Title: Getting to Know You: Part 4
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Summary: Sam reaches breaking point, Nathan opens up to Colonel Makepeace and Charlie makes an astounding discovery.
Author Notes: Set in Season 1, Humour/Drama, Charlie O'Neill IS alive in this story, and Sam has a son with Jonas Hanson.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
~ Getting to Know You: Part 4 ~
Copyright (c) 2003, Ruth
**********
Jack reached the room before Sam and dragged the two boys apart, almost throwing Nathan against the wall.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Jack shouted at Nathan.
Sam entered the room and her anger rose - this man had no right to blame her son for everything that went wrong.
"Nate, are you okay?" she asked, putting herself between Jack and her son.
"Of course he's okay," Jack snarled, "He was hitting Charlie again!"
"And Charlie was damned well hitting him back!" Sam replied, gently dabbing at her son's eye.
"He started it!" Jack said, half-walking, half-dragging Charlie from the room.
Something inside of Sam snapped. Torn between her fear of an insubordination charge and her instinct to defend her son, she rounded on him.
"HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW?" she shouted, "You weren't even there!"
Jack turned around, still suffering from the shock of his son's fighting and now faced with his 2IC going mental on him.
"Captain," he said, in a warning voice, "My office - ten minutes."
Then he swept away down the corridor with Charlie at his side. Sam watched him go and cursed her stubbornness, turning back to Nathan.
"Are you okay?" she asked, gently lifting a hand to try and touch his face.
"I'm fine!" he snapped, "Just leave me alone!"
With that, Nathan pushed past her and out of the door, slamming it behind him.
Sam sank down on her knees to the floor and for a moment she did nothing, trying to let everything sink in. When it had, she put her head in her hands and fought back her desperate urge to cry.
**********
Kelly and Nina were walking down the corridor past Sam's lab when they heard a pounding noise on the door, and a lot of very angry-sounding swearing from inside.
"Hello?" Kelly asked, bending down to the doorknob and looking inside.
"Get me the hell out of here!" Jonas shouted, banging on the door with his fists.
"We'll be right with you," Kelly said, turning around and casting an evil smile at Nina. "Why d'you reckon Carter's got a man locked in her lab? She finally lost it?"
Nina folded her arms. "Just get him out of there, Kel - I swear, you could hear his cursing in Texas."
"Okay," Kelly said, pulling a bunch of keys from her pocket and randomly sticking one in the lock.
Nina gasped. "Where did you get those keys from?" she asked. Kelly grinned.
"I swiped them off of Sergeant Siler when he wasn't looking - he was talking to Carter about some reactor crap."
"Kelly..."
"Quit acting like you care, Nina! Jeez, I'll give 'em back to him later! What is wrong with you anyhow? You suddenly got a soft spot for her?"
Before Nina could answer, Kelly let out a little whoop of delight as she found the right key and slid it into the lock, opening the door to reveal a very tall, dark, handsome and angry looking-man.
"Hi," she smiled, batting her eyelashes, "I'm Kelly. I'd be happy to.." her voice trailed off as Jonas' expression changed to one of disgust.
"You're the one who said my boy was rude, impolite, unattractive and...what was it? Oh yes, a disgrace to our name?"
Kelly was silent.
"Get the hell out of my way," he said, "And leave my wife and my kid alone."
With that he strode down the corridor and away from the two stunned lieutenants, wondering where the hell Sam was. She couldn't just shut him in her lab whenever she felt like it - who did she think she was?
**********
Nathan ran on down the corridor, not stopping to apologise when he bumped into an airman and sent his papers flying. He was confused, all sorts of thoughts running through his mind.
His father had always told him - he couldn't be wrong, could he? His dad wouldn't lie to him, would he?
He choked back what he hoped was not a sob and continued running, only stopping when he found himself sprawled flat on his back on the floor after running into what he thought was a wall. When his eyes got their focus back and his head stopped spinning, he was in fact looking up at a man.
"Nathaniel?" the man asked boredly, his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah," he replied, defensively, "Who's asking?"
"Mind your own f-" Makepeace stopped himself mid-word. "Come on - I've been given the delightful task of looking after you."
"Who the hell are you?" Nathan asked. Makepeace sighed.
"You can call me sir, now COME ON!"
With a grunt of annoyance strangely similar to Makepeace's own, Nathan followed him.
**********
Sam stood up on her shaking legs and opened the door, fighting furiously at the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She didn't have to put up with Jack O'Neill's crap - she'd only known him for a month, two at the most. He knew nothing about her, and she'd be damned if she was gonna let him slag Nathaniel off for the hell of it.
Biting her lower lip determinedly, she started her walk to her CO's office. She thought about doing a runner, not turning up just to spite him, but then she thought better of it - she would face her problem head-on, even if it did mean a shouting match with her commanding officer.
