Author Note. Thanks for all the reviews. I hope everyone had as much fun reading this as I had writing it. The last part is an epilogue of sorts, to get the story back into a happy place, tie up a few loose ends, and get all the characters firmly back into the world of canon.
About the 'niner' question, I'm not really sure what 'niner' means in real life, or if the military even uses it. But in my world 'niner' means the end of a sequence, so 'sierra gulf one niner' translates to SG1.
Enough of my babble. Enjoy the end.
For disclaimer and warnings see part 0/1.
Sam cursed as the doorbell sounded for the second time. It had been two weeks since her dramatic rescue, and Teal'c was starting to get on her nerves. As grateful as his presence had been when she was in the infirmary, his uncharacteristic clinginess was starting to get to her. She attributed it to the recent losses in SG-1, heaven knows she would be keeping the Jaffa in her sight if something happened to him, but enough was enough. Sam thought he would have eased up a little when she was released from the infirmary, but his over protectiveness reached a new level. She loved the big guy, but she needed a break. Grumbling under her breath, she slowly made her way to the front door, leaning against the door to gather her strength before she confronted the Jaffa. "Teal'c. I told you I was fine," she shouted, her hand turning the knob and yanking the door open. "I'm not a baby and I certainly don't need a…" she stopped in the middle of her rant as she finally processed who was standing on her doorstep. "Sir?"
"Major Carter." He stood there for a few minutes before adding, "May I come in?"
"Of course General." His question shook her from her shock. She numbly opened the door, allowing him into her house. She led him into the living room. "Can I get you anything?" He shook his head. Her mind raced, trying to find a reason why General Hammond would make a housecall. "Is anything wrong? Did something happen to the Colonel?" Thousands of horrible scenarios filled her head. What if the blending didn't take? What if the Goa'uld attacked the Tok'ra base while he was still there? What if the Tok'ra refused to take another host? So many thoughts filled her head that she couldn't hear the voice trying to get through to her. It wasn't until she felt a pair of hand's gently shaking her she could focus on anything other than these morbid thoughts. She was slowly able to focus on the concerned face of General Hammond a few inches from her own.
"Are you okay Major?" Hammond asked. Sam slowly nodded her head. "We haven't received any new information on Colonel O'Neill."
"Thank God," she said, her knees suddenly buckling in relief. Exhausted, she closed her eyes, opening them quickly when she remembered who was in her house. It wouldn't be polite to fall asleep while the General was here. "Was there something you needed Sir?"
"No," he said, grabbing a nearby blanket and draping it over her. "I was just checking to see how you were doing."
"I'm fine Sir," she replied automatically.
"Sam," he said firmly, "I've known you since you were a baby. I know you're not fine."
"Sir," she started but was interrupted.
"No Sam. I'm not General Hammond. Right now I'm Uncle George."
"Why are you doing this Sir?" Sam asked, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"Because, at the moment, I'm the only one who can." The truthfulness of his words hit her like a slap to the face. She tried unsuccessfully to stop the first tears from falling, but couldn't hold the rest back when she suddenly found herself in his arms, crying on his shoulder the same way she did shortly after her mother died. She babbled incoherently as she sobbed, Hammond also muttering nonsense words in an attempt to comfort her. Slowly she was able to pull herself together.
"Sorry Sir," she told him, pulling back and settling herself on the sofa. "I don't know what came over me."
"It's perfectly alright Major," Hammond told her, grabbing his coat. "Is there anything else I can do?"
"You've done more than enough Sir," she replied thankfully. He nodded and headed for the door.
"Oh Major," he said, stopping before he got to the door, "is there something wrong with Teal'c?"
"No Sir," she quickly reassured him, "he's just being a bit more… protective than usual."
"Don't worry Sam," he said, allowing Uncle George to come out one last time, "soon we'll get Colonel O'Neill back and he'll have to endure Teal'c's mothering."
"What if we don't Sir?" Her voice became small and frightened and he was reminded again of the child he comforted during the weeks following her mother's death. She was still sitting on the sofa, knees brought up under her chin, subconsciously hugging herself. She wasn't looking at him, but rather staring at something interesting near his feet.
"Sam?" He walked back to her, grabbing her chin until she was looking directly in his eyes. "We will bring him home, whatever the outcome. We don't leave our people behind." He waited until she nodded before again heading to the door. "I'll show myself out."
"Thank you," she called out softly to his retreating form. Hammond silently smiled to himself as he left her house. Getting into his car, he spared a glance at the afternoon sky.
"Sam did her part to hang on," he mumbled to himself, "now it's your turn Jack."
SG1SG1SG1SG1
Sam sat in relieved silence for hours after the General left. She felt immensely grateful to him, not realizing how much she needed the emotional release until he appeared. Gradually she became aware of the rumbling in her stomach. Suddenly starving, she quickly made herself a small lunch. She spent the afternoon channel surfing and dozing. She wasn't upset when Teal'c suddenly appeared at her doorstep, with Jonas in tow, early that evening. They brought a movie and ordered pizza for dinner, Jonas asking a million questions about the things he saw on his way over. His enthusiasm reminded her of Cassie when she first arrived, and the thought made her smile. She could see Jonas as a friend; not a replacement for Daniel, but a new member of her family. Content, she allowed their voices to lull her into a deep, healing sleep.
She awoke the next morning tucked snuggly into bed. She casually made her way into the kitchen, grateful when she realized Teal'c and Jonas had cleaned up from their dinner. She felt ashamed at her irritation with the big man and vowed to make it up to him. The rest of the week passed in much the same way. She rested and regained her strength, her friends coming over a couple times during the week. Janet brought Cassie over once, the three of them having a girls night.
Her appointment at the end of the week went well and Janet cleared her for active duty. Hammond decided to keep the team off the duty roster until something had been heard regarding Colonel O'Neill, which suited Sam just fine. She would spend her days in the lab, catching up on all the work she missed. Teal'c would go on the occasional mission with another SG team, but mostly trained Jonas in the art of self defense. SG-1 was finally finding it's footing again, therefore it was no surprise when she received a phone call in the middle of the night.
"Is this Major Samantha Carter?"
