Circles

Chapter 11 – Homecoming

"No, Ranin." Sam pulled away from his outstretched hand, exchanging a horrified gaze with her CO over Ranin's shoulder.

"It's not your decision, Major. I have chosen you."

"I'm not a member of this village, Ranin, the rules you have here are not the same as ours on Earth. They don't apply to us, okay?"

The historian, a tall man with dark grey hair pulled back into a braid, inserted himself into the situation again, admonishing her. "You must not speak to your betrothed that way."

Sam pulled a hand through her hair in frustration, and then looked at Ranin as an idea struck her. "I'm not betrothed to this man. On my world you can't marry twice, is that true here as well?"

"This is true. But you are bonded to no one, as you told me yesterday evening." As Ranin stepped forward again, his confidence returning as he reminded her of her words, Sam saw Jack move forwards, clearly ready for a fight should the situation escalate.

"I'm already bonded to someone else, Ranin. I never said I wasn't."

Ranin looked at her in confusion, his dark eyes studying her face as if to gauge whether she was telling the truth. "You are lying. You are not bonded to any man who travels with you, and a female cannot travel without her companion without relinquishing that bond."

"That's not- " Sam stopped. This was useless. Changing tack, she moved past Ranin to stand beside Jack and prayed he would forgive her for this. "I'm bonded to Colonel O'Neill."

"You are?" Jack looked at her incredulously, to which Sam shot him a look that clearly told him to be quiet and play along.

"If one is bonded, they cannot be removed from their companion." The historian informed Ranin, placing a hand on his fellow villager's shoulder.

"Listen up folks, how about you all just pretend this never happened, okay? We'll get going and leave you all to it." Jack suggested, propelling Sam back towards the guest house with a hand on her back, barely waiting for an answer.

"I apologise, Major. I did think it seemed… implausible that a woman of your beauty would remain cast-away." Ranin grasped Sam's hand before they could make their escape. Jack stopped beside her; a possessive arm over her shoulders that he convinced himself was solely for Ranin's benefit.

"Cast-away?"

"Yes. A female who is not bonded before they have lived for twenty-one cycles of the sun is deemed cast-away. They are seen as unable to find a mate and therefore unworthy of bearing children."

Sam gaped in shock at the off-hand tone in which he delivered the harsh statement. "But that's- "

"Carter!" Jack interrupted quickly. "Go give the order to round up the troops and collect their stuff."

Karrington had disappeared into the house as the arguments had started, and Jack was looking forward to tearing a strip off him for the near-disaster he'd just caused. He found SG-13 packing their equipment along with Teal'c and Karrington looking sullen in the corner.

"Sir?" Carter asked from behind him. Turning to her, he was met with one of her unhappy-with-the-situation expressions he seemed to be rather good at provoking.

"What, Carter?"

"Sir, this is ridiculous. They won't allow women out in the sunlight, they have to be married before they're twenty-one and who knows what they do with children. They certainly aren't in the village."

"It's not our problem, Carter. Let's just get the hell out of here before they spring anymore customs on us."

"But sir- "

"Ah! Not a word! We'll send an all male, diplomatic team through sometime in the future. We're leaving. Right now."

"I will be so glad to be back on good-old Earth soil again." Jack exclaimed as he and Teal'c halted in front the Stargate.

"I agree, O'Neill. I believe this planet has many aspects in which could potentially result in hostility."

Jack looked at his friend. "T, remind me to educate you on the finer points of Earth phrases."

Lt. Col. Craig dialled the 'gate, then Jack sent SG-1's code through the GDO to the SGC. Both teams arrived back on Earth safely, SFs coming forward to retrieve their weapons as General Hammond strode purposefully though the blast doors to greet them.

"Welcome back SG-1, SG-13. Any problems, Colonel?"

Jack glanced over his shoulder at Karrington. "Just the one, sir. About 6'2, standing just behind me." He didn't stop long enough to explain himself, and Hammond knew him well enough not to stop him. An angry Jack O'Neill should always be left alone to seethe.

Jack slammed his locker door shut harder than he needed to, sitting on the bench in the middle of the empty locker room. He'd gone to his office to hide out and wait for SG-13 and everyone else to finish cleaning up, so he'd have the place to himself. He pulled both hands through his still-wet silvery hair. Showering and changing clothes hadn't helped his mood. Karrington was a liability, but at the same time he was dangerous. It wasn't as though he cared much if his own career lasted much longer, should it mean being with Sam and her escaping any backlash. But any involvement with the NID meant bad news for the SGC as a whole.

The door opened, pulling Jack from his deliberations. Karrington walked in towards his newly appointed locker, barely sparing a glance towards his temporary CO.

"Hammond's postponed the debrief 'til tomorrow morning." The younger man said as he opened his locker, pulling out a brown winter jacket.

Jack didn't reply, watching the bluey-grey metal of the lockers to stop himself saying or doing anything he would regret.

Karrington smirked at the lack of response, shutting the locker door with a bang. "Close call with your girlfriend back there, huh?"

"Don't start with me, Karrington." Jack stood up, shrugged his black leather coat on and looked straight at him. "We both know who caused that to happen."

"Yeah, you're right." Averting his piercing green eyes, Karrington feigned remorse for a second before locking his gaze to Jack's again with a smirk. "Can't say it wasn't fun though."

"Glad you enjoyed yourself." Jack replied sarcastically, gripping the strap of his bag and pulling it over his shoulder, getting ready to leave.

"Who would've thought such a simple mistake could've caused so much trouble?" Karrington continued in mock disbelief.

Something in the way he said it made Jack stop and look at him suspiciously.

"I mean what are the chances? That Ranin guy takes an interest in Carter, and lets face it; who can blame him? And he's betrothed to the historian's daughter. It's baffling." Karrington shot him a nasty grin as he saw the realisation dawn on his face.

Jack moved forward too fast for the younger officer to get out of his way, crashing him back against the bank of lockers on the other side of the room. "You son of a bitch! You planned the whole thing!"

"Not as well as I could have done, but yeah." He set his mocking gaze to Jack's fuming brown one and chuckled. "I wonder if you'd be so riled up if it had been someone other than the woman you're screwing."

Jack couldn't control his anger any longer, his fist meeting Karrington's mocking jaw line without a trace of regret. It didn't take long for Karrington to recover, striking out with a punch to the stomach.

"Jack!"

Daniel's shout stopped Jack long enough for Karrington to hit him squarely in the face. Jack hauled his opponent back against the lockers and held him there.

"This is over, Karrington. You won't be at the SGC much longer, I can guarantee that." Releasing him roughly, Jack plucked the strap of his bag from the other side of the bench and strode straight past a stunned Daniel Jackson without an explanation.