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You wanted fluffy? Fluffy starts here! You may need to have a coupla tissues handy when reading this!
Harbinger of Sorrow...Herald of Joy.
By Lingren.
Previously:
There would be plenty of time to show how pleased she was, later. Sam laughed back, happy beyond words, knowing he was going to pull through now, and that Captain Jacqueline Miller, was the one who was ultimately responsible for saving his life.
Chapter 8
The shimmering flux rippled and Janet, closely followed by her staff bearing the stretcher with Jack safely strapped onto it, stepped from the wormhole to place him onto the waiting gurney, then hurried from the room. General Hammond looked to Janet for some reassurance. He had been anxiously waiting to know whether his 2IC was going to live or not. Janet saw him and, a moment before she disappeared after her team, she spared him a quick smile and a nod. The General sighed deeply and turned to watch the rest of SG-1 walk down the ramp towards him. The wormhole dissipated behind them, leaving the room quieter now, and somehow a gloomier place without it's glow.
Sam saluted the General.
"Welcome home SG-1. Teal'c, Jonas, get cleaned up then get yourselves down to the Infirmary. We'll debrief in two hours."
"We will General Hammond," they chorused.
"Not you Major. My office now," he ordered.
He turned away quickly and Sam could only wonder at what was coming. Somehow the General must know about her condition, and he certainly had a right to be angry about it. She sighed and looked at the others. They, in return, smiled back, silently giving her their support whatever happened in the General's office. Taking a deep breath she belatedly followed Hammond from the room and wearily climbed the stairs to his office.
She knocked and entered. He was already seated behind his desk, giving off an air of authority and he silently motioned for her to sit down.
"Sir," she started hesitantly...it was neither a question nor a statement, more full of resignation and acceptance of impending doom.
"Major...while you were away I had the opportunity to talk with Captain Miller. We had an enlightening conversation to say the least."
"Sir...please...let me...expl..."
"Major Carter. Allow me to finish," he sighed. Sam nodded in defeat, waiting for the axe to fall.
"Yes Sir. Sorry Sir."
"I believe you have something to tell me Major. Something that would take you away from your duties as Second in Command of SG-1?"
Sam looked down at the floor, trying to gather her thoughts, hiding her shame.
"Yes Sir. I...I'm sorry Sir. I didn't think it was possible, but now it's happened, I don't want to get rid of it. I...can't do that Sir."
"No-one is asking you to Major. That choice is up to you."
"She told you didn't she?"
"Captain Miller told me in the strictest confidence Major. No-one else need know for the time being. Will you tell me who the Father is?"
Her head shot up; didn't he know already? Had the Captain kept the secret for her sake?"
"Sorry Sir. No...I'd rather not say."
General Hammond sighed. This was a delicate subject. One he'd hoped never to encounter in his career as a CO, especially where Sam was concerned. Being a friend of Jacob's just seemed to make it harder.
"That's up to you Major, that's your prerogative, but you know the regulations as well as the next man or woman under this command."
"Yes Sir. I do," she said, puzzled by his statement.
"Yet you went against them willingly?"
Cripes! Maybe he did know. She was confused, and kept her eyes averted from his steely blue/grey ones.
"I'm disappointed in you Major," he sighed with sadness, pausing for a while before adding, "and in Colonel O'Neill..."
She looked up into his face then. Afraid of what he was going to do to Jack and herself. What they'd done was, after all, a Court-martialable offence, she felt her colour rising along with the guilty shame for their conduct. They were after all two of the most senior officers on the base; they were supposed to set an example.
"Sir..." She began, but he held up a hand to stop her, frustrating her further efforts to explain and apologise.
"When Captain Miller explained the situation to me, it was my duty to contact the President and inform him that two of my best officers had developed a relationship. This..." he waved a hand at her stomach, indicating her pregnancy, "...was something I could not keep the lid on Major, you know that. It's a foregone conclusion that most of the base suspects there's something between you already. Hell there's even a wager on the odds, going round. What I'm disappointed by, is the fact that you didn't come and confide in me sooner. We could have avoided a lot of the unnecessary secrecy and possibly a backlash."
"Sir?" Now she really was confused. When she looked up into his face, he smiled down at her. Smiled? He was smiling at her? "I...I...I don't understand Sir," she dithered, as he smirked back.
