Author: Jackie W.
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PART 6 – To reach… the unreachable star!
Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was furious. Four teams had just been sent through the gate to assist in freeing the slave laborers in Ba'al's mine along with a host of medical personnel and a bunch of egg-heads who were going to strip the Mothership clean. All of that was well and good but there were a couple of major problems. One was that he was not being allowed back just yet as he was still undergoing a battery of tests in the infirmary and needed to debrief. The second was that the teams were also supposed to arrest one 'former' Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter and bring her back to face charges of desertion and theft of government property.
He'd been on the phone to Washington twice already and each call had left him more frustrated. At least Hammond was on his side, and agreed to fly back to Colorado Springs to help Jack sort out this mess. In the meantime, General Wilkins was still in charge and he had made it clear that Carter was in a load of trouble even though her 'little stunt' had succeeded.
Before the SG teams moved out Reynolds pulled Jack aside. "Don't worry General. There are a lot of us that have been helping her from this end and we will make sure that she doesn't get brought back. Besides, Carter is not stupid. I'm sure she is long gone already."
Unfortunately, that was another thing that Jack was worried about.
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It was a week before things calmed down on Columb. Jack had gated back after a day at the SGC and taken over command of the operations, verifying for himself that Carter had left, and checking on a few of the slave laborers that he had met during his brief stay there. He found Stoph and his family and was happy to see that the boy's sister Marta was doing much better. Ishta had come and gone several times and it finally occurred to Jack that she might be checking on Carter and giving her updates, so he confronted Teal'c one afternoon.
"You know where she is," he stated confidently.
"Of whom do you speak, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked calmly.
"Carter. You know where Carter is, don't you?" Jack accused now getting frustrated.
"Indeed, I do. However I have taken an oath of loyalty that I will not reveal her location without her permission," Teal'c confessed.
"T' you have to tell me. I need to see her," Jack requested.
"I will pass along a message," Teal'c compromised.
Jack thought about it for a minute. "Tell her I'm royally pissed off at her for throwing her career and her life away on such a foolish mission. Tell her that I'm forever grateful that she did. Tell her that I'm doing everything that I can to fix things so she can come home. Tell her…," Jack trailed off at that point then he looked around and saw that Teal'c had guided him deep into the woods and that there was no one around to overhear them. "Tell her I miss her like crazy. Promise me you'll tell her that."
"There is no need, O'Neill." Teal'c said with a secret smile and with that he walked away even as Jack heard a rustling behind him and Sam appeared out of nowhere.
"I missed you too," she told him. "So I snuck back through the gate with Ishta yesterday."
And then to Jack O'Neill's surprise and delight Sam Carter walked straight into his arms and kissed him so hard that he swore he saw stars.
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Ten minutes later found the two of them seated on ground under a tree, arms still around each other and breathing almost back to normal.
"You know, I thought the first time you kissed me in the mine was pretty amazing, but now I'm thinking you are going to be the death of me before we ever get past first base," Jack finally chuckled. Then seeing that Sam was blushing he added, "Not that I'm complaining mind you, I'm just surprised."
"I've had a lot of time to think while you were missing," Sam explained.
"And lord knows that's always going to lead to trouble," Jack teased. Then sensing that Sam wasn't in the mood for joking around he lost the sarcasm and asked her seriously. "Did you come to any conclusions?"
"Just that I love you and I've been a total idiot for waiting so long to tell you that. And an even bigger fool for thinking I could move on from what I feel for you with Pete," Sam confessed.
Jack was stunned. She loved him? He'd always figured that his feelings for her went a bit deeper than what she felt for him. Oh, he knew she cared for him, but this was something he hadn't allowed himself to fantasize over for at least three years. Suddenly he realized that she was waiting quietly for him to answer that confession.
"I love you too, Sam. I have for a very long time," he told her.
This time it was Jack O'Neill who initiated the kiss, and Sam Carter who was swept into a swirling vortex that left her dizzy. The man was right. They might not survive anything more intense than this, but she was suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to find out.
"Teal'c and Ishta are going to the rebel's base later. Why don't you tell SG3 that you are going to go through with them to check on the status there and then are going on to Earth to report in," Sam suggested.
"Why would I want to do that?" he asked before catching on. "Oh." His grin grew really big. "Where are we really going?"
Sam just smiled.
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The plan was for Jack to spend the night at Sam's base and head back to Earth in the morning. However the dawn found them snuggled down under the sleeping bags wrapped in each other's arms and not inclined to move anytime in the near future. It was almost lunchtime before hunger finally forced them up and they got dressed. As they ate, Jack tried to convince Sam to come back with him.
"Come on, I'll make you a steak dinner, accompanied by a nice cold beer. I'll even let you soak for hours in the tub," he cajoled. "Come on Sam. I have a nice comfy bed the two of us could use."
"Jack, if I go back I'll be thrown in the brig. There will be no hot bath, no steak dinner and I definitely won't be sleeping with you anytime soon," Sam pointed out.
