6/?
A/N Guys, I HATE Pete as much as anyone. I don't know why the muse had me write that crap...but I do know that it'll all work out in the end. I promise. Enjoy!
Flashback - 9 months ago
Jack bolted upright in his bed. He'd heard something. He rushed out of bed, careful not to get his feet tangled up in themselves. He found his robe and threw it on as he ran through the door. He stopped in the hall when he heard the noise again. Barking. He followed the noise to his living room. "Good morning Colonel." Gen. Hammond said.
"General?" Jack questioned. He hadn't moved from the entrance to the living room.
"Its me Jack. I've brought you a present." He led the dog to Jack and placed Jack's hand in the holster. "He's a seeing eye dog Jack. Provided by the Air Force."
Jack stood there for a moment, holding the handle in his hands, unsure of what to do. "Uh, thanks?"
Hammond slapped his back gently. "Of course, you'll have lessons on how to command him, but he's well trained. I told him to speak, so he'd wake you up."
"Does he have a name?" Jack asked, bending down to pet the dog. It would be nice to have another living soul around, human or not.
"They called him Skippy, but said that it wasn't uncommon for new owners to rename their guide dogs. They catch on quickly."
Jack was kneeling next to the dog now, letting him lick his face. "How does Rooster sound? Since you woke me up." Jack asked the dog more then the general.
Present
Jack barely let the General tell him he could come in before barging into his office. "She cannot go on missions."
Hammond stared dumbfounded for a few moments before he could speak. "Jack, she'll be going on light missions. Routine stuff." Hammond explained.
"Routine? Nothing is routine, Sir!" Jack shouted.
"I know you had an accident Colonel, but we can't keep everybody here who is at risk-"
"I was not even 'at risk'. And now I can't see. What if something happens to her and she loses the baby because some 'routine mission' became not so routine? How many times has that happened? How many?"
Hammond stood up to counter Jack. "We need her on the field Jack. It'll just be for a month or two until we can find a replacement."
"Anything can happen out in the field General, and we all know it. Does Janet know you've released her to work in the field?"
"I haven't told Janet yet." Sam said quietly. "I wanted to wait."
"Until you found a 'replacement'. You know she'd disapprove of this as much as me. What does Pete say?"
"He doesn't want me to be out on the field." Sam said quietly.
Well, that's two things they agreed on. "You'd risk your baby to go on a few missions Sam?" Jack tried reason. He figured it wouldn't work, but he had to try. He hated her being out there without him anyway, but there was nothing he could about that now.
"The field is my life Sir. I can't just give that up right away."
"I thought so too, but I did." He left the room, Rooster leading the way back to his office. When Jack entered his office he slammed the door shut and sat down at his chair. Rooster sprawled out on the floor next to him, feeling a bit protective.
Flashback – 6 months ago
It was the hardest thing he ever had to do. When Sam told him she had eloped with Pete over the long weekend, Jack wanted to wrench his heart out and die right there. Instead, he plastered on a smile and hugged her. "I wish you wouldn't have eloped though."
"We didn't want to wait. Both of us have high risk jobs, and planning a wedding is so hard to do when you're always being called off-world." Sam explained. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn't have any time."
Jack gave her another smile. "As long as you're happy Sam."
"I am Sir." Jack knew she was smiling.
"Call me Jack. I'm not you're commanding officer anymore."
He knew she was blushing. "I'll try." She promised. "Pete wants to invite everyone for dinner this weekend to celebrate. He's going to grill out."
Jack shook his head. "I think Roo and I are going to stay in. Besides, you don't want an old blind man and his flea bitten mutt ruining your party." He smiled.
"Well, I'm only inviting you so we can play with Roo." Sam smiled. "Five on Saturday? Daniel said he'd pick you up."
Jack sighed. "I hate being such a burden on everyone."
"You aren't a burden Jack."
He smiled at her. "I hate that you come out everyday to take me to work. I should just retire." Like he'd wanted to do the moment Janet told him he would never be able to see again.
"You know we need you at the base." She reassured him.
Jack decided to drop the subject. "Tell Daniel I'll be ready when he gets there."
