Disclaimer: See Default Chapter
Chapter 8: Changes
Sam picked at the remnants of her lunch, barely hearing the conversation between Daniel and Teal'c. Her gaze drifted to the slice of cake still sitting on the edge of her tray. They had been out of Jell-O, so she had grabbed Jack's next favorite food.
But Jack hadn't come to the Mess yet.
Something was wrong. She felt it in her gut. A nervous twitch moved over the surface of her skin, and she drew in a long breath, glancing again at the door.
"What do you think, Sam?"
She poked a stray kernel of corn with one prong of her fork, swirling it around in her plate.
"Major Carter."
Sam looked up. "What? Oh, I'm sorry, Teal'c. What did you say?"
Daniel laid his hand on her arm, giving a gentle squeeze. "You okay, Sam?"
She waved him off, pushing away her tray of food. "Fine. Just still a little out of it, I guess."
"Are you still feeling ill, Major Carter?"
Sam looked at Teal'c. There was a slightly deeper downturn in his lips, the crease in his brow around his gold emblem just a bit more prominent. He was worried. In the years she had known him, she had learned to occasionally recognize the subtle changes in his expression to indicate the feelings beneath the surface. Most wouldn't know it by looking at Teal'c, but he was a man who felt things deeply and intensely. He just did a hell of a lot better job hiding them than most.
Like her. Right now.
"Not really, Teal'c. Just not one hundred percent yet."
Both men stared at her, expectantly. Sam had to smile. Very few people really knew her, and no one knew her like the three men on her team. Dating didn't work for her; she had learned that painful lesson again and again. You can only lie to a person so much before they don't want to hear it anymore. Pete, most recently. He had tried to accept that she couldn't tell him everything, even after he had seen the Stargate. And part of her had wanted it to work, and if she were truthful, it was a very small part. With her father gone to be Tok'ra, her brother distant – both geographically and emotionally – she had very few people in her life that she felt close to. Daniel and Teal'c were two.
Jack was three. Or one, depending on how much she wanted to admit to herself.
"So, what were you talking about?" she asked, plastering a smile on her face.
"The inhabitants of P3X-453. DanielJackson is most intrigued by them."
"They were Goa'uld, yet they were primitive. They lived like cavemen, yet had established language, a hierarchy, cultural norms," Daniel started.
"Well, if you recall, I didn't see as much as you two." Sam looked down at her plate again.
"Once Jack is cleared to go, I think we should go back."
"What?" Sam shot Daniel a look.
"Well, Sam. Think about it. Jack won the battle. Technically, he is now considered their chief. They only allowed us to leave, because I told them he would be back to claim what was his."
"The rest of the women..." she trailed off.
"But don't you see? They're not going to threaten us again. We could study them. Maybe even learn something of the Goa'uld we didn't know."
"Why do you think Doctor Malcolm and Doctor Weir wanted to see the Colonel alone?" Sam spit out the question, cutting Daniel off, before she could decide it was best to keep the concerns to herself.
"I have wondered the same thing, Major Carter. It is most curious."
Sam nodded, looking to Teal'c. "Yeah. It just doesn't sit right with me. I think something is wrong."
The crackle of the base intercom interrupted their conversation.
"Major Carter, Doctor Jackson, and Teal'c please report to Doctor Weir's office."
In unison, the three stood and collected their trays.
"I wonder why they didn't just call SG-1," Daniel mused.
"Because the Colonel is either already there, or he won't *be* there," Sam said, a deadweight settling in her gut.
They walked together to Doctor Weir's office – formerly General Hammond's - and as they grew closer, the tension and apprehension in Sam's chest grew tighter and heavier. She had no idea what was going to happen, but somehow she sensed that things were going to be different. Good. Bad... she didn't know. Just ... different.
Daniel knocked on the office door and she and Teal'c followed him in. Doctor Weir stood, sticking a pencil in her brunette hair above her ear, and motioned for Sam to shut the door and for them to sit. Sam and Daniel took the chairs, while Teal'c stood behind her, his hands clasped behind his back. Sam watched Doctor Weir's face. She didn't look up right away, toying with the corner of a file folder on her desk. Sam didn't know this woman very well – barely knew her at all – but could figure out enough to know that whatever it was she was going to say, she didn't want to say it.
"I called the three of you here so we wouldn't have any interruptions."
Sam clenched her hands into tight fists, tucking them beside her thighs in the chair. It was like waiting for a bomb to explode, the other shoe to drop.
"The Colonel wants to explain most of this to you, but I said I'd do the worst of it. Effective immediately, the remaining team members of SG-1 are on leave for the next two weeks. Upon your return to active duty, you will have a new team member, to be announced at that time. How that member will fit in has not yet been determined."
"New team member?" Daniel asked, voicing the questions raging in Sam's mind. "Who... Jack? Why?"
Sam couldn't say anything. She just stared at Doctor Weir. Was this another attempt by those in the government who were opposed to the Stargate to break them down and end the program? Take out Jack – the cornerstone of everything they were – and weaken the entire structure? Kinsey was gone, but his constituents still held some positions of power. Doctor Weir glanced at her, and held her gaze. Her heart stopped beating for a split second, sitting in her chest like a rock.
"Colonel O'Neill asked to explain. He's waiting for you in the debriefing room."
Doctor Weir stood, as did Daniel. But Sam just stared. Her body suddenly revolting against the machinations that would get her free of the room. Then Teal'c large hand gripped her arm, and with the gentle urging, she made it to her feet.
"The Colonel will answer your questions when you see him."
"Come, Major Carter. We will go speak with O'Neill."
She nodded, and followed Daniel from the room, Teal'c behind her.
