Title: When All Else Fails
Chapter: Eight
Disclaimer: Had that dream again (not really, but well keep that a secret). Maybe one day it'll come true, eh? But, for now, I'm content with just borrowing them, even if I don't make a profit from doing so.
A/N: So this chapter will weigh in on the fluff I've been waiting to write in! My muse is currently 100 percent satisfied with me right now, after many chapters of cursing me out for no samjack relationship. But making up for that now! I'm sure my muse won't be the only one happy with me for that (I qualify, so that's true no matter what you guys think, but from you're nice reviews i'm not all alone!). Anyway, on with the fluff!
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Standing there with her in his arms he suddenly began to doubt himself, thinking that maybe he was dreaming, maybe none of this was real. Frantically his hands roamed her body, her face, her shoulders, her arms, their fingers intertwined and he held on, praying that if he let go she would still be there. After he was satisfied that he wasn't dreaming he smiled, "You're real."
She nodded slowly. "I'm real."
A lump formed in his throat, it was difficult to swallow, but he ignored it. "I thought I'd never see you again." Suddenly, he could feel hot tears forming behind his eyes; he ignored them, too. "You don't know how much I've missed you."
She smiled sadly and reached her hand up to caress his cheek, "I'm here, I'm real. And trust me, I'm not going anywhere."
"Good," he said defiantly. "I wouldn't let you, even if you wanted to." He smiled and took her hand in his, for the first time in nearly half an hour having her out of his arms. "I know it's not exactly the first stop on your list of places to go after almost two years, but we should really have Doctor Brightman check you out, just in case."
She nodded and allowed him to lead her to the infirmary, holding tightly to his hand, blushing furiously as she noticed all the raised eyebrows and whispered conversations starting as they passed various airmen and nurses. When they got there he let her hand go only long enough for him to turn around while she changed into a hospital gown. Then, he once again held on to her, she wasn't sure he'd ever let go, she didn't want him to.
She wasn't in the infirmary five minutes when Daniel, Teal'c, and about ten other people piled in, each pouring out question after question. Her head began to spin as the Doctor Brightman took her blood, and it wasn't because of the Doctors actions. She could already feel a headache forming, but didn't mind, it was nice to be home.
Jack, however, seemed a bit perturbed. "Guys," he called out over the dull roar, "please! She just got back, could you give her some peace and quiet for a few hours? I'm sure she would love to talk to you after she's gotten her bearings, you wanna give her the chance?"
There was a hush over the infirmary, each person glanced at the others, nodding and murmuring things such as "alright" and "makes sense." Soon everybody besides the doctor, two nurses, Siler (who had broken a toe), two members of SG-2, and Daniel and Teal'c remained (not counting Jack and Sam).
While her test were run his hand rested on her thigh, since her hands needed to be free. After the doc was finished with her he suggested something to eat, her eyes lit up.
"I've had a craving for blue Jell-O for the longest time now," she sighed. "Food sounds great."
They ate quickly, ignoring the stares and whispers coming from the others in the room. When they had finished Jack sat back at watched as she talked with various scientist and airmen, a bright smile on her face. After half an hour he pulled her out of the commissary to the elevator, pushing the button for the 28th floor. When the elevator reached its destination he took her hand her hand and led her to a room down the hall, a knowing look passed through her eyes as they neared it.
Using his card he opened the door and pulled her in with him, then let go of her hand. "What do you think?" He asked, glancing around the room.
"It's exactly the same!" She exclaimed, headed for the desk in the middle of the room, "You didn't change a thing," she smiled. "Thank you, Jack."
His eyes darted around the office again, then back at her. "You can work again as soon as I get the go ahead from the President, and, of course, the doc says that it's ok."
She furrowed her eyebrows, "Am I MIA?"
"Not anymore," he sat down in a chair and motioned for her to sit next to him. "You should call Mark as soon as possible, and I'm sure that somebody has contacted dad by now. But, that's not my only reason for calling the President." He took her hand in his, "I'm going to retire."
"No," she told him, shaking her head. "I won't let you. You love your job too much, I could never live with myself knowing that I'm the reason you're not doing what you love anymore." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, "I'll retire, or take early leave, and then come back to the SGC as an astrophysicist. I could still do the same job, just not as a military official."
It was his turn to say 'no'. "You're too good a soldier to quit, and for me? No, you're going to be a General one day soon, you deserve at least that much, if not more."
"Then what are we going to do about this?" She asked, "I'm not letting you go again, not this time."
He thought it over, "I'll ask the President to drop the frat regs, maybe he'll be in a generous mood, or maybe it could be a coming home gift for you." He smiled, "We should have a party ... with cake. Lots of cake."
She laughed, "That sounds wonderful."
A few minutes later the two left the office and headed for Daniel's, at Sam's insisting. He had been in the infirmary when she was getting her test run, but they hadn't spoken to each other yet. When they reached the young archeologists office he was sitting at his desk talking with Teal'c and Bra'tac (who Jack assumed had cancled their movie plans). When the couple entered the office (hand in hand) the three immediately stood to greet their friend, Daniel was the first to make it to her.
Sam had let go of Jack's hand in order to give all three a long awaited hug. They talked for a few minutes and then she promised them that as soon as she got the chance they would continue to catch up, she wanted to know how their lives had changed in the nearly two years that she had been ascended. At the moment, however, she was sure there were a few things that she need to clear with "General O'Neill". Upon hearing his 'official' name he grabbed her hand again, when he did so she looked at him with a bemused smile.
"We do need to talk as professionals, Jack." She said, "You know that." He frowned and pulled her closer to him, slipping an arm around her waist.
