Chapter 16 – Burning Bridges
Carter and O'Neill remained alone in the briefing room with Hammond after he had dismissed the others. The General held the fingers of both hands to his nose for a while before speaking. He looked up at Sam. "Major, I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in you." he said in measured tones. Sam didn't know how to react in a situation that was new to her, and sat stock still, her hands clasped together in her lap.
"I gave you permission to make contact with the Tok'ra. As I recall, the plan was to request them to carry out a reconnaissance mission on Andar." he continued. "God knows, that was putting our asses on the line with Washington. I told you that I was going out on a limb by doing that much without authorisation, but I was willing to risk the consequences. I thought it was worth it. What possessed you to go the whole hog and carry out a rescue mission without orders?"
"A *successful* rescue mission." added Jack. The General glanced angrily at him, but O'Neill knew to wait for the right moment to provide the support that she would need.
Sam took a deep breath while she pondered how to phrase her statement. "Sir, I have been asking you for news and putting forward proposals for getting our people back for six months without success. And I have to confess that your eventual unofficial go-ahead to contact the Tok'ra was behind events as well."
"In what way?" asked Hammond, genuinely puzzled.
"For nearly three months beforehand, I had been asking other SG teams going on missions to try to get word to my father that I needed to see him urgently." Sam said quietly. She knew that her next words were going to be painful for her superior officer. "Not a one refused, Sir. They've all been pretty much wound up about the way the Colonel and the others were being abandoned. Reliance on diplomacy with the enemy holding most of the cards was never going to get them back."
Hammond sat back in shock. Of course he had been aware of the usual undercurrent of barrack-room opinions about what was good and what was not on every aspect of life in the SGC. But from his isolated position of power, he now recognised in retrospect that the Colonel's absence had robbed him of his best channel of communication to the unspoken opinions of his staff. Had he really been hatching his own schemes from too far inside the bureaucrats' camp? O'Neill was a popular and well-respected leader, and Carter had not been the only person to come up with suggestions and offers to retrieve their comrades. It was just that she had gone about it with an intensity and persistence unmatched by anyone else. But he had never thought that she would be capable of such an act of gross insubordination as this, not even in the cause of someone he suspected meant more to her than a mere close comrade.
"Continue, Major." he said tersely.
"When I learned that my father was coming to Earth, I knew that I wouldn't get another chance." said Sam. "And if the mission had been unsuccessful, I would have come back and no-one would have known. Either that or I wouldn't have come back at all. Whichever way it went down, you were in a position to deny that you had done anything against orders, Sir."
"Or you could have been captured by the Andans." said Hammond firmly. "And they would have used you to get to the others, and you know it."
"We've been in that situation before, General." Jack interjected. "At the hands of the Goa'uld. It didn't work then."
Hammond eyed him sharply, but directed his attention towards Sam. "We are not at liberty to pick and choose the orders that we must follow, Major. You know that. As much as I wanted to…… Well, never mind. I am obliged to report in full to The Chiefs of Staff. I have made my case to The President that we should not accede to the Andan Ambassador's wishes under any circumstances. Whether that will put a stop to the extradition of Colonel O'Neill and now possibly yourself remains to be seen. The decision is in the hands of Government, not the military. Do you understand that this is the way that these things happen?"
"Yes, Sir." Sam responded. "And for the record, I regret nothing that I have done. I had to make amends for stating that this deal with the Andans was worth any price, especially when others were made to pay for that belief. I am sorry, though, to have undermined your trust and I expect to be punished for it."
Jack looked at her as she made the statement, and found himself overawed by the steely glint of proud defiance in her eyes. However his years of upsetting the Establishment had taught him when to land a counter-punch instead of taking one on the chin.
"He can't punish you for that, Carter." he said softly, looking back at Hammond. "Because then he'd have to reveal that he gave you unauthorised permission to contact the Tok'ra. But I suppose we can expect the NID goons to come marching in later today with their party invitations, Sir?"
