Chapter 10 - Reunion
Spring had been a long time coming but was now hinting at its arrival, with early morning mist on the lake and the suspicion of tiny green shoots if you looked carefully enough. Sam and Jack felt comfortably warm outdoors without overcoats on the days that the sun shone, and Sam 2 was happy enough to leave her offspring behind, locked safely in the barn just long enough for her to take her customary walks with her people.
The framed photographs of her carrying her pups from the barn into the cabin for the first time rested alongside their best wedding photo on the mantelshelf. A dog should be able to remind people of her proper place in the family, shouldn't she?
Work on the school building had re-commenced sporadically, as the weather allowed. More carpentry than brickwork, now that the walls were almost complete and the window and door frames were being installed. Sam was now a regular visitor alongside Jack, since she spent two or three days every week helping the science teacher. It hadn't been easy at first, as her natural enthusiasm for the subjects and depth of knowledge had quickly overwhelmed both pupils and teacher, and she had soon been within an ace of giving up in frustration. Unexpectedly, Jack had been the one to put her problem into perspective. He'd seen her brooding and insisted that they drive east to Eagle Mountain one Sunday morning. They left the truck and walked with Sam 2 to a sheltered spot well below the peak and sat, gazing over the silver-grey of Lake Superior in the cool but crystal-clear air.
"Carter," he had said, reverting to her old title as he did whenever he was trying to make a point, "what was your first car?"
"A Volkswagen Beetle." she recalled. "Dark red. I loved it.. I can't *not* watch one go past in the street when I hear that engine note! Dad threatened to have it crushed if I didn't start coming home before midnight."
"So, not a Chevy Camaro or an AC Cobra, then?"
"Heck, no. You couldn't start with such a powerful... Ah! I get it. Start with the easy stuff, right?"
"Nearly, Sam. Easy, hard - it's all the same. You keep stretching them *just* beyond the limits of whatever the school syllabus calls for and they think they're capable of. You gotta make them see the rewards for getting there by making it interesting. The teacher's there to cram the facts into them. Your job is to make it sexy but not patronising."
With a look of consternation, she asked, "How? To me, all science is beautiful, and all I can hope for is that one or two of the kids will pick up on that and get involved."
"Well, that's just downright wrong." he answered with a sigh.
"What, loving science, just the way you love *fishing* or hockey is wrong?" Sam responded indignantly.
"No. You can love science, but you should love what it can do for you more. Not just the things you can make, the doohickeys and gizmos, but knowing the way it shapes the world - or in our case, the *worlds* around you. Beauty isn't just something that strikes you one minute and is forgotten the next. Understanding *why* something or somewhere or someone affects you that way is just the start. Coming to terms with the significance of it is more than half the battle."
She stared at him, mouth agape. 'OK, this isn't one of his Ancients' dreams here.' she thought. 'Where did I miss this side of him?' She found her voice again. "Excuse me? Is this the same Jack O'Neill who got bored with visiting planets and flying through space?"
"Yes, same old me." he mused. "Same old."
"But when did you ever take the time to practise what you preach?"
"Well, if you'd taken me up on one of the many offers to come here, you'd have seen it for yourself long ago."
"But when we were on missions, you were so *unaware* of the finer things around you. 'Get on with it and let's get out of here' was the phrase I remember the most."
"And when you led SG-1, Sam? Did you get involved with the discoveries and gadgets the way you used to when you were my 2IC?"
"Of course not. The mission timetable and leader's responsibilities don't give you the time...." She was suddenly still and quiet. "Oh."
He stayed quiet too, and she became aware of his eyes roaming slowly over her profile. She turned to face him and was lost in the depth of his gaze.
"Sam, it's time to decide whether you want us to get a house around here or move back where your real science is. And before you ask, I've got everything I ever wanted since I met you. Whatever you decide is OK with me."
"Well, that's good, because I've already made up my mind." she smiled back at him. "I'll show you when we get back home."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The gathering at General Hammond's house in Colorado Springs was the first one for former SGC colleagues that he'd held since retirement. The invitations had been sent out by mail, and contained a phrase that at the very least, those who chose not to come would wonder what they were missing out on. "Your presence is urgently required.." in bold letters on the inside had the intended effect and the General was satisfied that the two biggest fish he'd wanted to net had announced their intention of coming, but he was getting worried that Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were the last ones still missing.
Current and former members of many SG teams, SGC support personnel and their partners filled his ground floor rooms with excited chatter accompanied by the clink of glasses, and the surprisingly warm April weather allowed some to stand and talk outside. A few children were laughing and raising the occasional scream as they played on the lawns.