Jack thought for a moment. "Well then use the cloaking device to come through and don't tun it off until you get to my house," he suggested.
"That would work if the gateroom wasn't equipped with T.E.R.s that would spot me in an instant. Remember we had them installed to prevent just that type of scenario where someone wanted to sneak through the gate," she reminded him.
"I remember," he said with a sigh. "I just really don't want to go back without you," he admitted.
"I suppose I should just go back and face the music," Sam sighed. "But you have to promise me something. If it all goes to hell in a hand basket you will get me back off-world somehow," she requested.
"I'll have Thor beam you up if need be," he promised.
"All right then, I'll go back," Sam acquiesced. "I should probably pack up some of this stuff to take back with me."
"Just take the valuable stuff, The SGC can send a team through for the rest. And take your time. We can always leave in the morning," Jack suggested hopefully.
"A last night for the condemned?" Sam grimaced.
"No, a last night for me," Jack said. "When we get back, and everything gets straightened out, we may very well end up back in the same chain of command," he reminded her.
"No we won't. As far as I'm concerned my resignation still stands," Sam told him.
"Sam you don't mean that!" Jack exclaimed. "You've worked too hard to give up your commission."
"I do mean it. And you are right, I've worked damn hard and I'm very proud of what I've accomplished. But there are other goals that I have neglected for way too long. Now it's time to turn my attention to them," Sam told him.
"What other goals?" Jack asked, almost afraid of the answer.
Sam looked him in the eye and told him straight out. "I want someone to come home to at night, and I want that someone to be you," she explained. "I want kids. A little boy with brown hair that sticks up no matter what you do and a grin that you just know means mischief. And a little girl, with brown eyes and dark blond hair named Grace who will remind me what that I need to have fun once in a while," she added.
Jack was silent for one long moment then he looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "In my head the little girl is always very blond with blue eyes and an annoying habit of trying to get me to help her take the dishwasher apart," he confessed.
For a minute they just grinned at each other like a couple of idiots. Then Jack swept her up into his arms and carried her off to the shelter.
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Their arrival back at the SGC the next day had been met with great fanfare. Sam was stripped of all of her gear and General Wilkins probably would have ordered her to completely strip right there in the gateroom if Hammond and O'Neill hadn't been present. Luckily she had managed to convince Jack that it would be best to leave a few things with Teal'c, and so a quick stop had been made to hand over her ribbon, cloaking and healing devices, along with her personal handgun and knife that had been presents from her father.
The first stop was the infirmary where she was grateful that Dr. Brightman outranked even the General as the doctor had insisted that the SF's wait outside while she performed her examination. She then just as firmly insisted that Sam needed to take a shower before being confined to the brig and would need a hot meal brought to her immediately after being confined.
"Thank you Doctor," Sam said with a smile. "I think I can stand just about anything if I can have a hot shower first."
"Wilkins is an ass and you can tell him I said so. You would be getting a hero's welcome if any of the other officers around here had any say in the matter," the Doctor assured her.
The full debriefing/interrogation was set for 08:00 the next morning so Sam figured she would have plenty of time to sit and think alone in her cell. However a constant stream of visitors kept her busy for most of the day, and it was with a sigh of relief that things quieted down as the day shift ended and she was able to relax a bit with just Jack and Daniel for company. Even Hammond had left saying he had some calls to make. Teal'c wouldn't be arriving until the morning.
As the three of them shared dinner and Sam and Jack filled Daniel in on some of the highlights of their adventures over the last months, their friend began to sense that something was different between the two officers. Well ex-officer he guessed on Sam's part. And that was when it hit him and he froze, fork halfway to his mouth. The fork was dropped back on his plate with a clatter causing Jack to look at him in concern.
"Something wrong Daniel?" he asked.
"Sam's not under your command any more. Even if they didn't accept her resignation, you aren't currently the base commander," Daniel stated excitedly.
"So?" Jack inquired calmly.
"So? SO??? This is what the two of you have been waiting for! No more regs!" Daniel pointed out.
"What makes you think we were waiting for that, Daniel? After all, Sam was engaged when she left," Jack reminded him.
Daniel waved that off as immaterial. "Yeah, but we all knew she wasn't in love with Pete. We were just waiting for her to figure it out," he said. Then turning to Sam he had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, Sam, but it's true."
"That alright Daniel. You were right. I loved Pete, but I wasn't in love with him. I won't make that mistake again," Sam admitted.
"See, Jack? So there is nothing standing in your way!" Daniel practically bounced out of his seat in excitement.
"In my way of doing what, exactly Daniel?" Jack said, as he glanced at Sam and saw that she was enjoying this as much as he was.
The question made Daniel pause but only for a moment. "Oh, I don't know, maybe tell her how you feel about her?" he suggested.
Jack simply raised an eyebrow.