"However! I had a long talk with the President and he's prepared to 'overlook' this indiscretion because of SG-1's reputation of saving the world on several occasions. Plus the fact, that now in your condition you won't be able to continue going off-world with SG-1, and therefore will no longer be under the Colonel O'Neill's command. He's therefore allowing you both to carry on working here, but, there is one condition to consider. To avoid any repercussions of favouritism and unfair treatment for the rest of the USAF staff, you will have to resign from the Air Force. The President stipulates that you may continue to work as a civilian in the wake of this, so that we can avoid any Court-martials. You will be free to pursue your relationship as you see fit. Without you here, there will be no SGC in the future. Hell there won't be any Earth if we lose you. We need you Sam. We need you here. This is where you belong. In fact we need both of you. That's why I approved Dr. Frasier going out to meet you. Just to ensure that Jack made it back alive."
It was a difficult thing for Sam to face. She loved being in the USAF, she loved her work here, but she was being given a chance to continue working here despite breaking the regulations. They both knew there would be a price to pay if they were found out. She weighed up the odds and knew she couldn't do anything else; there was no choice open to her, not if she was supposed to save the world in the future. So, civilian she would become, thus preserving Jack's career. Quitting the Air Force was but a small price to pay for having her dreams come true. The baby was an added bonus she never thought possible.
"How did you know Sir? Janet said Captain Miller told her, but how...?"
"She came from the future to warn Jack. She told him that without him around you would...give up your work here...and as a result the Earth would be destroyed. I won't go into details. Like the Captain said the future hasn't been written yet; you should understand that better than anyone. And now because Jack has survived, you've changed her life, it's all different for her. Her reality, her past has been altered for the better she says. Just before she left, she wanted me to give you and Jack this note." He handed her a sealed envelope and she took it with a shaking hand, noting the names written neatly across the front.
It's simple address startling her, making her realise that Jackie was the child growing inside her, and was not Janet's as she'd concluded so wrongly. Everything seem so unreal now. 'To...Mom and Dad,' it read. She continued to stare down at the envelope between her fingers for a long time before looking to him for permission to read it. He nodded his approval, and she tore open the seal, unfolded the note and began to read.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I guess if your reading this then you know most of the facts by now. Daddy survived his ordeal and now my life has almost completely changed. It's odd really. I sort of remember both lives. The old one without you both, and now, I have memories of the new life too. A life of growing up surrounded by your love and happiness. I can't go into any details. I have lived them, but you are yet to make them. Mom can explain it to you Daddy, I'm sure, if you would only listen. Yes...there will be times when it's...hard, but they were far outweighed by the good times. Thank you for giving us hope in the future. Yes, us. Because things have turned out differently, I have had the pleasure of sharing my life with my two brothers now. Both of whom you can be proud of. They also followed you into the USAF.
My son's are growing up now too. Thank you for giving them back to me. They just adore their Grandparents, especially you Daddy. You're still the big kid at heart and they love you for it, just as we did.
I can't tell you any more. Things could still change yet. It all depends on you two. Our lives, our futures, are in your hands. Please take care of yourselves. We all love you both loads.
Your ever loving daughter,
Jackie.
Sam 's silent tears spilled over and dripped onto the letter. Carefully wiping the moisture from the paper, she folded it again and returned it to the envelope, drying her face with her sleeve afterwards.
"Who are we to deny you your destiny Sam?" Hammond whispered kindly. "No-one is going to stand in the way of your happiness nor would they because of what it means in the future. Not after this. The Earth owes you and Jack a great deal, and will continue to do so. Being together is your reward Sam, god knows, you both deserve it."
Sam looked up, her face still damp from crying. The General's expression, soft and forgiving, almost fatherly.
"I don't know what to say sir. I know we both let you down and for that I'm truly sorry. Thank you doesn't seem enough," she swallowed forcefully.
"It was an unholy mess you left me Major. And if it hadn't been of great importance then I would have thrown the book at the pair of you."
Sam hung her head and tears smarted behind her eyes, she blinked them away not wishing to give in to them in front of her CO.
"Apology accepted Major."
"Sir? Permission to..."
"I insist on it Major," he chuckled.
"Thank you Sir." She stood up, smiling at him, stood to attention and saluted smartly, before she hurried from the room. He really was a Teddy bear she grinned to herself. Everything had just dropped into place. They had the President's blessing to be with each other. She had the reassurance that she needed. Nothing could stop them from being together now.
TBC