To Jack's surprise, Hammond stared and then almost smiled at him, relaxing his tense posture. "Word has it that they won't be here until tomorrow night, Colonel, as my report will *unfortunately* be delayed for twenty four hours. Now please allow the Major to escort you off-site." He glanced at his watch. "I'm sure you need a little time to make sure you still have a house to go back to and attend to any other urgent matters. Getting your stories straight would also be good. Report back here to me by 15:00 hours tomorrow, both of you. Not before. Dismissed!"
Once back in his office, Hammond again lifted the red telephone. This was getting to be a habit.
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As Sam's head rested on his shoulder, with his arm protectively around her, Jack knew that it would be a rare moment in his life that would better this one. How they could have said no more than around a dozen words each since leaving the base in her car, entering his unexpectedly clean and tidy house ("You did this?" "Last night."), staring at each other in his living room before coming together for their first passionate kiss ("I want you, Jack." "You sure?"), fumbling and pulling at each other's clothes ("Oh, Jack!" "Ouch! Careful!"), feeling the touch of silky skin warmed by seven years of lust and hope ("God, Sam!" "Now, Jack, now!"), reaching the tumult of passion at the same moment ("Love you." "Love you too.") – was still a mystery to him, and would always be.
He knew that she was feeling as euphoric as he was – probably by the way she sighed as she trailed her fingertips across his stomach below the bandages he still had to wear. His fingers moved gently up and down her spine and she reacted to the sensation by a slight arching of her back. Driven by the emotions he'd never expected to know again, he felt the need to be reckless, urgent. His voice was a deep murmur.
"Sam, if we get through tomorrow, do you believe in long engagements?"
She raised her head and looked round at him, taking in the eyes of the man she'd wanted to own for so long. "Not any more."
The clock on the bedroom mantelshelf ticked on to ten minutes past three in the afternoon, and they both wondered whether they'd find the time to eat later on. But in the meantime, there was still six years and eleven months of waiting to catch up on.
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Carter and O'Neill remained alone in the briefing room with Hammond after he had dismissed the others. The General held the fingers of both hands to his nose for a while before speaking. He looked up at Sam. "Major, I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in you." he said in measured tones. Sam didn't know how to react in a situation that was new to her, and sat stock still, her hands clasped together in her lap.
"I gave you permission to make contact with the Tok'ra. As I recall, the plan was to request them to carry out a reconnaissance mission on Andar." he continued. "God knows, that was putting our asses on the line with Washington. I told you that I was going out on a limb by doing that much without authorisation, but I was willing to risk the consequences. I thought it was worth it. What possessed you to go the whole hog and carry out a rescue mission without orders?"
"A *successful* rescue mission." added Jack. The General glanced angrily at him, but O'Neill knew to wait for the right moment to provide the support that she would need.
Sam took a deep breath while she pondered how to phrase her statement. "Sir, I have been asking you for news and putting forward proposals for getting our people back for six months without success. And I have to confess that your eventual unofficial go-ahead to contact the Tok'ra was behind events as well."
"In what way?" asked Hammond, genuinely puzzled.
"For nearly three months beforehand, I had been asking other SG teams going on missions to try to get word to my father that I needed to see him urgently." Sam said quietly. She knew that her next words were going to be painful for her superior officer. "Not a one refused, Sir. They've all been pretty much wound up about the way the Colonel and the others were being abandoned. Reliance on diplomacy with the enemy holding most of the cards was never going to get them back."
Hammond sat back in shock. Of course he had been aware of the usual undercurrent of barrack-room opinions about what was good and what was not on every aspect of life in the SGC. But from his isolated position of power, he now recognised in retrospect that the Colonel's absence had robbed him of his best channel of communication to the unspoken opinions of his staff. Had he really been hatching his own schemes from too far inside the bureaucrats' camp? O'Neill was a popular and well-respected leader, and Carter had not been the only person to come up with suggestions and offers to retrieve their comrades. It was just that she had gone about it with an intensity and persistence unmatched by anyone else. But he had never thought that she would be capable of such an act of gross insubordination as this, not even in the cause of someone he suspected meant more to her than a mere close comrade.