"Already?"
"Yes, sir." She replied, kissing him on the cheek. "Already."
The other three in the room sat silent, watching. Daniel had a smartass smirk on his face (one that said, "it's about damn time"), and both Bra'tac and Teal'c had raised eyebrows. Jack and Sam noticed their expressions, smiled, and told the three that they would meet with them later. Then they left for Jack's office.
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"So," Jack said sitting at his desk. "Why are you just now coming back?"
She looked down at her hands; "I just remembered everything a few days ago. I was sent to this primitive planet, no electricity, no running water, most of its people were farmers. They say that when they found me I was scarcely dressed, and I was clutching the IDC remote. I didn't even know my name, much less where I had come from and where I belonged. For over three months I racked my brain, trying to find nothing, and for over three months I had little success. I got to the point where I remembered my name, birthday, and that I had once lived on a planet called Earth. But how I had gotten to that planet and where my home was were still unanswered questions, only I had the answers, I just couldn't reach them.
"Then, around two days ago I was bored and decided to take a walk and think, maybe that would help things come back quicker. I wandered off farther than the villagers travel, there was some superstition about venturing off too far from the village, I wasn't quite sure why then, but I'm sure it had something to do with the Stargate. Anyway, it started to get dark and I was about to turn around when I saw it, this massive ring standing out in the middle of nowhere. I didn't know what it was at first, but I walked up to the dial home device and as I traced the symbols it clicked, everything just came flooding back. I immediately ran back to the village and explained what had happened. They wouldn't hear it, the ring was dangerous they said, they didn't want me going back. So, that night I came up with a plan and the next day I snuck off. I knew that they wouldn't realize that I had gone until I was too far off for them to follow. I dialed home and well, here I am."
"Well," Jack said, "that certainly clears a lot of things up. Did you remember anything about being ascended?"
She shook her head, "No. Nothing."
"So, you don't even know why you were banished?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find any words. "No," she finally spit out, "I don't."
Jack nodded, "You saved me."
She looked at him, confusion dancing in her eyes. "How?"
"Ba'al got his grubby little snakehead hands on me again, decided to have some fun. If it wasn't for you he would have killed me."
"What did I do?"
"I don't know, really. Daniel was there when it all happened, he could probably tell you. All I know is you risked everything that comes with being ascended to save me."
"That's not surprising," she said, "since I would do anything to save you."
He smiled, "Oh, that was a good one."
"What? It's true."
"It's still a line."
She shrugged, "Not too much I can do about that....So about this party?"
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24 hours later:
Sam quietly opened the door to his office, knocking as she did so. He looked up from his telephone conversation and waved her in, she made her way to a chair in front of his desk and sat down. He put up a finger to indicate that he would be done soon and went back to whoever he was on the other end of the red phone.
"Yes, sir." He said, "Of course." He paused, "I understand....No, that's not going to be a problem....I'll let her know....Sir, what we talked about?...Yes, sir, I know that takes time. Until then?...I understand completely....Thank you, sir....Goodbye, sir."
He hung up the phone and ran a hand through his hair, "That was ... an experience."
"The President?" She asked, shifting positions in her chair.
"Yep," he sighed.
"What did he say?"
"That you can return to work, part time, in two weeks."
"Part time?!"
He nodded, "No going off world for a month after that."
"A month?!"
"He is the President."
It was her turn to sigh, "Did you ask him about...?"
He nodded, "I did."
"And?"
"He's going to consider it, he basically told me that it was a done deal, but he had to talk it over with some other big wigs. He told me that he would get back to me in a couple of days, four at the most."
"Four days? What did he say that we should do until then?"
"Wait."
She raised an eyebrow, "Wait?"
"Wait and not show any kind of inappropriate behavior around anyone who would report us. And ... I have the week off."
"Really?"
He nodded, "Really."
"So? You can go when?"
"As soon as my fill in gets here."
"Who's that?"
"An old friend."
There was a knock at the door and Jack rose to his feet, "Ah ... that should be him now."
The door opened and General Hammond walked in. A bright smile appeared on her face and she stood up as well, greeting the General with a hug.
"How are you doing?" She asked, letting him out of the hug. "I tried to call, you were out with the girls."
"We've been good, the girls have missed you guys, but they like it in D.C.. They wanted to come, but they had school, and a week is too long to miss."
She nodded, "I understand."
"What about you?" He asked, "How are you and have you heard from Jacob?"
"I'm good ... we contacted the Tok'ra yesterday, they said they would get word out to my father but they weren't sure how soon he could come by. I called Mark, he's going to come down and visit me in a few days. It's good to be back home."
"I'd imagine so." He looked at Jack and smiled, "I hear you put on quite a show yesterday, son."
He shrugged, "Well ... I couldn't help myself."
"You know that's against the regs?" He asked, but Jack could hear the playful tone in his voice.
"Yes, sir. But, the President is looking to change that."
"Well ... then you should go make use of your vacation and let me do my job."
Jack smiled and saluted, "Sir, yes, sir." He winked, "Have fun, George."
"I could say the same to you, Jack."
Sam gave Hammond one last hug goodbye and she and Jack took off for the surface of the mountain. Once they had gotten outside her hand slid into his and she leaned in closer to him as they walked to their cars. Deciding to meet up for lunch at 1300 they went their separate ways (Jack to his house, Sam to hers, which since it had already been paid off by her father and late mother wasn't sold when she went MIA). Both looking forward to the next week.
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A/N: Anyway, I still think the last chapter was my fav. Let me know what'cha think about this chapter, anyway.