As she walked past her lab she stopped still and fear flooded through her body. The door was open - she distinctly remembered closing the door before she left and locking Jonas inside - someone had clearly let him out.
**********
Charlie sat down in between Kelly and Nina in the commissary, picking at a piece of pie with his fork. Damn Nathaniel Carter. Damn his mother. Now he was stuck here with two dopey lieutenants who'd been assigned to babysit him.
"So, Charlie," Kelly said with a big smile, "We know it must have been really terrible for you to get into that fight with Nathan - he's such a bully!"
Charlie mumbled something non-committally and pretended to eat his piece of pie, flicking his wrist expertly and depositing the crumbs on the floor.
"It's all his mother's fault," Kelly continued, "Not looking after him and all - no wonder he turned out the way he did."
It suddenly struck Charlie that he knew nothing about Nathan's mother, and neither in fact, did his father, who would presently be tearing her off a strip in his office. A brief feeling of guilt flooded him, but was soon clouded with annoyance as Kelly put her hand on his arm.
"I don't know her, and neither do you," he said, pushing the pie away from him with a swipe of his fist.
"My thoughts exactly, Charlie," Nina said, shooting Kelly a piercing look. Kelly frowned.
"She only has time for her work, nobody else," Kelly said slowly, "She's a horrible person."
Charlie stood up, brushed the crumbs from his jacket and looked down at Kelly.
"So are you," he replied calmly, before strolling out of the room whistling, his hands jammed into his pockets. Kelly was too shocked to move.
**********
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Jack shouted, slamming his fist down on the table, "You cannot talk to me like that, Captain!"
"You automatically assumed that it was my son who started the little fight, sir, and I'm sorry if this offends you but I take aversion to that."
"What? Come on, Carter!" Jack said, "We both know who the troublemaker is between Charlie and Nathan!"
Sam's temper snapped, and before she knew what she was doing the flat of her hand had made contact with Jack's cheek and a resounding slapping noise filled the room.
"You know nothing about me," she said, clenching her fists as her hands began to tremble.
Jack looked up at her, stunned by the slap but also his 2IC herself. She looked angry, and hurt.
"You know nothing about my life, and you know nothing about my son. Leave me alone, Colonel," she said, turning on her heel and walking out of the office, calmly shutting the door behind her.
Jack sank down into his chair and sighed deeply, putting his head in his hands.
She was right, dammit. He had no right whatsoever to judge her, to make assumptions about her personal life. She knew it - but he still had to be told.
"Goddamit, Jack," he grumbled, swiping at his desk in anger. Then, he got up and left his office in search of Captain Carter, to wright the wrongs he had made.
She sure as hell wasn't going to make it easy for him.
**********
Nathan sat down at the desk in front of Colonel Makepeace, feeling tired and drained from all of the shouting that was going on, both inside and outside of his head.
"You need to learn some respect," Robert said, twisting his hands together.
Nathan suddenly heard his father's voice.
"You don't need her, Nate. She doesn't love you, the evil bitch. But I do - you're my boy, Nate."
He bit on his lip. His father had always told him about how bad his mother was, and Nathan had never once stopped to ask himself if he thought this was true. He felt a headache building.
"She doesn't love you - I do. She would have killed you if it wasn't for me."
Robert looked down at the boy, who had turned a shade paler.
"You okay, kid?" he asked, trying to sound as if he cared.
"You come and live with me, boy - you don't need her. She won't love you - she hates you."
The two men were silent for a moment, and then Nathan's emotional floodgates opened.
"My dad..." he said, trying to form the words in his mouth, "He told me that she didn't want me. She didn't love me."
Robert looked up, realising that the kid was trying to tell him something of great importance.
"He called her horrible names, told me she was evil. I...I never once stopped to think, stopped to wonder if it was true."
He looked down at his hands.
"He told me that I didn't love her, so that's what I thought, that's how I acted - but now I know that that's just not true."
Robert was finding it hard to believe that such a tough kid could be so emotional, but then he remembered that he'd thought the same thing with Sam Carter herself.
"It's not me you should be telling this, son. It's your mother."
**********
Charlie wandered along the corridor and stopped outside of an open door, eavesdropping.
"When are they next due to depart?"
"0700 hours tomorrow - we've got their kit and the malp set up."
"What about the gate? Is it functional yet?"
Charlie's eyes widened and he edged closer to the room to get a better hearing.
"Naw - Siler and his team are still working on it. Alien technology is pretty volatile."
"Well, we are dealing with a giant donut that sends people to the other side of the universe."
Charlie stood stock still. Alien technology? Giant donut? Other side of the universe?
"Holy shit," he murmured.