"They're here!" cried an anonymous voice from the hall, causing George Hammond to make his apologies to the person he was talking to and find his way to the front door. He saw Jack moving his truck carefully between rows of cars parked on both sides of the street, searching in vain for a space, and waved at him to stop. As he walked forward, he removed the plastic traffic cones that marked an empty space in his drive and indicated that Jack should reverse in.
"Jack! Glad you made it!" he called. "Good to see you've got Major Carter with you as well! Can't have my overnight guests parking miles away, now can we?" As Jack pulled to a stop in the drive, Hammond was surprised by the appearance of a large dog at the rear cab window, with a smaller one jumping up in excitement to see out. "I see you finally got your dog, Jack. Couldn't stop at one, eh?"
Jack smiled and shook hands warmly with him. "George! Good to see you too. Sorry we're late. Had to walk the dogs half an hour ago outside town before I could leave them in the cab for a while. Full house, I see."
"Sam! Good to see you too!" said Hammond, as she walked round to join Jack. "I'm glad we managed to get in touch with the both of you. I had to ask Daniel to send your invites as we didn't know your current addresses. But you got here. A lot of old friends are waiting."
"Yes, Sir." replied Sam, sporting a huge smile. "How could we refuse with a request like that? What's the special occasion?" She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
"You'll see, you'll see." he replied as they re-entered the house. "Just be patient." The chorus of cheers, cat-calls and even some applause that greeted them on arrival in the lounge was heart-warming, and both were lost to each other as friends both close and distant engaged them in greetings, introductions to partners, questions and news. As the reunion was in full swing, Hammond's granddaughter suddenly appeared by the garden doors with an old-fashioned dinner gong, and at a sign from her grandfather, delighted in creating a crescendo of sound that brought silence within moments.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" cried the General. "And Jack." He waited until the laughter died away. "I'm going to ask you to wait another ninety minutes before I'll be making a special announcement of great significance to us all. So in the meantime, enjoy yourselves with whatever you want to eat and drink, but be ready in good time." The hubbub rose slowly again and people started moving around to get at the refreshments. Hammond saw Sam and Jack standing together and cornered them.
"So, Jack. I hear you moved up to Minnesota? For the fishing, I guess?" he asked.
"Yes, George. *That* big." replied Jack, holding his beer bottle about two feet from his left hand.
"And Sam, should I still be calling you Major Carter? Last I heard, you were moving to Denver and getting married." said George, glancing quickly at Jack as if to check his reaction. The broad grin that he received in response was not what he expected.
"Wrong location, Sir." she smiled back, holding up her left hand so that the General could inspect the rings he was so obviously trying to spot. "Try further north. In fact a lot further north."
"Holy Moses! You don't mean.." he stammered. "Are you...? I mean, are the two of you...?"
"Yup! Caught the big one!" said Jack, somehow unable to stop grinning like a fool. "Meet Dr. Samantha O'Neill, theoretical astrophysicist, honorary teacher's assistant, bricklayer and sometime author. George, you'll catch flies with your mouth open like that."
"Well, I'll be!" cried Hammond in delight, hugging both of them in turn. "Where's that gong?" Moments later a new sound salvo rang out. When everyone's attention had been gained, he started again.
"Well, I didn't know it, but I've actually got *two* special announcements for today." he proclaimed. "For all those of you who were acquainted with the former CO and 2IC of SG-1, the rumours were all true! May I present Colonel and Major O'Neill - Jack and Samantha. Married now for... How long? Three months! Congratulations! A toast to the bride and groom!" Further words were drowned by cheers, whistles and applause, and once again the two of them were surrounded by well-wishers and the purely inquisitive.
Eventually they made their way into the garden, where they caught sight of Daniel Jackson across the lawn, who smiled and waved when he saw them approaching. He was accompanied by a tallish, black-haired woman who turned round to face them, revealing her beautiful round face and dark eyes. Sam realised that she looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place her for the moment. She walked across to embrace Daniel in greeting, while Jack stood back a little, exchanging a nervous stare with Daniel's companion.
"Daniel!" Sam sighed. "I see you kept our secret from everybody. Thank you! Is this the lady you'd just met when I was last here? The one you had 'an extremely important meeting' with and couldn't see me?"
"Yes, Sam." Daniel laughed. "Let me introduce you." But he was put off his next words by the way his friend and Jack were so obviously fixing their eyes on each other, not a hint of a smile between them.
"So, Jack." she said, her Anglo-Indian accent a soft lilt. "I always assumed that the 'Sam' you spoke about so often in your dreams was a male friend you'd lost. My mistake."
"Hello, Indira." said Jack, looking like a rabbit caught in car headlights.