"Oh come on Jack. You've been in love with woman for years. Just tell her!" Daniel finally demanded, then looked at Sam in dismay.
To his surprise Sam was chuckling in amusement. "Yeah, come on Jack. Tell her," she entreated with a grin.
"Oh for heaven's sake! I love you! Ok?" Jack bellowed. But there was a twinkle in his eyes, especially when he heard one of the SF's around the corner snicker and comment "It's about time!"
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The mood the next morning was surprisingly upbeat. The news of Jack's declaration in the lockup the night before had spread like wildfire, and those that had known them the longest couldn't resist offering their congratulations. Or in the case of Major Griff, sage advice.
"You'd better not screw this up, Jack. Not many guys have a woman that would travel the galaxy and kick alien ass for them. If I were you I'd put a ring on her finger pronto," he suggested when he caught the General in the commissary before the debriefing.
"I plan on it Griff. I just have to make sure Wilkins doesn't manage to lock her up first," Jack pointed out.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. None of us are going to let Sam take the fall for this," Griff hinted.
Before Jack could question what the man meant by that his attention was being taken up by Hammond and Paul Davis who were waving him over to their table. When he turned back, Griff had gone over to join his own team at their table, and Jack was left in the dark for the moment.
Five minutes later whatever Griff had been hinting at was the least of his worries. Hammond and Davis had both heard the rumors as soon as they set foot on the base that morning, and both were giving him hell.
"What were you thinking, Jack?" Hammond wanted to know. "How are we supposed to get the Lt. Colonel's rank restored if she is accused of fraternizing with her CO?"
"I'm not her CO. Even if you refuse to recognize her resignation, which she is determined to go through with by the way, I have not been her CO for weeks. And I don't ever intend to be again," Jack pointed out.
"You'd give up your command?" Davis asked.
"For Sam and 2.5 little Carter-O'Neill's? It sounds like a fair trade to me," Jack told them. "Now if you will excuse me, I promised Sam I'd bring her breakfast before the debrief, and I believe you two have some decisions to make," Jack said as he got up from the table.
On the way out he spotted Griff and once again wondered just what the man was up to.
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He wasn't left in the dark for long. During the long and tense debrief, Jack was amazed as various SG teams, support staff, and even Dr. Lee admitted their parts in the whole rescue plan. Finally after SG3 confessed that they had found Sam when they returned to Margile and had assisted her in getting Maybourne to cooperate instead of arresting her, Jack could keep silent no longer.
"My god Wilkins! You had only been in charge for what, three weeks? How in the world did you manage to inspire an all out mutiny in that short amount of time?" Jack asked in amusement.
"Well, I certainly don't see how we can charge the Lt. Colonel with theft of U.S.A.F. property without charging all of her co-conspirators, and we are not about to do that," Davis commented.
"What about the Lt. Colonel being AWOL?" Wilkins demanded.
"It is my understanding that Dr. Carter wishes for her resignation to stand, and as long as we have a dated, witnessed document requesting resignation, we must honor it," General Hammond pointed out. "Our only hope is to hire her back as a consultant, and pray that no one else makes her an offer she can't refuse."
"Unauthorized use of the Startgate?" Wilkins pressed desperately.
"Dr. Lee requested her on his team, and you approved it," Major Davis reminded him.
After a pause, Hammond jumped in and brought the matter to a close. "So, I would say there are no charges to be filed, and our only concerns are for the future roles that General O'Neill and Dr. Carter are going to play here at the SGC. They are both way too valuable to let go. To that end the President and I will be working on offers that will keep you both here in some capacity," Hammond said. "For now, Jack you are on downtime. I'm sure you are itching to get home after your ordeal." Hammond sympathized.
"I'm thinking a steak this big and a nice cold beer," Jack said gesturing to indicate a nice size slab of meat.
"And Dr. Carter, you're resignation is official. However there is no need to clear out your locker. We have every intention of getting you back in the lab as soon as possible," Hammond informed her.
"Just so long as I have time for a weeklong soak in the tub, and a matching steak and beer, Sir," Sam agreed.
"And fishing, Carter. Don't forget the time to go fishing," Jack said with a grin, causing Sam to blush.
Then to everyone's surprise, including Jack's, Sam turned to Hammond with a huge grin.
"General, I regret to inform you that I will be unavailable to start any new position for several weeks. I have a lot of fishing to catch up on. Almost eight year's worth to be exact."
Daniel practically choked on the coffee he was drinking, and General Hammond's eyebrows reached almost as high as Teal'c's (although the Jaffa was sporting an all-out grin while Hammond restricted himself to a twinkle of amusement in his eyes)
As for Jack… his imagination was running wild. He was madly conjuring up visions of just what all that fishing would entail. Meeting Sam's eyes he realized that she was thinking along the same lines.
Three months ago if someone had told him Sam Carter would be going to his cabin with him to 'fish' he would have laughed in their face.
But sometimes, fate has a funny way of making your most improbable dreams come true.
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The End