**********
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next time: Jack's eating humble pie and Charlie tries to share his secret with Nathan.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Summary: Sam reaches breaking point, Nathan opens up to Colonel Makepeace and Charlie makes an astounding discovery.
Author Notes: Set in Season 1, Humour/Drama, Charlie O'Neill IS alive in this story, and Sam has a son with Jonas Hanson.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
~ Getting to Know You: Part 4 ~
Copyright (c) 2003, Ruth
**********
Jack reached the room before Sam and dragged the two boys apart, almost throwing Nathan against the wall.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Jack shouted at Nathan.
Sam entered the room and her anger rose - this man had no right to blame her son for everything that went wrong.
"Nate, are you okay?" she asked, putting herself between Jack and her son.
"Of course he's okay," Jack snarled, "He was hitting Charlie again!"
"And Charlie was damned well hitting him back!" Sam replied, gently dabbing at her son's eye.
"He started it!" Jack said, half-walking, half-dragging Charlie from the room.
Something inside of Sam snapped. Torn between her fear of an insubordination charge and her instinct to defend her son, she rounded on him.
"HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW?" she shouted, "You weren't even there!"
Jack turned around, still suffering from the shock of his son's fighting and now faced with his 2IC going mental on him.
"Captain," he said, in a warning voice, "My office - ten minutes."
Then he swept away down the corridor with Charlie at his side. Sam watched him go and cursed her stubbornness, turning back to Nathan.
"Are you okay?" she asked, gently lifting a hand to try and touch his face.
"I'm fine!" he snapped, "Just leave me alone!"
With that, Nathan pushed past her and out of the door, slamming it behind him.
Sam sank down on her knees to the floor and for a moment she did nothing, trying to let everything sink in. When it had, she put her head in her hands and fought back her desperate urge to cry.
**********
Kelly and Nina were walking down the corridor past Sam's lab when they heard a pounding noise on the door, and a lot of very angry-sounding swearing from inside.
"Hello?" Kelly asked, bending down to the doorknob and looking inside.
"Get me the hell out of here!" Jonas shouted, banging on the door with his fists.
"We'll be right with you," Kelly said, turning around and casting an evil smile at Nina. "Why d'you reckon Carter's got a man locked in her lab? She finally lost it?"
Nina folded her arms. "Just get him out of there, Kel - I swear, you could hear his cursing in Texas."
"Okay," Kelly said, pulling a bunch of keys from her pocket and randomly sticking one in the lock.
Nina gasped. "Where did you get those keys from?" she asked. Kelly grinned.
"I swiped them off of Sergeant Siler when he wasn't looking - he was talking to Carter about some reactor crap."
"Kelly..."
"Quit acting like you care, Nina! Jeez, I'll give 'em back to him later! What is wrong with you anyhow? You suddenly got a soft spot for her?"
Before Nina could answer, Kelly let out a little whoop of delight as she found the right key and slid it into the lock, opening the door to reveal a very tall, dark, handsome and angry looking-man.
"Hi," she smiled, batting her eyelashes, "I'm Kelly. I'd be happy to.." her voice trailed off as Jonas' expression changed to one of disgust.
"You're the one who said my boy was rude, impolite, unattractive and...what was it? Oh yes, a disgrace to our name?"
Kelly was silent.
"Get the hell out of my way," he said, "And leave my wife and my kid alone."
With that he strode down the corridor and away from the two stunned lieutenants, wondering where the hell Sam was. She couldn't just shut him in her lab whenever she felt like it - who did she think she was?
**********
Nathan ran on down the corridor, not stopping to apologise when he bumped into an airman and sent his papers flying. He was confused, all sorts of thoughts running through his mind.
His father had always told him - he couldn't be wrong, could he? His dad wouldn't lie to him, would he?
He choked back what he hoped was not a sob and continued running, only stopping when he found himself sprawled flat on his back on the floor after running into what he thought was a wall. When his eyes got their focus back and his head stopped spinning, he was in fact looking up at a man.
"Nathaniel?" the man asked boredly, his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah," he replied, defensively, "Who's asking?"
"Mind your own f-" Makepeace stopped himself mid-word. "Come on - I've been given the delightful task of looking after you."
"Who the hell are you?" Nathan asked. Makepeace sighed.
"You can call me sir, now COME ON!"
With a grunt of annoyance strangely similar to Makepeace's own, Nathan followed him.
**********
Sam stood up on her shaking legs and opened the door, fighting furiously at the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She didn't have to put up with Jack O'Neill's crap - she'd only known him for a month, two at the most. He knew nothing about her, and she'd be damned if she was gonna let him slag Nathaniel off for the hell of it.
Biting her lower lip determinedly, she started her walk to her CO's office. She thought about doing a runner, not turning up just to spite him, but then she thought better of it - she would face her problem head-on, even if it did mean a shouting match with her commanding officer.