The party suddenly seemed a long way distant for all four of them.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Spring had been a long time coming but was now hinting at its arrival, with early morning mist on the lake and the suspicion of tiny green shoots if you looked carefully enough. Sam and Jack felt comfortably warm outdoors without overcoats on the days that the sun shone, and Sam 2 was happy enough to leave her offspring behind, locked safely in the barn just long enough for her to take her customary walks with her people.
The framed photographs of her carrying her pups from the barn into the cabin for the first time rested alongside their best wedding photo on the mantelshelf. A dog should be able to remind people of her proper place in the family, shouldn't she?
Work on the school building had re-commenced sporadically, as the weather allowed. More carpentry than brickwork, now that the walls were almost complete and the window and door frames were being installed. Sam was now a regular visitor alongside Jack, since she spent two or three days every week helping the science teacher. It hadn't been easy at first, as her natural enthusiasm for the subjects and depth of knowledge had quickly overwhelmed both pupils and teacher, and she had soon been within an ace of giving up in frustration. Unexpectedly, Jack had been the one to put her problem into perspective. He'd seen her brooding and insisted that they drive east to Eagle Mountain one Sunday morning. They left the truck and walked with Sam 2 to a sheltered spot well below the peak and sat, gazing over the silver-grey of Lake Superior in the cool but crystal-clear air.
"Carter," he had said, reverting to her old title as he did whenever he was trying to make a point, "what was your first car?"
"A Volkswagen Beetle." she recalled. "Dark red. I loved it.. I can't *not* watch one go past in the street when I hear that engine note! Dad threatened to have it crushed if I didn't start coming home before midnight."
"So, not a Chevy Camaro or an AC Cobra, then?"
"Heck, no. You couldn't start with such a powerful... Ah! I get it. Start with the easy stuff, right?"
"Nearly, Sam. Easy, hard - it's all the same. You keep stretching them *just* beyond the limits of whatever the school syllabus calls for and they think they're capable of. You gotta make them see the rewards for getting there by making it interesting. The teacher's there to cram the facts into them. Your job is to make it sexy but not patronising."
With a look of consternation, she asked, "How? To me, all science is beautiful, and all I can hope for is that one or two of the kids will pick up on that and get involved."
"Well, that's just downright wrong." he answered with a sigh.
"What, loving science, just the way you love *fishing* or hockey is wrong?" Sam responded indignantly.
"No. You can love science, but you should love what it can do for you more. Not just the things you can make, the doohickeys and gizmos, but knowing the way it shapes the world - or in our case, the *worlds* around you. Beauty isn't just something that strikes you one minute and is forgotten the next. Understanding *why* something or somewhere or someone affects you that way is just the start. Coming to terms with the significance of it is more than half the battle."
She stared at him, mouth agape. 'OK, this isn't one of his Ancients' dreams here.' she thought. 'Where did I miss this side of him?' She found her voice again. "Excuse me? Is this the same Jack O'Neill who got bored with visiting planets and flying through space?"
"Yes, same old me." he mused. "Same old."
"But when did you ever take the time to practise what you preach?"
"Well, if you'd taken me up on one of the many offers to come here, you'd have seen it for yourself long ago."
"But when we were on missions, you were so *unaware* of the finer things around you. 'Get on with it and let's get out of here' was the phrase I remember the most."
"And when you led SG-1, Sam? Did you get involved with the discoveries and gadgets the way you used to when you were my 2IC?"
"Of course not. The mission timetable and leader's responsibilities don't give you the time...." She was suddenly still and quiet. "Oh."
He stayed quiet too, and she became aware of his eyes roaming slowly over her profile. She turned to face him and was lost in the depth of his gaze.
"Sam, it's time to decide whether you want us to get a house around here or move back where your real science is. And before you ask, I've got everything I ever wanted since I met you. Whatever you decide is OK with me."
"Well, that's good, because I've already made up my mind." she smiled back at him. "I'll show you when we get back home."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The gathering at General Hammond's house in Colorado Springs was the first one for former SGC colleagues that he'd held since retirement. The invitations had been sent out by mail, and contained a phrase that at the very least, those who chose not to come would wonder what they were missing out on. "Your presence is urgently required.." in bold letters on the inside had the intended effect and the General was satisfied that the two biggest fish he'd wanted to net had announced their intention of coming, but he was getting worried that Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were the last ones still missing.
Current and former members of many SG teams, SGC support personnel and their partners filled his ground floor rooms with excited chatter accompanied by the clink of glasses, and the surprisingly warm April weather allowed some to stand and talk outside. A few children were laughing and raising the occasional scream as they played on the lawns.