"Continue, Major." he said tersely.
"When I learned that my father was coming to Earth, I knew that I wouldn't get another chance." said Sam. "And if the mission had been unsuccessful, I would have come back and no-one would have known. Either that or I wouldn't have come back at all. Whichever way it went down, you were in a position to deny that you had done anything against orders, Sir."
"Or you could have been captured by the Andans." said Hammond firmly. "And they would have used you to get to the others, and you know it."
"We've been in that situation before, General." Jack interjected. "At the hands of the Goa'uld. It didn't work then."
Hammond eyed him sharply, but directed his attention towards Sam. "We are not at liberty to pick and choose the orders that we must follow, Major. You know that. As much as I wanted to…… Well, never mind. I am obliged to report in full to The Chiefs of Staff. I have made my case to The President that we should not accede to the Andan Ambassador's wishes under any circumstances. Whether that will put a stop to the extradition of Colonel O'Neill and now possibly yourself remains to be seen. The decision is in the hands of Government, not the military. Do you understand that this is the way that these things happen?"
"Yes, Sir." Sam responded. "And for the record, I regret nothing that I have done. I had to make amends for stating that this deal with the Andans was worth any price, especially when others were made to pay for that belief. I am sorry, though, to have undermined your trust and I expect to be punished for it."
Jack looked at her as she made the statement, and found himself overawed by the steely glint of proud defiance in her eyes. However his years of upsetting the Establishment had taught him when to land a counter-punch instead of taking one on the chin.
"He can't punish you for that, Carter." he said softly, looking back at Hammond. "Because then he'd have to reveal that he gave you unauthorised permission to contact the Tok'ra. But I suppose we can expect the NID goons to come marching in later today with their party invitations, Sir?"
To Jack's surprise, Hammond stared and then almost smiled at him, relaxing his tense posture. "Word has it that they won't be here until tomorrow night, Colonel, as my report will *unfortunately* be delayed for twenty four hours. Now please allow the Major to escort you off-site." He glanced at his watch. "I'm sure you need a little time to make sure you still have a house to go back to and attend to any other urgent matters. Getting your stories straight would also be good. Report back here to me by 15:00 hours tomorrow, both of you. Not before. Dismissed!"
Once back in his office, Hammond again lifted the red telephone. This was getting to be a habit.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
As Sam's head rested on his shoulder, with his arm protectively around her, Jack knew that it would be a rare moment in his life that would better this one. How they could have said no more than around a dozen words each since leaving the base in her car, entering his unexpectedly clean and tidy house ("You did this?" "Last night."), staring at each other in his living room before coming together for their first passionate kiss ("I want you, Jack." "You sure?"), fumbling and pulling at each other's clothes ("Oh, Jack!" "Ouch! Careful!"), feeling the touch of silky skin warmed by seven years of lust and hope ("God, Sam!" "Now, Jack, now!"), reaching the tumult of passion at the same moment ("Love you." "Love you too.") – was still a mystery to him, and would always be.
He knew that she was feeling as euphoric as he was – probably by the way she sighed as she trailed her fingertips across his stomach below the bandages he still had to wear. His fingers moved gently up and down her spine and she reacted to the sensation by a slight arching of her back. Driven by the emotions he'd never expected to know again, he felt the need to be reckless, urgent. His voice was a deep murmur.
"Sam, if we get through tomorrow, do you believe in long engagements?"
She raised her head and looked round at him, taking in the eyes of the man she'd wanted to own for so long. "Not any more."
The clock on the bedroom mantelshelf ticked on to ten minutes past three in the afternoon, and they both wondered whether they'd find the time to eat later on. But in the meantime, there was still six years and eleven months of waiting to catch up on.
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