As she walked past her lab she stopped still and fear flooded through her body. The door was open - she distinctly remembered closing the door before she left and locking Jonas inside - someone had clearly let him out.
**********
Charlie sat down in between Kelly and Nina in the commissary, picking at a piece of pie with his fork. Damn Nathaniel Carter. Damn his mother. Now he was stuck here with two dopey lieutenants who'd been assigned to babysit him.
"So, Charlie," Kelly said with a big smile, "We know it must have been really terrible for you to get into that fight with Nathan - he's such a bully!"
Charlie mumbled something non-committally and pretended to eat his piece of pie, flicking his wrist expertly and depositing the crumbs on the floor.
"It's all his mother's fault," Kelly continued, "Not looking after him and all - no wonder he turned out the way he did."
It suddenly struck Charlie that he knew nothing about Nathan's mother, and neither in fact, did his father, who would presently be tearing her off a strip in his office. A brief feeling of guilt flooded him, but was soon clouded with annoyance as Kelly put her hand on his arm.
"I don't know her, and neither do you," he said, pushing the pie away from him with a swipe of his fist.
"My thoughts exactly, Charlie," Nina said, shooting Kelly a piercing look. Kelly frowned.
"She only has time for her work, nobody else," Kelly said slowly, "She's a horrible person."
Charlie stood up, brushed the crumbs from his jacket and looked down at Kelly.
"So are you," he replied calmly, before strolling out of the room whistling, his hands jammed into his pockets. Kelly was too shocked to move.
**********
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Jack shouted, slamming his fist down on the table, "You cannot talk to me like that, Captain!"
"You automatically assumed that it was my son who started the little fight, sir, and I'm sorry if this offends you but I take aversion to that."
"What? Come on, Carter!" Jack said, "We both know who the troublemaker is between Charlie and Nathan!"
Sam's temper snapped, and before she knew what she was doing the flat of her hand had made contact with Jack's cheek and a resounding slapping noise filled the room.
"You know nothing about me," she said, clenching her fists as her hands began to tremble.
Jack looked up at her, stunned by the slap but also his 2IC herself. She looked angry, and hurt.
"You know nothing about my life, and you know nothing about my son. Leave me alone, Colonel," she said, turning on her heel and walking out of the office, calmly shutting the door behind her.
Jack sank down into his chair and sighed deeply, putting his head in his hands.
She was right, dammit. He had no right whatsoever to judge her, to make assumptions about her personal life. She knew it - but he still had to be told.
"Goddamit, Jack," he grumbled, swiping at his desk in anger. Then, he got up and left his office in search of Captain Carter, to wright the wrongs he had made.
She sure as hell wasn't going to make it easy for him.
**********
Nathan sat down at the desk in front of Colonel Makepeace, feeling tired and drained from all of the shouting that was going on, both inside and outside of his head.
"You need to learn some respect," Robert said, twisting his hands together.
Nathan suddenly heard his father's voice.
"You don't need her, Nate. She doesn't love you, the evil bitch. But I do - you're my boy, Nate."
He bit on his lip. His father had always told him about how bad his mother was, and Nathan had never once stopped to ask himself if he thought this was true. He felt a headache building.
"She doesn't love you - I do. She would have killed you if it wasn't for me."
Robert looked down at the boy, who had turned a shade paler.
"You okay, kid?" he asked, trying to sound as if he cared.
"You come and live with me, boy - you don't need her. She won't love you - she hates you."
The two men were silent for a moment, and then Nathan's emotional floodgates opened.
"My dad..." he said, trying to form the words in his mouth, "He told me that she didn't want me. She didn't love me."
Robert looked up, realising that the kid was trying to tell him something of great importance.
"He called her horrible names, told me she was evil. I...I never once stopped to think, stopped to wonder if it was true."
He looked down at his hands.
"He told me that I didn't love her, so that's what I thought, that's how I acted - but now I know that that's just not true."
Robert was finding it hard to believe that such a tough kid could be so emotional, but then he remembered that he'd thought the same thing with Sam Carter herself.
"It's not me you should be telling this, son. It's your mother."
**********
Charlie wandered along the corridor and stopped outside of an open door, eavesdropping.
"When are they next due to depart?"
"0700 hours tomorrow - we've got their kit and the malp set up."
"What about the gate? Is it functional yet?"
Charlie's eyes widened and he edged closer to the room to get a better hearing.
"Naw - Siler and his team are still working on it. Alien technology is pretty volatile."
"Well, we are dealing with a giant donut that sends people to the other side of the universe."
Charlie stood stock still. Alien technology? Giant donut? Other side of the universe?
"Holy shit," he murmured.
**********
TO BE CONTINUED...
Next time: Jack's eating humble pie and Charlie tries to share his secret with Nathan.