"They're here!" cried an anonymous voice from the hall, causing George Hammond to make his apologies to the person he was talking to and find his way to the front door. He saw Jack moving his truck carefully between rows of cars parked on both sides of the street, searching in vain for a space, and waved at him to stop. As he walked forward, he removed the plastic traffic cones that marked an empty space in his drive and indicated that Jack should reverse in.
"Jack! Glad you made it!" he called. "Good to see you've got Major Carter with you as well! Can't have my overnight guests parking miles away, now can we?" As Jack pulled to a stop in the drive, Hammond was surprised by the appearance of a large dog at the rear cab window, with a smaller one jumping up in excitement to see out. "I see you finally got your dog, Jack. Couldn't stop at one, eh?"
Jack smiled and shook hands warmly with him. "George! Good to see you too. Sorry we're late. Had to walk the dogs half an hour ago outside town before I could leave them in the cab for a while. Full house, I see."
"Sam! Good to see you too!" said Hammond, as she walked round to join Jack. "I'm glad we managed to get in touch with the both of you. I had to ask Daniel to send your invites as we didn't know your current addresses. But you got here. A lot of old friends are waiting."
"Yes, Sir." replied Sam, sporting a huge smile. "How could we refuse with a request like that? What's the special occasion?" She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
"You'll see, you'll see." he replied as they re-entered the house. "Just be patient." The chorus of cheers, cat-calls and even some applause that greeted them on arrival in the lounge was heart-warming, and both were lost to each other as friends both close and distant engaged them in greetings, introductions to partners, questions and news. As the reunion was in full swing, Hammond's granddaughter suddenly appeared by the garden doors with an old-fashioned dinner gong, and at a sign from her grandfather, delighted in creating a crescendo of sound that brought silence within moments.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" cried the General. "And Jack." He waited until the laughter died away. "I'm going to ask you to wait another ninety minutes before I'll be making a special announcement of great significance to us all. So in the meantime, enjoy yourselves with whatever you want to eat and drink, but be ready in good time." The hubbub rose slowly again and people started moving around to get at the refreshments. Hammond saw Sam and Jack standing together and cornered them.
"So, Jack. I hear you moved up to Minnesota? For the fishing, I guess?" he asked.
"Yes, George. *That* big." replied Jack, holding his beer bottle about two feet from his left hand.
"And Sam, should I still be calling you Major Carter? Last I heard, you were moving to Denver and getting married." said George, glancing quickly at Jack as if to check his reaction. The broad grin that he received in response was not what he expected.
"Wrong location, Sir." she smiled back, holding up her left hand so that the General could inspect the rings he was so obviously trying to spot. "Try further north. In fact a lot further north."
"Holy Moses! You don't mean.." he stammered. "Are you...? I mean, are the two of you...?"
"Yup! Caught the big one!" said Jack, somehow unable to stop grinning like a fool. "Meet Dr. Samantha O'Neill, theoretical astrophysicist, honorary teacher's assistant, bricklayer and sometime author. George, you'll catch flies with your mouth open like that."
"Well, I'll be!" cried Hammond in delight, hugging both of them in turn. "Where's that gong?" Moments later a new sound salvo rang out. When everyone's attention had been gained, he started again.
"Well, I didn't know it, but I've actually got *two* special announcements for today." he proclaimed. "For all those of you who were acquainted with the former CO and 2IC of SG-1, the rumours were all true! May I present Colonel and Major O'Neill - Jack and Samantha. Married now for... How long? Three months! Congratulations! A toast to the bride and groom!" Further words were drowned by cheers, whistles and applause, and once again the two of them were surrounded by well-wishers and the purely inquisitive.
Eventually they made their way into the garden, where they caught sight of Daniel Jackson across the lawn, who smiled and waved when he saw them approaching. He was accompanied by a tallish, black-haired woman who turned round to face them, revealing her beautiful round face and dark eyes. Sam realised that she looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place her for the moment. She walked across to embrace Daniel in greeting, while Jack stood back a little, exchanging a nervous stare with Daniel's companion.
"Daniel!" Sam sighed. "I see you kept our secret from everybody. Thank you! Is this the lady you'd just met when I was last here? The one you had 'an extremely important meeting' with and couldn't see me?"
"Yes, Sam." Daniel laughed. "Let me introduce you." But he was put off his next words by the way his friend and Jack were so obviously fixing their eyes on each other, not a hint of a smile between them.
"So, Jack." she said, her Anglo-Indian accent a soft lilt. "I always assumed that the 'Sam' you spoke about so often in your dreams was a male friend you'd lost. My mistake."
"Hello, Indira." said Jack, looking like a rabbit caught in car headlights.
The party suddenly seemed a long way distant for all four of them.
XXXXXXXXXXXX