Chapter 8: Changes
Sam picked at the remnants of her lunch, barely hearing the conversation between Daniel and Teal'c. Her gaze drifted to the slice of cake still sitting on the edge of her tray. They had been out of Jell-O, so she had grabbed Jack's next favorite food.
But Jack hadn't come to the Mess yet.
Something was wrong. She felt it in her gut. A nervous twitch moved over the surface of her skin, and she drew in a long breath, glancing again at the door.
"What do you think, Sam?"
She poked a stray kernel of corn with one prong of her fork, swirling it around in her plate.
"Major Carter."
Sam looked up. "What? Oh, I'm sorry, Teal'c. What did you say?"
Daniel laid his hand on her arm, giving a gentle squeeze. "You okay, Sam?"
She waved him off, pushing away her tray of food. "Fine. Just still a little out of it, I guess."
"Are you still feeling ill, Major Carter?"
Sam looked at Teal'c. There was a slightly deeper downturn in his lips, the crease in his brow around his gold emblem just a bit more prominent. He was worried. In the years she had known him, she had learned to occasionally recognize the subtle changes in his expression to indicate the feelings beneath the surface. Most wouldn't know it by looking at Teal'c, but he was a man who felt things deeply and intensely. He just did a hell of a lot better job hiding them than most.
Like her. Right now.
"Not really, Teal'c. Just not one hundred percent yet."
Both men stared at her, expectantly. Sam had to smile. Very few people really knew her, and no one knew her like the three men on her team. Dating didn't work for her; she had learned that painful lesson again and again. You can only lie to a person so much before they don't want to hear it anymore. Pete, most recently. He had tried to accept that she couldn't tell him everything, even after he had seen the Stargate. And part of her had wanted it to work, and if she were truthful, it was a very small part. With her father gone to be Tok'ra, her brother distant – both geographically and emotionally – she had very few people in her life that she felt close to. Daniel and Teal'c were two.
Jack was three. Or one, depending on how much she wanted to admit to herself.
"So, what were you talking about?" she asked, plastering a smile on her face.
"The inhabitants of P3X-453. DanielJackson is most intrigued by them."
"They were Goa'uld, yet they were primitive. They lived like cavemen, yet had established language, a hierarchy, cultural norms," Daniel started.
"Well, if you recall, I didn't see as much as you two." Sam looked down at her plate again.
"Once Jack is cleared to go, I think we should go back."
"What?" Sam shot Daniel a look.
"Well, Sam. Think about it. Jack won the battle. Technically, he is now considered their chief. They only allowed us to leave, because I told them he would be back to claim what was his."
"The rest of the women..." she trailed off.
"But don't you see? They're not going to threaten us again. We could study them. Maybe even learn something of the Goa'uld we didn't know."
"Why do you think Doctor Malcolm and Doctor Weir wanted to see the Colonel alone?" Sam spit out the question, cutting Daniel off, before she could decide it was best to keep the concerns to herself.
"I have wondered the same thing, Major Carter. It is most curious."
Sam nodded, looking to Teal'c. "Yeah. It just doesn't sit right with me. I think something is wrong."
The crackle of the base intercom interrupted their conversation.
"Major Carter, Doctor Jackson, and Teal'c please report to Doctor Weir's office."
In unison, the three stood and collected their trays.
"I wonder why they didn't just call SG-1," Daniel mused.
"Because the Colonel is either already there, or he won't *be* there," Sam said, a deadweight settling in her gut.
They walked together to Doctor Weir's office – formerly General Hammond's - and as they grew closer, the tension and apprehension in Sam's chest grew tighter and heavier. She had no idea what was going to happen, but somehow she sensed that things were going to be different. Good. Bad... she didn't know. Just ... different.
Daniel knocked on the office door and she and Teal'c followed him in. Doctor Weir stood, sticking a pencil in her brunette hair above her ear, and motioned for Sam to shut the door and for them to sit. Sam and Daniel took the chairs, while Teal'c stood behind her, his hands clasped behind his back. Sam watched Doctor Weir's face. She didn't look up right away, toying with the corner of a file folder on her desk. Sam didn't know this woman very well – barely knew her at all – but could figure out enough to know that whatever it was she was going to say, she didn't want to say it.
"I called the three of you here so we wouldn't have any interruptions."
Sam clenched her hands into tight fists, tucking them beside her thighs in the chair. It was like waiting for a bomb to explode, the other shoe to drop.
"The Colonel wants to explain most of this to you, but I said I'd do the worst of it. Effective immediately, the remaining team members of SG-1 are on leave for the next two weeks. Upon your return to active duty, you will have a new team member, to be announced at that time. How that member will fit in has not yet been determined."
"New team member?" Daniel asked, voicing the questions raging in Sam's mind. "Who... Jack? Why?"
Sam couldn't say anything. She just stared at Doctor Weir. Was this another attempt by those in the government who were opposed to the Stargate to break them down and end the program? Take out Jack – the cornerstone of everything they were – and weaken the entire structure? Kinsey was gone, but his constituents still held some positions of power. Doctor Weir glanced at her, and held her gaze. Her heart stopped beating for a split second, sitting in her chest like a rock.
"Colonel O'Neill asked to explain. He's waiting for you in the debriefing room."
Doctor Weir stood, as did Daniel. But Sam just stared. Her body suddenly revolting against the machinations that would get her free of the room. Then Teal'c large hand gripped her arm, and with the gentle urging, she made it to her feet.
"The Colonel will answer your questions when you see him."
"Come, Major Carter. We will go speak with O'Neill."
She nodded, and followed Daniel from the room, Teal'c behind her.