be able to patch things up."
"So no kids…what about a husband?" Jack asked casually.
"No husband; couldn't find anyone who could stand living with a female Jack, I suppose." The bitterness in her voice was faint, but there nonetheless.
"Boyfriends? There's no way I would have been celibate, I can't imagine you would be."
A smirk crossed Joanna's face and she glanced down, brushing imaginary lint off her crossed olive-clad leg. "Stephen Moore." The smirk blossomed into a grin at the expression of disbelief on his face.
"Stephen?!? He was my best man!" Jack sputtered.
"Yes, he certainly was," Joanna murmured, then laughed aloud. "I'm sure I'd be shocked at the women *you* chose to screw, Jack. Let's just leave it at that."
"Fine." Miffed, Jack stared at her a moment. "We're taking a trip off-world tomorrow, Hammond wants you to come with."
Noting his change in manner, Joanna met his glaze, unblinking. "Mm-hmm. Sure, why not?" she replied, shrugging a shoulder.
~~~~~
"So Jack said you're having dinner with Joanna tomorrow night." Sitting on a crate, Daniel watched Teal'c finish setting up the testing ground's thatched homes for the exercise.
"Indeed I am." Looking at his handiwork, Teal'c added a few staff scorch marks to the structures.
Daniel winced at the noise as the weapon fired. "Is this all really necessary? It looks like you've destroyed half the village."
"Colonel O'Neill is an astute soldier. It will take much to deceive her into believing this is an actual engagement and not merely an assessment of her skills. It is well worth the loss, if she possesses the same knowledge and expertise as does our own O'Neill." Teal'c's eyes swept the damaged buildings, and a small smile crossed his face. "I have finished here." Turning, he strode off to the main compound.
"What?" Daniel glanced up to see Teal'c's retreating back. "Oh, yeah, me too." Hopping off the crate he jogged to catch up with him. "So you're having dinner with her? In your quarters?"
Teal'c stopped short and turned, almost causing Daniel to run into him. "I believe I have already confirmed this. Is there a problem, Daniel Jackson?"
"Ah, no, not at all. It's just that you seem to be getting rather serious rather quickly. Just wondering what the attraction was." He stood blinking as the imposing Jaffa stared at him.
"She is a woman of strong spirit."
"So you like her for her personality."
"Amongst other things."
Daniel sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You don't think that it's a little strange being attracted to someone who's basically Jack?"
Serene, Teal'c continued to stare at Daniel. "It is because she is like O'Neill that I am drawn to her character. It is quite a different reason that I am attracted to her physically."
Blinking, Daniel digested what the Jaffa had said. "Just looking out for you…" He flashed him an apologetic half smile.
"For which I thank you." Teal'c bowed slightly before striding off.
Sighing again, Daniel followed.